Grotto Bay Beach Resort, Bermuda

Gord and I stayed at the Grotto Bay Beach Resort from Saturday, December 31, to Wednesday, January 4.

We were supposed to leave on Tuesday, January 3, but all flights to and from Bermuda got cancelled that day due to gale winds.

The person at the front desk offered us our room back for a rate of $139US plus taxes/services ... so about $180US for the night. We were originally on an all-inclusive package which included all drinks, food and a bus pass. It would costs us $99US each and we decided not to take that option since we hadn't taken advantage of it when we had it.

Food

Because it is off season, the poolside bar/restaurant were closed. There was only one restaurant open and that was in the main house. When we arrived, we had lunch since our room wouldn't be available to us until 4pm (we had a four hour wait). Gord had the buffet (not a lot of choice but he said it was okay). I ordered off the menu .. there is a good selection of things to choose from (American-based like sandwiches, burgers, wings, etc). The service was very slow as there were only two servers (they seem to have a skeleton staff since it's off-season) so have patience. Though we had the all-inclusive option, we only ate there for four breakfasts, two lunches and two suppers. The food was good but the slow service drove us nuts so we went elsewhere.

If you are not on the all-inclusive plan, expect to pay a couple dollars more than what you are used to at home. Tips (17%) are included on your bill automatically if you aren't on the all-inclusive plan (for most restaurants in Bermuda, tips are automatically included in your bill).

Food and drinks can add up ... you'll pay a couple $$ more than you're used to at home. It's a pain that for every meal/order you have to sign for it. It's not like in resorts in Mexico where you have a wrist band and can wander around getting food and drinks and then wander off.

If you are not on the all-inclusive plan, the Swizzle Inn (which is fun) a couple blocks away is the only place within walking distance to eat. Otherwise, you have to either take a cab or rent a scooter to eat.

Bar

There is only one bar at the hotel and it is very small. The service is extremely poor. Most times we had a 15 minute wait even if the bartender was there, we were first in line and there was only six people sitting at the bar. He was either talking to his buddy, talking on the phone or blatantly ignoring us. If he's busy, he should at least acknowledge us and let us know he was in the middle of something but they don't. It was maddening considering the ability to have drinks was included in the cost of our stay. Once you do get a drink, though, it's a generous pour and the liquor is high quality. Beer selection are a handful of American brands.

Nightlife

Nightlife is non-existent. As I said, there is only one bar and it is very quiet and slow. We were there for New Years Eve (we had dinner at the gala) and it was dead until 11:45ish. People showed up just before midnight, had their bubbly and then headed back to their rooms.

Room

Our room was a good size. We had a king bed, a balcony and a mini fridge. Our building was in the middle of the resort, halfway between the beach/pool and main house (walking to the main house was a steep uphill climb so beware if you have health problems).

WIFI

There is no WIFI in the rooms. You can use it in the main house but you have to pay for it. It is $10/hour to $70/week per device. Rather than buying it there, we would walk a couple blocks to the Swizzle Inn pub as they have free WIFI and we'd have a couple drinks while we got caught up with the world.

Property

The property is nice. It's not large so it's easy to get around. The pool and beach are fairly small. Alas, the weather wasn't great so we didn't get to enjoy them. The highlight are the grottos (caves) ... definitely worth going in and looking. You can even swim in there if you want. The water was very clear but chilly. There are tons of roosters and chickens all over the property and Bermuda running free. The roosters crow all day. We thought it was cute.

Location

The resort is less than ten minutes from the airport (you can see it from the resort) so you don't have to spend a lot of time on a bus getting there. And as everyone else has said, you can't hear the planes. The resort is a short bus ride ($5US return) from St. George's, a small historic town. There's not a lot there but it's worth spending a couple hours and checking it out.

Hamilton is about a 30 minute bus ride in the other direction. If you want to take the longer more scenic route, take bus #1 or #3. We went there on Monday, which was a bank holiday, so nothing was open which sucked. We walked around a bit and then took the ferry to the Dockyards. That's definitely a spot the check out. The buildings date back hundreds of years and there's so much history. The old and new prisons are there. There is shopping, a navy museum and a couple of pubs (one has a brewery and makes its own beer). We had a great time.

You can pick up the Bermuda Railway Trail nearby. It's 18 miles that has been turned into a hiking/walking trail. We spent a couple hours on it and ended up in Coney Island Park, which you can see from the resort. It was about a five mile walk there and back. Another must to do!

The Swizzle Inn pub is a couple blocks away. We spent a fair bit of time there because (1) free WIFI, (2) good food and (3) fun atmosphere. Even if you are on the all inclusive plan, you should check it out.

There is a convenient store in the hotel that you can buy snacks, etc. There is a bulk store across the street from the hotel but isn't really helpful unless you want something similar to a Costco. There is a gas station a couple blocks away where you can apparently buy booze, etc.

All-inclusive versus non all-inclusive

If you plan on staying on the resort and never leaving it, I recommend you take the all-inclusive option. Just remember to be patient because service is slow and you will be eating and drinking in the same place for every meal in the off-season.

If you plan on venturing out and exploring Bermuda, I wouldn't recommend the all-inclusive plan. We had it and definitely didn't get our money's worth. We ate and/or drank elsewhere every day for a meal.

Though we had a good time, we won't be going back to the Grotto if/when we go back to Bermuda. It was too quiet and isolated for us. And as I said, the service was friendly but slow in the restaurant and practically non-existent in the small bar. Considering the cost being there, they need to work on their customer service in that area.

We're home!

After the crazy weather yesterday and last night, we had our doubts whether our plane would be leaving today or not.

We could hear the wind howling during the night.

This is how it looked from our balcony when we woke up about 8am ...

It was still really windy but at least the sun was shining. The water was really choppy.

We walked up to the main building for breakfast and discovered that our noon plane was still on schedule. Yay!

We went back for our suitcases to catch our ride to the airport. We just got to the main building when it started raining ... and then Bermuda said good-bye to us with a beautiful rainbow.

Our flight was on time and we were home in our condo by 3pm.

We had a fun vacation but it's nice to be home again.

St. George's, Bermuda

Since Gord and I were unexpectedly spending an extra day in Bermuda, we took the bus to St. George's (about 20 minutes away).

St. George's (formally the Town of St. George or St. George's Town), located on the island and within the parish of the same names, was the first permanent settlement on the islands of Bermuda, and is often described as the third successful English settlement in the Americas, after St. John's, Newfoundland, and Jamestown, Virginia. However, St. George's is claimed to be the oldest continuously inhabited English town in the New World. Although Jamestown is normally described as having been founded in 1607, this was actually James Fort, which was not converted to Jamestown until 1619, seven years after the founding of St. George's. After the capital of Virginia was transferred from Jamestown to Williamsburg in 1699, Jamestown fell into disuse. Only below-ground achaeological remains of the town exist today. As the claim of St. John's to official establishment in the 16th Century, and to permanent settlement since that date are difficult to verify, St. George's is not simply the oldest successful English settlement in the New World, but was also the first such town established.

It was windy and kind of raining when we got there.

You can tell that it is an old settlement ... the buildings were awesome!

The weather got progressively worse as we were walking around (raining and windy) but we kept moving.

Look at those waves!

Gord got too close to the edge and got soaked by a wave.

When we caught the bus to go back to our hotel, it was still drizzling and the sun (what little there was) was setting.

It was a fun place to explore and I'm glad we got to see it.

Tavern by the Sea, St. George's, Bermuda

While we were walking around St. George's after our late lunch, we came across the Tavern by the Sea and stopped in for a couple drinks.

It's right on the water ... I imagine it's a happening spot during tourist season.

We like pubs and sat at the bar.

It's quite a big place.

Gunther was friendly and took good care of us. He moved to Bermuda from Austria 31 years ago and married Valerie, a local.

Wahoo's Bistro & Patio, St. George's, Bermuda

Gord and I had a late lunch at Wahoo's Bistro & Patio in St. George's.

There wasn't too much open in St. George's (a lot of places open seasonally).

It's a cute spot. There is a small front section.

They have ice cream in the front.

Gord and I headed to the back patio that overlooked the water.

The rain and wind really picked up while we were there ... good thing it was enclosed. We got to experience why our flight was cancelled earlier.

Gord had chicken wings and fish chowder (he really liked the chowder).

I had honey fried chicken and fries ... it was good.

Our flight got cancelled

When we woke up this morning, we looked outside and it was quite windy.

We packed our bags, dragged them up to the main building, had breakfast and went to check out ... then discovered that our plane had been cancelled because of gale winds. We are automatically booked on a flight tomorrow. We got our room back (and obviously had to pay for tonight) but declined the all-inclusive option (it's $99 each per day).

I have the rest of the week off but Gord was supposed to work tomorrow so he sent an email to his boss letting him know what's going on.

Here's the weather when we got back to our room ...

And then it got worse ... a lot worse!

Frog & Onion Pub, Bermuda

At the end of the walkway in the Victualling Yard was the Frog and Onion Pub.

The Frog & Onion Pub was created and opened in 1992 by a Bermudian (The Onion) and a Frenchman (The Frog).

Situated in the historic cooperage, which was completed in 1853 after the war of 1812. A cooperage is a workshop that built, repaired and dismantled barrels, casks and kegs.

The provisioning of wooden ships during the days of sail required that almost all provisions be packaged in barrels or casks so they could be man-handled, loaded and stored in the cargo areas of the ship. Empty water casks needed to be taken ashore in ships' boats for refilling at the watering place.

The cooperage space and adjacent Victualling Yard were converted to five storehouses in the 1940s and now finds itself home to The Frog and Onion Pub and so continues in the victualling business.

You know how much Gord love love loves beer. When he knew we were coming to Bermuda, he did some digging and discovered there is a brewery at the Frog & Onion and it was on his list of things we had to do.

It's a cute huge place that is built in the historic buildings. There are two patios.

Gord tried the sampler of five of their beer ... his favourite was the porter, with the IPA coming a close second.

I had the St. David's Lager ... it was tasty.

We sat at the bar.

Charles/Charlie (but don't call him Chuck!) took very good care of us. We had a ton of questions and he was very patient in educating us about Bermuda.

We were getting hungry so had lunch there. We both got burgers and fries. Here's Gord's ...

I know, mine looks boring but it was delicious!

Definitely a fun spot to stop in and spend a couple hours.

We had just missed the 3:30 ferry back to Hamilton so stopped in at a bar near the ferry dock for a drink to wait. Charles, the bartender from the Frog & Onion, showed up there too so we had a drink together. Once we got back to Hamilton, he took us to one of his favourite bars, the "Beach" (the Bermuda Bistro at the Beach aka the Shame of Front Street), for a drink.