Bermuda - Mini Trip Report May 2022

[Glee Fan]

The main purpose of our trip was to celebrate my 50th birthday which was in April - the plan had originally been Singapore but with Covid restrictions, we decided to leave that for another time. I had been looking forward to this trip for a long time but very suddenly in March my mum passed away, and I found it difficult to summon any enthusiasm after that, but she was excited for us going and we decided we still needed to go and have a lovely time, which we absolutely did. You still need to test for Bermuda, so it was a bit hairy until those all important negative tests came through two days before and we were good to go. We flew World Traveller Plus direct from Heathrow with BA and stayed for 10 nights.

Where we stayed
We stayed at the Newstead Belmont Hills Golf Resort & Spa in Paget, it took about 30 minutes to get there from the airport. I booked through BA. After much deliberation between a few different resorts, we decided on here as they offered a studio, which had a small kitchenette, and we thought it would be nice to not have to eat out every night and good to have a fridge to keep our drinks cool! When we checked in, I was wished a Happy Birthday which I thought was odd, as I hadn’t mentioned it on the booking and we were given our room number and told our luggage would be brought down to us. I was amazed when we opened the door, we had been upgraded to a one bedroom suite right on the waterfront that had its own lounge area, separate bedroom and more substantial kitchen.

We had walked by the most magnificent looking pool and an amazing sunset was just starting, but we also had a stunning view over the harbour towards Hamilton on the other side.

I also noticed when we got in the room that there was a Happy Birthday balloon and a bouquet of flowers on the dining table, and when I went into the kitchen there was a plate of chocolate covered strawberries, a plate of cupcakes and also a bottle of pink champagne too. My dh had arranged it all with the concierge before we went as a surprise, I was shocked and a little bit emotional! That’s how they knew at check-in we were celebrating my birthday!

We decided to go for a bit of a walk around the hotel and go and grab a drink from the bar. I had a glass of rose and my dh had a cocktail - I think it was at that moment we realised just exactly how pricey Bermuda actually was going to be! $36.75 for the 2 drinks with 17% gratuity automatically added on - wow!

Another plus of the hotel was that they run a ferry/catamaran over to Hamilton several times a day which was really handy and something we used a lot.

[Glee Fan]

What we did and saw

Bermuda Food Tour - we have done these in lots of different places we have been to and they are always good fun. Our guide Craig was a local and a bit of a minor celebrity, he seemed to know everyone! We visited lots of different food places and sampled some really good food, all served with more often than not, an alcoholic drink. We had a great time and went back to a few of the places for breakfasts and dinners. The last place we were taken to was actually a jewellery shop where they made pieces with the special pink sand in it. We did get a glass of pink fizz in here and Godiva chocolates whilst we watched the artists make the jewellery. We were both given a bag, with a gift card in it. As it was my birthday I was given a voucher for $50 to spend and my dh got $10, so we went back another day and put more money towards it, and I got a special necklace shaped like the island to take home with me.

Island Tour - I joined a Facebook group about Bermuda and there were lots of recommendations on there for tour guides, so I chose one and contacted him. We booked a date and he sent through lots of things we could cover in an itinerary and we could discard anything we weren’t so keen on, it was totally in our hands. Unfortunately the weather on that day wasn’t so kind to us, so a few of my pics look a bit dark and cloudy, but it was still really warm. He was a fantastic guide, very knowledgeable and we learnt so much about the island, its history and the people. He also gave us a bottle of Rum Swizzle to enjoy, which was actually quite strong, but very good!

Crystal & Fantasy Caves - this was a bus trip away as it was back near the airport, but a really stunning place, with lots of steps down into the amazing caves.

Beaches - so many stunning beaches, we were taken to some really off the beaten track ones that tourists don’t usually go to by our guide. They were all so quiet as well.

Royal Naval Dockyard - where the cruise ships dock. I feel that this area has been affected by Covid as a lot of the shops were sadly closed, but still a nice place for a wander around and it was here that I got the all important Christmas decorations to take home with us!

Sunset Catamaran Cruise - I booked this before we went and we had a great time. Unlimited Rum Swizzle cocktails and warm, freshly baked cookies - what more could you want?

Moongates - lots of them dotted around the island. They are seen as a symbol of luck, especially to newlyweds or to those on honeymoon, so apparently there are often brides and grooms seen going through them.

Sail GP - this was going on whilst we were there and was a big thing on the island. There was a GB Team and Sir Ben Ainslie was heading it up. We could see the actual race in the distance from our balcony but watched it on the TV as we were nowhere near close enough to see which team was which. We had seen them practising earlier in the week when we took the ferry to the Dockyard.

The Unfinished Church - it was getting ready for a wedding

The smallest drawbridge in the world!

Other lovely places we saw!

[Glee Fan]

What we ate (and drank!)

Plenty of cocktails - Bermudian cocktails are the Rum Swizzle and the Dark and Stormy, but my fave is still the Pina Colada

Wahoo Sandwiches - local fish sandwich made with raisin bread. Had several of these!

Ice cream

Breakfasts

Italian - they made a vodka parmesan pasta where it is cooked inside the parmesan cheese! This was a wonderful experience but was our most expensive dinner at over $250 for the two of us. We did this on our last evening but it was definitely worth it.

Sunday Brunch - we decided to do this at our hotel as the public transportation doesn’t run so often on a Sunday and taxi’s charge time and a half! Every week there is a theme and it this time it was Mexican, along with sushi, salads, roast beef and lamb, Yorkshire Puddings, pastas, desserts - you name it. There was also a special offer on Prosecco at $40 a bottle - less than half price - so it would have been rude not to partake…

Cheesecake - just wonderful

Overall, we did have such a lovely time after a tough couple of months, it was just what was needed. The hotel was wonderful, the weather was warm at about 25-26 degrees, but not bright sunshine all the time. The weather was a bit unpredictable but I guess only being a 21 mile long island in the middle of the Atlantic, it’s bound to be, but that said, it actually suited us perfectly. We used a variety of transport - taxis, buses, ferries and hotel shuttle which was a complimentary service and ran to the golf course and the beach and back on request. However, Bermuda is really expensive, again we knew that, but I think it was probably more pricey than we had anticipated but that didn’t stop us from doing anything. We have some really special memories of our trip and are now looking at planning on going back to the US for our next one. I’ve been quite brief in this report, but if anyone has any specific questions, please just ask and I can give more detail!

[2point]

Fabulous pictures.

Such a beautiful Island and the locals are really friendly.

Thanks for the trippie!

[margyloveswdw]

Wow, it looks stunning! Glad you enjoyed your trip.

[MariaLynda]

What a wonderful trip. It looks beautiful and the temperatures are much more manageable! X thanks for sharing. X

[ClaireNJ]

Originally Posted by Glee Fan

The main purpose of our trip was to celebrate my 50th birthday which was in April - the plan had originally been Singapore but with Covid restrictions, we decided to leave that for another time. I had been looking forward to this trip for a long time but very suddenly in March my mum passed away, and I found it difficult to summon any enthusiasm after that, but she was excited for us going and we decided we still needed to go and have a lovely time, which we absolutely did. You still need to test for Bermuda, so it was a bit hairy until those all important negative tests came through two days before and we were good to go. We flew World Traveller Plus direct from Heathrow with BA and stayed for 10 nights.

Where we stayed
We stayed at the Newstead Belmont Hills Golf Resort & Spa in Paget, it took about 30 minutes to get there from the airport. I booked through BA. After much deliberation between a few different resorts, we decided on here as they offered a studio, which had a small kitchenette, and we thought it would be nice to not have to eat out every night and good to have a fridge to keep our drinks cool! When we checked in, I was wished a Happy Birthday which I thought was odd, as I hadn’t mentioned it on the booking and we were given our room number and told our luggage would be brought down to us. I was amazed when we opened the door, we had been upgraded to a one bedroom suite right on the waterfront that had its own lounge area, separate bedroom and more substantial kitchen.

We had walked by the most magnificent looking pool and an amazing sunset was just starting, but we also had a stunning view over the harbour towards Hamilton on the other side.

I also noticed when we got in the room that there was a Happy Birthday balloon and a bouquet of flowers on the dining table, and when I went into the kitchen there was a plate of chocolate covered strawberries, a plate of cupcakes and also a bottle of pink champagne too. My dh had arranged it all with the concierge before we went as a surprise, I was shocked and a little bit emotional! That’s how they knew at check-in we were celebrating my birthday!

We decided to go for a bit of a walk around the hotel and go and grab a drink from the bar. I had a glass of rose and my dh had a cocktail - I think it was at that moment we realised just exactly how pricey Bermuda actually was going to be! $36.75 for the 2 drinks with 17% gratuity automatically added on - wow!

Another plus of the hotel was that they run a ferry/catamaran over to Hamilton several times a day which was really handy and something we used a lot.

See more...

Lovely views looks stunning
Those cupcakes too
Yummy 😋😋

[ClaireNJ]

Originally Posted by Glee Fan

What we ate (and drank!)

Plenty of cocktails - Bermudian cocktails are the Rum Swizzle and the Dark and Stormy, but my fave is still the Pina Colada

Wahoo Sandwiches - local fish sandwich made with raisin bread. Had several of these!

Ice cream

Breakfasts

Italian - they made a vodka parmesan pasta where it is cooked inside the parmesan cheese! This was a wonderful experience but was our most expensive dinner at over $250 for the two of us. We did this on our last evening but it was definitely worth it.

Sunday Brunch - we decided to do this at our hotel as the public transportation doesn’t run so often on a Sunday and taxi’s charge time and a half! Every week there is a theme and it this time it was Mexican, along with sushi, salads, roast beef and lamb, Yorkshire Puddings, pastas, desserts - you name it. There was also a special offer on Prosecco at $40 a bottle - less than half price - so it would have been rude not to partake…

Cheesecake - just wonderful

Overall, we did have such a lovely time after a tough couple of months, it was just what was needed. The hotel was wonderful, the weather was warm at about 25-26 degrees, but not bright sunshine all the time. The weather was a bit unpredictable but I guess only being a 21 mile long island in the middle of the Atlantic, it’s bound to be, but that said, it actually suited us perfectly. We used a variety of transport - taxis, buses, ferries and hotel shuttle which was a complimentary service and ran to the golf course and the beach and back on request. However, Bermuda is really expensive, again we knew that, but I think it was probably more pricey than we had anticipated but that didn’t stop us from doing anything. We have some really special memories of our trip and are now looking at planning on going back to the US for our next one. I’ve been quite brief in this report, but if anyone has any specific questions, please just ask and I can give more detail!

See more...

I’m with you on the Pina Colada, I think it’s my fav too
That fish sandwich looked very nice
So glad you had a lovely time celebrating your 50th 🎂🎂🎂🎂💕💕💕

[kateh134]

Sounds absolutely wonderful! My grandpa worked there many years ago and it’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit.

[Glee Fan]

Originally Posted by 2point

Fabulous pictures.

Such a beautiful Island and the locals are really friendly.

Thanks for the trippie!

See more...

Thank you for reading, you are so right about the locals! As they got on the bus they'd shout good morning to everyone, so friendly!

Originally Posted by margyloveswdw

Wow, it looks stunning! Glad you enjoyed your trip.

See more...

It really was a beautiful place, thanks for reading

Originally Posted by MariaLynda

What a wonderful trip. It looks beautiful and the temperatures are much more manageable! X thanks for sharing. X

See more...

Definitely a manageable temperature - especially now I am of a certain age