This is a difficult review to write because Grotto Bay is a little tough to categorize. Some things were excellent (location, views, restaurants, unique grounds) and other things were a little "tired" (room decor and the pool area). Overall, I really liked this place.

The food in the hotel restaurants was not inexpensive (island food rarely is), but the quality and value of the food was excellent for the price. As an example, the breakfast buffet was $22 but served omelettes made-to-order, smoked salmon (lox), lots of fresh fruit, thick bacon, etc. For dinner a co-worker had duck, an amazing salad, and several glasses of nice wine for about $50 (all delicious, perfectly cooked, and served with very nice presentation). On the other end of the spectrum, I also had buffalo wings one night for $10, and they were also very good. Service charges (gratuity) are included in the restaurant bills, so the service was not lightning-fast, but was definately acceptable.

My favorite thing about the Grotto Bay Resort was the cave and the swimming grotto. I was expecting some half-manufactured tourist gag, but found a stunning natural cave with a crystal-clear blue-lagoon for swimming. Wicked cool. The pictures don't do it justice.

There is a gas station near the hotel that rents scooters for $80/day. No half-days or by the hour. After talking to the concierge, we opted for a "taxi-tour" of the island instead. They are $40/hour and you can set the time, agenda, and pace. If you choose to rent a scooter, be very careful driving. The roads are very narrow, very curvy, and many people drive dangerously fast.

I've never been to Bermuda before, so I don't have another hotel to compare this one to. I do not consider it a luxury hotel (although I would catagorize The Hibiscus Dining room as luxury), but I did like it and I certainly enjoyed my stay. I have to recommend it if you can get a good deal.

Grotto Bay was an excellent choice for my sisters and I to take my mother to celebrate her 70th birthday! Everyone from the front desk to the concierge to the wait staff went out of their way to make us feel welcome and comfortable for the entire trip. Our rooms were clean, comfortable and with a view to die for (Somerset Lodge). We booked our stay for 4 nights and chose the all inclusive meal plan (highly recommended) and do not have a single complaint about the food or service. The breakfast buffet had plenty of wonderful choices but the yogurt and belgium waffles were at the top of my list...a variety of salads, sandwiches, burgers, etc. were lunch options (the Greek Salad, Chopped Salad, and Pulled pork Sandwich were a hit with us). Dinner was a gourmet experience (the Habiscus Room is a must) where we enjoyed 4 courses with plenty of time to linger over and not feel rushed (the Salmon and Mahi Mahi were 2 favorites). The hotel staff were all friendly and professional with just the right feel to make us feel at home and hoping for a return visit. A special thank-you to to Janay at the front desk, the ladies at the concierge desk, Ben who served us breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a smile and wonderful sense of humor, Victor, and of course E. Michael (our evenings by the fireplace outside were wonderful endings to our days). Thank-you to all of the Grotto Bay staff that welcomed us back when United cancelled our flight home and sent our whole flight ot Grotto Bay for the night until repairs could be made.. We hope to return again and may even bring the boys along!

We travelled one day ahead of a group spending a week on an organized golfing week to try and customize ourselves to the time difference. We had paid to go all inclusive but arriving late in the evening and having the following problems, we missed supper which will make sense later on in this rant. Unfortunately we were shown to a room where the bathroom was awash with ants. On calling reception to ask to change rooms I was told in no uncertain terms that this would not be possible and a housemaid would be up with a spray to deal with the problem. In the mean time my wife was trying to plug in the bed side light and moved the side table and out ran a cockroach!! I rang reception again and was told that it was impossible to move rooms as the hotel was full. This was a blatant lie as when the house maid arrived she agreed that we must move and organized it for us. Thank you. The next room No.111 was a vast improvement on No. 630, close to the pool and on the ground floor. The view wasn't as good but the room was in a slightly better decorative order but still a bit shabby. I had to get up during the night and in going to the bathroom.......yes you got it - came toe to nose with another cockroach! I didn't dare tell my wife until we left the hotel and kept my fingers crossed that she didn't see it during our stay. The hotel without prompting offered me a $50 credit to my room for the initial disruption which I gladly accepted but which I then gave straight back to them by taking a week's internet connection which spookily enough cost $50. (Wi Fi is normally free in the hotels we stay in?) On checkout (11am), I went to hand in my room keys and was told by the receptionist that I owed the hotel $110 and that she would take it off my credit card. I asked what it was for and explained that we were all inclusive and about the room credit etc and was then told it was a mistake and it was only 60 dollars I owed. Once again I quizzed what it was for and once again I was told it was for Wi Fi. I went through it all again and was told yes you are correct it should have only been $10? At this point I gave in and gave her $10 just to get away. She came after me and gave me the money back saying she didn't really mean it and was sorry. As we were not leaving until 5pm, I said presumably our all inclusive runs for the rest of the day and was told no. At this point my wife got involved, pointing out that we arrived late, had no supper and had problems with the room etc. The receptionist consulted her supervisor who agreed that we were in fact entitled to all inclusive for the rest of our stay. On a positive note, 99% of the staff were courteous, helpful and polite. The food in the hotel was OK but nothing to write home about. Some waiter service in the bar would have been nice along with some more seating and perhaps some nibbles with your drink. We had a mini bar in the room with nothing in it and no room service which was also poor. Bermuda is a visual feast with stunning views, crystal clear waters and generally very friendly people. However, if my wife and I were to ever go back I am afraid it won't be to Grotto Bay Hotel which I would probably rate as no more than 3 star.

We went for a wedding in October and this was our first time to Bermuda.
I was a bit skeptical to stay at the Grotto Bay as I felt it was a bit too close to the airport. Reality was, I hardly knew the airport was there! When we first arrived to our room,were not happy with it (factors that I wont get into). They upgraded us without any hesitation to a much better room.
From this moment, it seemed like the staff did everything they could to make our stay wonderful.
They gave us free wi/fi!
When we were waiting for a cab and the cab driver didnt show up for over 10 minutes, the hotel concierge decided to take us in one of the hotel cars!
Upon arriving back home in Connecticut, I realized that I left a notebook in the room. I called them and they said they would send it out. Since Bermuda is an island and a different country, the rate was almost $100. I said, its not worth any where near that amount. One of the nicest things happened,which was Above & Beyond the Call of Duty! One of the staff had flown to the states and fed-ex it to me at a fraction of the cost.
I want to say Thank You Grotto Bay for such wonderful service. I would stay again and again.