A Rose Among No Thorns

We here at H&K try to keep our reviews relevant to what people want to know the most. Clients and travelers simply want to know if the service was good to great? How was the food and beverage on property? How nice and how clean were the rooms? Did the resort or hotel gets things right?

That is, in general, the info used to make certain travel decisions.

So first, let me set the stage of the trip. This was a 4 night stay in Bermuda during the middle of October. We flew nonstop from JFK to BDA via American Airlines. Flight was uneventful, which is big plus these days and a quick flight. From takeoff to touchdown it was a short 1 hour and 45 minute flight. That fact alone makes Bermuda a great destination for anyone departing from the eastern part of the US. Couple the short flight with the advantage of customs pre-clearance for US citizens returning to the States makes Bermuda a huge winner. Add in yet another fact that Bermuda is Zika-free and a warm, tropical destination makes it a winner winner.

But lets be clear of what Bermuda is not. It is not a low budget destination. It is also not an all inclusive destination. Frankly that makes it even more appealing in my opinion. The landscape is not littered with one resort after another taking away from the beauty of the Country and it is not full of vacationers who just want to double fist their drinks at the all inclusive's swim up bar or belly up to the all you can eat buffet.

Bermuda is simply a getaway destination for those who truly want a respite from their busy lives and who want to take in some beautiful tropical scenery, some waves lapping up on pink sand beaches and who want to be welcomed by the friendliest and warmest of people. This is all why Bermuda has become our favorite palm-tree laden destination for our clientele.

Now...lets get to the resort of choice for this trip. Rosewood knows luxury. We had no doubt about that. But luxury can sometimes breed pretentiousness and stuffiness. But in Rosewood's case, it simply means they know how to treat every client that walks through their door regardless of background or bank accounts etc., like they are the most important client of the day. The resort is somewhat plain if looking only at the outside of the buildings themselves but it fits with the architecture that is found throughout Bermuda. And honestly...the exterior allows you to focus on what is truly beautiful about the location which are the views of the Atlantic (which every room has) and the lush gardens throughout and around the property.

Check in went very smooth and fast. We arrived around 11am so our room was not yet ready but here is where Rosewood gets luxury and gets service. Instead of simply saying..."Go ahead and eat lunch and come back in a while and see if your room is ready," like so many hotels and resorts do, especially the all inclusive properties down in Mexico and the Caribbean, the staff offered to escort us to the spa with our luggage so we could change into pool attire. They showed us to the men's and women's locker areas of the spa and then said we could leave our luggage in the spa and they would deliver to our room and text us when it was ready.

So off to the pool we went and we actually forgot that we were not yet checked into our room until a couple of hours passed and I checked my phone and found that they indeed did text us and said we could come to the front desk to pick up our room keys whenever we were ready. We were enjoying our first "Dark and Stormy" and the view from the pool and had already kicked it into full vacation gear and our room being ready was not a priority.

So after a few hours of soaking in some sun, eating some excellent lunch and maybe another drink (or two), we went to see our room. Our room was what we call a "lead in category" room. It was the manor house superior which is the lowest priced room on property. I say that to say...wow, it was incredibly spacious and beautifully and tastefully decorated which is far better than a lot of "lead in category" rooms at other so-called luxury resorts. There is plenty of storage and the bed was uber-comfortable. Even the bathroom made you feel pampered by its size as well as the amenities. Loved the tub! Double vanities are always a nice touch as is the separate toilet room and huge shower. Housekeeping did a marvelous job of keeping it clean and kept and we really hardly ever heard the staff. A nice touch were the fuzzy slippers that the turndown staff always placed in front of each sink in the bathroom each evening. Rosewood Bermuda uses Heeley bath products from Paris which maybe happened to make it home with us as well.

So moving on to the pools and outdoor spaces. 4 pools and a kids pool can be found on property. Three are on the main grounds (spa pool, resort pool and a quieter pool) and the kids pool and another resort pool can be found down at the private beach club. A van shuttles you back and forth from the main building down to their private beach club which is actually shared between private club members and resort guests. We were down at the beach club 2 out of the 4 days. The huge benefit of the private beach club is that you have access to a secluded/private beach as well. From the time you wait for the van until the time you are at the beach club is really no more than about 30 minutes so we felt it was not a hassle at all to take advantage of the private pool, restaurant and beach. Just pack your beach bag accordingly and go and relax. We found the food and drink to be the same at both the resort pools and the beach...all were amazingly delicious. And the servers were very professional and fast and worked hard at calling you by name after they first met you. Again...a nice touch that some luxury resorts neglect.

I mentioned the "Dark and Stormy" and the pool food so lets now address the food and beverage on property. Is it expensive compared to eating off property? Yep it is. But, we found ourselves not wanting to leave the property at all during our short stay because again, the service and warmth of the resort staff made you feel right at home. So you will not be disappointed by their food to say the least. Everything we tried we loved. They know how to take a simple burger and make it into a foodie's dream (i.e. the Gombey Burger). They know how to take seafood stew and add two secrets to it that make you want to stand up and do the cha-cha at the table. Thats a good thing by the way. They know how to prepare and present...end of story. From their pool-side choices to their bar menu to their finer dining establishments, everything was fantastic. Here is a tip...if you are afraid of breaking the bank at their resort-casual yet finer dining venues, just stick with their antipasti bar at Sul Verde or try one of their authentic Neapolitan pizzas. You won't be disappointed and your wallet will still like you. Food service was always fast but more importantly friendly and welcoming. And when it comes to Tucker's Bar and their amazing mixologists? Forget about it, as some say up here in the Northeast. We had to visit Tucker's Bar every night for a nightcap. Yes...we had to! You can tell the bartenders enjoy and take pride in what they do. We loved our tonic taste testing so we could understand why one tonic is so much better than others when it comes to the classic gin and tonic. And we also loved our lesson in why vodkas are so vastly different from brand to brand. The staff took time to visit and to learn about us as much as we were enjoying learning about them.

So can you tell that we think the Rosewood Bermuda Tucker's Point is spot in when it comes to a luxury resort? I don't think I have left any reader doubting that we loved our stay. You really can't go wrong when choosing a stay at any of Bermuda's luxury resorts, but we truly feel that the Rosewood is THE rose among a garden of thornless roses.