Bermuda - Hotels

After years of planning and negotiation Hamilton looks set to get its first new hotel in 50 years.

At a press conference in Bermuda yesterday, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide announced plans to open the St Regis Bermuda at the corner of Par-la-Ville Road and Church Street, overlooking Par-la-Ville Park.

The 5-star luxury hotel will offer 140 guest rooms and suites, plus 80 serviced residences. Other features include a spa, restaurant and wine bar, library, rooftop conservatory, 4000 square foot ballroom, and outdoor courtyard.

The hotel will be owned by Par-la-Ville Hotel and Residences Ltd, a partnership between Virginia-based Unified Resorts Ltd and New York-based Sagewood Investments LLC. It will be built on land owned by the Corporation of Hamilton.

Completion is scheduled for 2013.

A food and drink festival in Bermuda has been cancelled due to the current economic crisis.

The Bermuda Gourmet Getaway was scheduled to be held February 26 to March 2 2009 at the Fairmont Southampton hotel and other locations around the island.

A statement on the event’s website reads ‘Due to the current economic climate and, more importantly the effect on our various sponsors we have no choice but to postpone the 2009 event. The BGG will now be held on Thursday February 25th through Monday March 1st, 2010.’

The Fairmont Southampton resort has announced 35 job losses as the credit crunch begins to hit Bermuda.

Other cost-cutting measures being undertaken by the hotel include closing 50 percent of its guest rooms until April, operating restaurants on a rotational basis until the summer season, and temporarily ceasing its free ferry service to Hamilton.

Bermuda took a step towards allowing casinos on the island with an announcement last week of a feasibility study on gaming.

The joint venture between the Government and the Bermuda Hotel Association sees the Innovation Group appointed to conduct a study that would cover a casino gaming market assessment, the feasibility of a Bermuda lottery, gaming legislation, tax and revenue considerations, and the social and economic impact of gaming on Bermuda and its people.

In June the Government announced plans to allow cruise ships to operate casinos while in port.

Plans to build a new hotel in St George received a big boost last week after a law was passed in the House of Assembly. The Park Hyatt (St. George’s) Resort Act 2008 will allow developers Bazarian International to seek financing for a Park Hyatt resort on the site of the former Club Med.

The law gives Bazarian International 5 years to get the hotel operational or lose the right to develop the site. The hotel is expected to open in 2012.

The Waterloo House hotel and restaurant in Hamilton will close on July 29 and is likely to be redeveloped as offices. Owners Horizon Ltd say the luxury hotel has not been profitable despite winning numerous awards, including being named as one of the best hotels in the world by Travel and Leisure magazine just 2 years ago. All staff have been offered employment at the hotel’s sister property; Horizons and Cottages.

The Harmony Club in Paget has been purchased by the Bermuda Government from Bermuda Resort Hotels. It will be used to provide accommodation for police recruits from overseas. Bermuda Resort Hotels will use most of the $6.25 million sale proceeds to redevelop one of their other properties, the Surf Side Beach Hotel.

The Bermuda Government announced yesterday that the island’s new Jumeirah resort will be built at Morgan’s Point. The move was welcomed by the Bermuda National Trust and the Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Taskforce who had objected to its original location at Southlands.

Government also announced that the hotel currently being developed by Bazarian International on the old Club Med site in St George’s will be managed by the Park Hyatt hotel group. It is expected to open for business in 2011.

A fine dining restaurant at the Elbow Beach hotel has received a top award at a local food festival.

The Seahorse Grill received numerous accolades in this year’s Bermuda Gourmet Getaway People’s Choice Challenge including the top honour for Best Overall Fine Dining Restaurant in Bermuda.

The Pompano Beach Club was the only hotel in Bermuda featuring in Trip Advisor’s 2008 Travellers’ Choice Awards announced earlier this month. It ranked 9th in the Top 10 Best Luxury Hotels in Latin America/Caribbean and 52nd in the Top 100 Best Luxury Hotels in the World.