The Best Hotels in Bermuda

A two-year, $100 renovation has made the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club Bermuda’s shining star once again. Aside from the overhaul of every guest room, splashy additions that have elevated this historic sleep to the next level. We’re talking Bermuda’s first full-service marina, an infinity pool, an indoor/outdoor spa, two harborfront restaurants—including one by celeb chef Marcus Samuelsson—and an impressive art collection featuring works by Warhol, Banksy, and Nelson Mandela. (No wonder the hotel was chosen to host the 35th America’s Cup.) In case that’s not enough, its private beach club awaits in Southampton Parish.

In Southampton Parish, this family-owned, 62-room sleep enjoys pride of place next to a dreamy pink-sand beach. Guests can choose between guest rooms, cottages, and suites, which have private balconies (with hot tubs) that overlook the surf. Our favorite way to spend the afternoon: paddle-boarding offshore, treating our sun-blasted skin to a massage and facial at La Serene spa, and eating at one of the property’s four restaurants (try Coconuts, with casual beachside tables, so you can dine with your toes in the sand).

It’s a palatial affair at this whitewashed British colonial-style retreat, whose grand public spaces are decorated with period antiques and island-inspired artwork. The 88 rooms are just as lavish done up in elegant wooden furniture and tasseled armchairs, with balconies that overlook the stunning harbor. After a splash in one of the three palm-lined pools or a round on the Robert Rulewich–designed golf course, head to dinner at The Point, where guests wear dresses and dinner jackets and settle into wingback chairs for elevated dishes like local yellowfin tuna with gingered snow peas or wild striped bass with razor clams.

It’s hard to believe four full decades have passed since a new hotel opened on Bermuda’s shores. So naturally the industry is abuzz over the Loren at Pink Beach, which opened in June and has thrown the island’s penchant for paisley and pastels to the wind. Its look is far more modern: think clean lines and dramatic statement pieces like the a glass spiral staircase in the lobby and mixed-media works by artists such as Vik Muniz. In a sea of aging cottages and old-fashioned sensibilities, it’s a breath of fresh air.

You can and should expect it all at Bermuda’s biggest hotel, which sprawls over 100 acres of hills and private beach above Bermuda Sound. Families, golf pros, business travelers—there’s something for everyone here, whether that’s kicking back by one of two free-form pools or the beach, taking part in free fun like movie screenings and cave excursions, getting in some much-needed pampering at the 31,000-square-foot spa, or unleashing your inner-foodie at one of eight on-site restaurants, which run the gamut from beachside seafood to an award-winning steakhouse.

The Elbow Beach resort feels more French Riviera than traditional Bermuda, with its bright blue umbrellas lining a rosé-colored stretch of sand and a canary- yellow main building built in 1911. It's no wonder you’ll find so many couples cozying up by the heated pool, drinking champagne on the balcony of their freestanding villa, and swapping bites at Mickey’s, a casual open-air restaurant that sits right on the beach. Families are also welcome here and there are no shortage of activities to keep all ages entertained, from kayaking and snorkeling near the offshore reef to zipping around the on hotel golf carts.

It may be one of Bermuda’s oldest cottage hotels, but Cambridge Beaches Hotel & Spa, on the island’s west end, knows how to keep things fresh: just look to the newly remodeled bungalows and a glam, just-built infinity pool which looks out over the main house and beaches beyond. Guests pay a premium to stay here, but the perks are worth it, including four private beaches, a guest-only marina, a highly acclaimed restaurant, member access to the island’s best golf courses, and a decadent spa with its own Roman-style solarium and retractable roof. Families should be wary: the hotel is adults-only for most of the year, and maintains a hushed, sophisticated atmosphere year-round.