Rosewood Tucker's Point - A luxury resort with plenty of facilities

Rosewood Tucker’s Point is Bermuda’s newest luxury hotel. The $130 million resort opened in 2009 on the site of the former Marriott Castle Harbour Hotel. It attracts an affluent clientele and has rates to match. 200 acres are home to a golf course, a private beach, several restaurants, and a world-class spa.

The hotel offers just 88 rooms and suites, quite surprising given the size of the property. Even when fully occupied it still feels tranquil. Accommodations range from 500 square feet Superior Rooms to the 2-bedroom 2000 square feet Walsingham Suite. Rooms are tastefully decorated in a colonial style and still have that fresh, crisp feeling. Regardless of type standard features include a five-fixture en-suite bathroom, designer bedding, flat screen TV, in-room safe, iPod dock, mini-bar, and complimentary WiFi. All have a balcony with a view of Castle Harbour or Harrington Sound.

The hotel offers leisure facilities you’d normally only expect to find in a resort with hundreds of rooms. The 18-hole championship golf course was designed by Roger Rulewich and features a driving range, 10,000 square feet practice putting green, and a clubhouse with a restaurant, bar, and pro shop. The hotel can also assist guests wishing to play at the neighbouring Mid Ocean Club.

The tennis centre features 4-tennis courts and lies just west of the golf clubhouse. Private and group lessons are available.

Tucker’s Point’s Beach Club occupies a prime spot of beachfront at Tucker’s Town, the most exclusive area of the island. It boasts the longest private beach on the island, two pools (the Horizon Pool and the Fountain Pool), and the Beach Club Restaurant and Bar. The club is around 1½ miles from the main hotel building but there’s a complimentary shuttle service in continuous operation.

The Sense spa is one of the highlights of the resort. The 10,000 square foot facility offers 8 treatment rooms, two facial rooms, and a hydrotherapy suite. Other leisure facilities at the main hotel building include two more swimming pools (Castle Harbour and Palm Court), a croquet lawn, and a fitness centre.

Tucker’s Point Dive and Water Sports Centre operates from the dock and offers scuba diving trips and lessons. They also rent sailboats, motor boats, kayaks, and snorkelling gear.

On entering The Point restaurant you can’t help but notice the stunning mural decorating the wall. It has an interesting story which began in Hong Kong in the 1960s and ends in Bermuda.

In 1965 Juan Trippe, the founder of Pan American World Airways, was staying at The Mandarin hotel in Hong Kong (now the Mandarin Oriental). While dining in the famous Grill restaurant he was so impressed by the artwork of Gerald Henderson that he commissioned the artist to create a mural for the new Pan Am Building in New York.

Henderson created an 80 foot mural, painted in oil on canvas, depicting the ports of call of the 19th century clipper ships. The mural took pride of place in the Sky Club, an exclusive private dining club on the 56th floor of the building. When the Sky Club closed in 2005 the mural was put up for auction. Ed Trippe, Juan’s son and developer of Tucker’s Point, was the successful bidder. It now takes pride of place in The Point, along with a new mural depicting Hamilton Harbour in the 1880s.

The story of the mural is reflected in the menu. One option is the Point 360 Murals Experience. The 10-course menu takes diners on a culinary journey through the ports of call depicted in the artwork. Choices include Clams (New England), Mushroom Dumpling (Hong Kong), Fish Chowder (Bermuda), and Miniature Sunday Roast (London).

Other dining options include Sul Verde, an Italian osteria at the golf club, and the alfresco restaurant at the beach club. Tucker’s Bar, adjacent to The Point, is an elegant space for an aperitif or after-dinner drinks.

The hotel is also a favourite location for destination weddings. There are numerous possible locations for both ceremonies and receptions at the hotel, beach club, and golf club.

Tucker’s Point is situated in Hamilton Parish at the eastern end of Bermuda. The island has an excellent public transport system and bus 1 and bus 3 stop near the hotel entrance. Both travel between Hamilton and St George but take slightly different routes.

Take either bus north to St George for the famous Swizzle Inn and attractions such as the Crystal Caves and Blue Hole Park. Continue to the historic town of St George and you’ll find a wealth of attractions such as the Unfinished Church, the Bermuda National Trust Museum, St Peter’s Church, the Bermuda Perfumery, the Deliverance, the State House, and the Old Rectory. In the summer months you can also catch a ferry to Dockyard.

Take bus number 1 to Hamilton and you could stop off at John Smith’s Bay, Spittal Pond, Verdmont, Palm Grove Gardens, or the Botanical Gardens. Hamilton is the capital and offers a huge choice of restaurants and bars plus lots of things to see and do (Bermuda National Gallery, Perot Post Office, and Fort Hamilton etc.). From the Central Terminal you can catch a bus to any area of the island.

If buses aren’t your style you can get around the island by renting a scooter (car rentals aren’t allowed). Smatt’s Cycle Livery, one of the island’s main scooter rental companies, has a branch at Tucker’s Point. Taxis are another option and are always available.

The hotel is just 3 miles from the airport. Stay at Tucker’s Point and you’ll enjoy one of the speediest and cheapest cab rides in Bermuda. Don’t worry about being disturbed by aircraft noise though. There’s only a handful of flights to the island each day and the hotel isn’t on their flight path (click on the map below to see the orientation of the runway).