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Rooms
While the main building is the one showcased on many of Elbow
Beach’s brochures, and while it looks appealing in a Grand Hotel
sort of way, at this point, this buttercup-yellow building is in
serious need of renovation—which is apparently due to commence in
November 2007. Until then, your best bet is to stay at one of the
104 ocean view cottages (approximately 600 square feet, with names
such as Oleander and Alamanda,) which have been impeccably renovated
to five-star standards, complete with Italian marble spa bathrooms
and brand-new lanais, and furnished in a streamlined and
contemporary manner, all the better to appreciate that pristine
beach and the azure ocean—right outside your door.
Public Spaces
Staying in one of the cottages means having the gardens—fifty
acres of them—as your front and back yards, and the grounds are
indeed lusciously appointed, complete with hammocks and benches,
flowering bushes and towering cypress, and all situated so as to
best appreciate the hillside views of the splendidly blue ocean and
pink sand beach.
Atop the hill, in the main building, the Verandah Bar with its
full-length porch also affords splendid ocean views—and countless
varieties of rum. And the Seahorse Grill is lovely for breakfast,
birds hopping across the floor in search of crumbs, and romantic at
dinner and well known for its new Bermudian cuisine.
Just down the hill but still on the hotel property, there’s Lido,
run by Little Venice Group, serving some of the best food on the
island. Also managed by Little Venice Group, is Mickey’s Bistro,
smack dab on the beach and surely one of the more splendid settings
for a meal.
Breakfast
A full buffet at the Seahorse Grill (enough food and variety to
leave you comatose for the remainder of your stay) offered on the
lushly-planted porch of the dining room, windows flung open to the
sounds of birds and the ocean. What a lovely way to start the day.
Staff
Leave your hurry behind; things will get done when they get
around to doing it. It’s Bermuda—get used to it.
Location
A five-minute cab ride away from Hamilton, the “big city” of
Bermuda (population 1,000-1,500 depending upon who’s fishing),
costing approximately ten dollars—but the cabs are nearly always
lined up underneath the Elbow Beach’s imposing porte cochËre.
Overview
A combination resort hotel and cottage colony, the Elbow Beach,
originally built in 1908, has history—and as its new owner, Mandarin
Oriental is working to honor its fabled past while meeting the needs
of a luxury client. Admittedly, there is work to be done—and yet
there’s much to be said for the Zen calm of the exquisite setting
and its many pleasures.
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