My husband and I have traveled a lot and are not fussy people. We don't need a lot of bells and whistles to be content in a hotel. But we both were left feeling disappointed by our experience at Brightside. It has so much potential for being one of the few affordable backpacker-style hotels in Bermuda, but unfortunately it falls tremendously short.

The room was reasonably clean, but featured much fewer amenities than we'd expected in an "apartment". Our room in the 'Annex' building close to the road only had a dorm-sized fridge and microwave. No coffee pot, no toaster oven, few dishes and utensils and no where to wash your dishes except the bathroom sink.

Another big problem with the room was street noise. The hotel is situated right at the major intersection in Flatts with traffic zipping by in a continous stream all day. If we had done it over again we would've asked to have been moved to a quieter room near the pool/garden area. We were there in the off-season, though, so it's possible that the only rooms available were those handful in the Annex buildind near the road. Curiously, the hotel propertiers put another party in the room directly next to us (and we were the only two patrons in the whole complex!) This was another annoyance because we had to hear their TV all night through the paper thin walls.

On a brighter note, the hotel owner and maid were very friendly and went out of their way to make us feel at home. The location in the middle of the island cannot be beat and there was easy access to bus stops and two great restaurants down the street. The gardens on the property were gorgeous and well kept.

Given older reviews on TripAdvisor and our general observations of the place it seems like the Brightside used to be a better place to stay, but has fallen into disrepair in recent years. If your main concern is finding a cheap place to stay on the island and you don't mind some noise and don't require many creature comforts, then the Brightside would be fine. But it seems likely that for not much more per night you could find better accomodations on the island...

Brightside (with the emphasis on the 'bright' paintwork) has its decor stuck firmly in the 80s. However the studio apartment we had was well equipped, spotlessly clean with a wonderful daily maid service and is in a good location. Would recommend it as a base for exploring beautiful Bermuda. We just shower, eat breakfast and go out for the whole day so it was perfect for us. Good value for money but don't expect luxury.

The Brightside Guest Apartments are very nice. Located in Flatts, Bermuda, they are right at a central point of the island, and a nice spot. The marina and Flatts Bridge are always bustling with people and boats, and provide very nice views from the apartments. The apartments all have (shared) verandas, with nice wicker chairs outside. We stayed in a top floor room, it was a one bedroom suite. We had a main living room area which had a couch, TV, table with 4 chairs, and a coffee table. There was a large bathroom, and a small kitchen with a large refrigerator, several cabinets with dishes and glasses and silverware in them, a stove, a microwave, and a coffeepot. There was a separate bedroom with a double bed, dresser, and closet. The place was generally clean, however, there were some small things that could have easily been fixed and/or enhanced, that would have made this place much better, in my opinion (e.g. handles on dresser drawers broken, dresser drawers cleaned/lined, matching silverware/dishes/glasses, updated paintings on the wall). The owners are a delight- Mr. Lightbourne is always checking up on you whenever you see him- and he or someone in his family is always around- and is so nice and answers all questions... like everyone else on Bermuda, just a joy to talk to. All in all, the place was nowhere near a luxury hotel that you will find in Bermuda, but for a newlywed couple who would have been happy sleeping on the beach for a low price, this did the trick! We would stay again. Also, there is a new building being constructed behind our building that looked very nice- lots of little verandas, a bright color, and right over the pool.

Please do not stay at Brightside!! When you pull up the outside is beautiful but please dont be fooled by that.

Once I got in my room, there were dirty towles in my bathroom and urine on the toilet. The kitchen area was nasty the coffee pot had mold in it. The microwave was filled with old food and the tables, curtains and lamps were dusty!!!

I pulled my covers back to examine the sheets and there was hair, grit , dirt and God knows what else on the sheets. And there was makeup on the pillows which were not covered in pillow cases!!!!!

I was furious. Dont get me wrong the older guy that runs the place and his wife were sweet but the sweetness mean nothing when the room is unsanitary. And don't even think about getting in contact with someone after about 6. I called and called and called and rang the bell and rang the bell and nobody showed up.

THE ISLAND IS BEAUTIFUL , I enjoyed the beach the shopping and the wonderful food but the hotel was NASTY, DUSTY AND PLAN OLD UNSANITARY!!!