Bermuda: clean, classy - and close

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• Location: Bermuda
• Holiday Types: Beach, Spa, Family holidays, Sporting, Getting there

• by: nickperry
• on: Wed 22 Feb 2012

22 like 5182 views

This was my first trip to Bermuda and I found myself surprised that it is a mere seven hours flight from the UK (and only six hours back). For some reason, I had always thought of Bermuda as more distant than that. On my return, I realised that many others also have the same impression; Bermuda really is surprisingly close and very easily accessible.  

Served daily in peak months, and five days a week in Winter, by British Airways with a four-class 777 from Gatwick, Bermuda is also just a four-hour time difference from the UK. So it is an ideal destination for short breaks and also for those seeking longer periods of island sunshine. 

The names of the towns and areas in Bermuda betray its British heritage – Somerset Village, St George, the capital Hamilton etc, and also the hotel where we were lucky enough to stay, Cambridge Beaches. It is a charming island, with the ocean and inlets never far from view. Houses in Bermuda can be any colour - and some bright ones have been chosen by residents - as long as they have the standard white concrete roof tiles to withstand the possible hurricanes in the Atlantic. It all creates a lovely, picturesque landscape. 

Nothing is far away on the island, with ferries and taxis - for those not brave enough to rent the ubiquitous mopeds - readily available and reasonable. 

For golfers, Bermuda is something of a paradise island, with several high-class courses. Port Royal is the venue for the prestigious Grand Slam of Golf each October, where the winners of the Majors that year compete in a special four-man tournament. It is always special to play where you have seen the top professionals perform on TV and the friendly staff at Port Royal are justly proud that their course hosts such an important event.

Some of the holes at Port Royal are stunning, especially the signature par-three sixteenth on the edge of the cliff, with the ocean on the left and the (seemingly tiny) green perched ahead, only reachable with a good shot which successfully allows for the wind off the Atlantic.

It was such a pleasure to return each day to the haven of Cambridge Beaches, a hotel on the Western tip of Bermuda. Its rooms, suites and cottages, all with private terraces or patios, are spread around the resort’s thirty acres of gardens and many have panoranic water views, as the hotel is almost completely surrounded by the ocean. Cambridge Beaches will gladly personalise your stay – with the excellent treatments in the Ocean Spa, by arranging candle-lit dinners on the beach and also by organising any exploration of Bermuda you would like to undertake – on land or via the water. It is a top-class hotel in a lovely setting.

If you're looking for a quick escape – or longer holiday – to a sunshine island, Bermuda must be very near the top of the list.

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