We celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary in August this year and decided to go away for a long weekend. Westjet had a seat sale to Bermuda and, under Bermuda Tourism’s “Endless Summer” promotion, we got four nights accommodation for the price of three at Rosedon.
Included in the room rate at Rosedon is breakfast and afternoon tea every day. I had stayed there before but this was my husband’s first trip to Bermuda. It only took me 30 years to convince him to give it a try. He’s more of a “Caribbean Island” type of guy.
Westjet arrived on time, just after two in the afternoon on Friday, August 27. Customs and Immigration was quick and pleasant. We grabbed a taxi, driven by Mr. Stanley Herbert, a delightful gentleman who told us he was 81 years of age. He told us tales of his childhood in Bermuda as he drove us to the hotel.
Once at Rosedon, we were quickly shown to our room, one of those in the back section built around the pool. The young man who carried in our bags asked how long we would be staying. When we told him we would be leaving Tuesday, he said that we would miss the manager’s Swizzle Party, which is held on Tuesday nights. When he learned that my husband had never had a Bermuda Rum Swizzle, he left and came back just minutes later with a fresh Swizzle for both of us. Delicious and just part of the warm welcome at Rosedon. We had also found a fresh flower arrangement and a bottle of champagne in the room, courtesy of the hotel, wishing us a Happy Anniversary.
We had afternoon tea on the front porch of the hotel and then made our way across the street to Miles Market, in search of distilled water which my husband needs for a CPAP machine. Miles Market only had distilled water in huge containers intended for water coolers. Figuring that was waaaay too much, we went in search of the drugstore. They did not have it either but suggested the gas station. With the help of friendly Bermudians on the street, we found the gas station but no distilled water. We finally took bottles of some type of purified spring water. By this time, my husband figured he was on the walking tour of Hamilton!
On the way back we picked up plenty of Barrill’s Ginger Beer to stock the fridge in our room, along with rum and raisin ice cream from Miles Market.
That night we went for dinner at Portofino, an Italian restaurant within easy walking distance of Rosedon. We each ordered what we thought was a small pizza. Both were too big to finish but were very good, very fresh. Bill came to $70.00 for two pizzas, a glass of wine for me and a Long Island Iced tea for my husband. A 15% tip had been added to the bill – we found this to be the norm everywhere we ate or drank. (Don’t get me wrong here – I’m not complaining about the bill or the tip – just giving an indication of what things cost.)
Walking back to the hotel, we got caught in a brief rain shower but managed to get back reasonably dry.
I should mention that I was terrified that we would have three days of rain and wind, due to the proximity of Hurricane Danielle. In fact, we had bright sunshine and very warm weather the entire time we were there.
The next morning, and every morning we were there, we had breakfast on the patio outside our room. At Rosedon, you can have breakfast in your room, on the patio, by the pool or on the front veranda. You just have to call the kitchen and they come with breakfast, usually within five minutes. My husband timed them one day – three minutes from the time I put down the phone.
You do not get a choice of what to eat for breakfast – they bring whatever they are serving that day. It varies: scrambled eggs and sausage, French toast and bacon, pancakes and sausage, fried eggs and bacon, etc. It comes with fruit, juice, toast or muffins and tea or coffee and a local newspaper. It’s hot and it’s fast. I don’t know how they do it.
On the Saturday, we decided to go to the beach. Rosedon provides taxi rides to and from the south shore beach just next to Elbow Beach, along with use of beach beds and umbrellas. When I called to order the taxi, however, the front desk at Rosedon advised that we could not go to the beach, as there were riptide warnings and the beach bed and umbrella people were not working that day.
We decided instead to take a ferry ride out to the Dockyards, to do some sightseeing of the harbour and to have a look around the stores and craft markets that have been set up in the Dockyard area to amuse the cruise ship guests who dock there. After some sightseeing and shopping there, we took the ferry back to town and had a late lunch at the Hog penny, a pub in Hamilton. We both had the steak and kidney pie and a glass of ginger beer, really good pub fare. Lunch cost $52.00 for two of us.
After a bit more shopping, we went back to the hotel. My husband commented that he had never done so much walking in his life. After years and years of vacations in St. Martin with a rental car at his disposal, walking and riding the ferry made Bermuda a truly unique experience for him.
Later in the day, because we had day passes for the ferries and buses, we thought we would take a ride around the inner harbour on the ferry, to see the lights of the island after dark. However, the ferries don’t run late on Saturdays and Sundays, so we mosied on back up the road and stopped in at the bar of the Hamilton Princess Hotel, just across the street from Rosedon. We had a drink and some munchies and just relaxed in the Princess’ bar. Very nice. Very civilized. Two drinks – a Manhattan for me and another Long Island Iced Tea for hubby - was $28.00.
Sunday we decided to try the beach again. The hotel gave us taxi chits to get there and back and called a taxi for us. The driver left us at Elbow Beach, at their beach club. The fellow working here advised that Rosedon’s arrangements were with a rental company a bit further down the beach. Then he walked part of the way with us to see if they were open. They weren’t so we just spent some time checking out Elbow Beach and Coral Beach, then walked up the Tribe Road from the beach and caught a taxi to go to Horseshoe Bay.
I do have to add in here that the driver who picked us up on Southshore Road was the only unfriendly, unpleasant person we met during our trip. He was quite rude, telling us we’d stopped him in a bad place – we stopped him as he went past us – not sure where else we should have been. When my husband made a comment about how beautiful Bermuda was, the driver made some comment about “typical tourist remark” then went off on a rant about how Bermudians need to get off the island now and then and how everyone from Bermuda travels. Then he told us about going away to go to school and that he had a Master’s degree from an American university. Not sure why he needed to tell us all this in response to a compliment. Oh, well – it takes all kinds, I guess.
At Horseshoe Bay, they were renting beach beds but no umbrellas, saying they would be unsafe in the high winds. There were also signs warning about rip tides and what to do if you are swimming and get caught in one.
We spent some time on Horseshoe Bay beach, watching a beach volleyball tournament. We had yet more ginger beer and also ice cream. From there, we walked over to the Fairmont Princess and had a look at their beach. Then we took the bus back into town.
Figuring we would go out to dinner and use one of the “two for one” dinner coupons that the hotel had given us, again part of the “Endless Summer” promotion, we decided on a light lunch. Stopped at a place called Bouchee close to our hotel. My husband had a cheeseburger (Can you tell we’re not big “foodies”?) and I had the fish chowder and the homemade pâté with French bread and sweet onion jam. Really nice. Washed it down with more ginger beer at a cost of $55.00 for the two of us.
Then we went back to the hotel and sat by the pool. It was very quiet; we were the only people out there for quite a while. Very restful. I could sit there forever with a good book. Maybe call for a Swizzle……
For dinner we went to Barracuda, a restaurant in Hamilton, just above the Hog Penny Pub. Barracuda is quite a classy place, with excellent service. Warm rolls were served with a black olive tapenade. Then a mini-appetizer made of red beets, blueberries and blue cheese. I ate mine but my husband passed on his. The young woman who served us suggested that he was not very adventurous when it came to eating and he agreed.
For appetizers, my husband had the fish chowder and I had the seared scallops with chanterelles. We both had the roast lobster on linguini for the main course. For dessert, we had ice cream – vanilla, Bermuda honey and ginger – three scoops. Nice. Not too much. (Did I mention that we’re not foodies? Can’t think of anyone else I know who goes out to a really nice restaurant and has the ice cream for dessert!) We used one of the “two for one” dinner coupons here. With a glass of wine for me and a rum and coke for my husband, the bill was $115.00.
I should mention that the “Endless Summer” promotional material mentions free “meals”. This is not totally correct. You actually get one entrée free, not one entire meal. When the bill for drinks, appetizers, entrées and desserts, etc. is tallied, the price of one entrée (the lowest valued dish) is deducted from the bill. Just thought I should clarify this.
Monday, we walked up to the bus terminal and bought a day pass. We took the bus to St. George’s and wandered around the old town. I love the little narrow streets and the old Bermuda buildings. We toured St. Peter’s church and the main square, Town Hall, etc. We did a bit of shopping, stopped for ginger beer and then took the fast ferry back to Hamilton, along the North Shore, via the Dockyards. In Hamilton we did a bit more shopping and had lunch at Flanagan’s Pub on Front Street. We both had the catch of the day (snapper) Creole style, with coleslaw and “beans and rice”. With yet more ginger beer, lunch came to $80.00 for the two of us.
We walked back to our hotel, to rest our feet from all the walking. In the evening, we used our ferry passes to ride around on the ferry that covers the lower harbour. The sun was just setting as we left the dock and it was dark as we were coming back in. The lights on the shore, from all the houses and hotels, were really beautiful and it was a warm evening. A really nice ride. After the ferry ride, we stopped of at the Princess Hotel for some drinks before heading back to Rosedon.
I have to say that I never felt unsafe walking the streets of the city at night. There are other people around, a fair amount of traffic and the streets are well lit.
The next morning, Tuesday, it was time to go home. The taxi driver took us on the “scenic route” to the airport, past beautiful homes that we had not seen on the ride in. We had lunch at the airport at a little café just outside the security check. It was the first truly local food we had found – lamb curry and rice for my husband and chicken and white bean stew with roast potatoes for me. Really tasty and huge servings. $22.00 for both of us with, you guessed it, more ginger beer. Just a note here: we ate before we got on the plane since Westjet doesn’t serve meals on flights under three hours. They do sell sandwiches and wraps on the plane but they’re not that appetizing and you know it’s pretty bad when even people like us don’t want them.
Westjet was on time and we arrived home late in the afternoon, after a really pleasant few days on a spectacularly beautiful island.
P.S. My husband says his feet are still sore from walking!
