We stayed at Surf Side and were very pleased. Frankly, the reviews here frightened us. But, it was too late; we had already committed and paid for the stay. Wow, were we relieved! OK - it is NOT a luxury hotel. Don’t expect the Fairmont. The rooms definitely need a “face lift”. But, our room was very clean, as were the linens and grounds. In fact, the stealth cleaning staff had telepathy and knew exactly when we left our room for breakfast. When we returned, they were gone and our room was clean, even to the point of the tile floor having been washed. The pool also was clean. As we ate breakfast, we watched a crew clean the pool on several of the days we were there. (One word of caution for families, the pool is VERY small and there are no amenities.)
All the rooms have gorgeous views of the ocean. AND, THE BEACH IS BACK! While small, maybe a half mile long, it’s a picture-perfect, pink sand Bermuda beach. Because of its isolated location, at the bottom of a staircase/trail, it was not crowded. On most days, we shared the beach with no more than about 10 other people.
The staff was friendly, helpful, and accommodating, adding to the overall ambiance. We had no problems getting martini glasses, beach chairs & umbrellas, or a late checkout. When we told the manager our flight was at 7:50 PM, he let us stay in our room until 5 PM. We had another full day on the beach with a shower before heading home!
LuLu and the other restaurant staff were exceptional. Each day, they remembered who we were, our room number, and our usual choices. A full breakfast was included and it was always very good with fresh fruit (great melon), perfect poached eggs, and variety. We ate several lunches and dinners at the restaurant, called the Palm; those meals also were quite good and reasonably priced for Bermuda. Great fresh fish, perfectly rare lamb chops, just as ordered, and great daily soups! It sounds strange, but try the squash and parsnip soup. It’s fabulous! We had it the first night and were so disappointed when it wasn’t served again for a few days! We ate one evening at BLU, a highly over-rated, “too cool” restaurant close by. The service was terrible, the menu was limited and boring (who goes to Bermuda to eat pizza?) and the prices were high. In the end, we wished we had stayed at Surf Side and had a better meal at the Palm with friendly, attentive staff.
Other good points of Surf Side: Free wireless internet access in the lobby area only, the bus stop is at the end of the driveway, the ferry wharf is about a one-mile walk which helps take off the calories from the good meals, and they arrange for motor scooter rental if requested.
We would definitely stay here again and plan to return in October. We have already recommended it to friends. One word of advice…We found out that we might have gotten a better deal if we had booked through the hotel. So, check that out before booking online.
If you go, try out a few other restaurants where we had very good meals with great service: Lobster Pot (a local favorite), Harbor Front (great sushi happy hour but you need reservations), and Tom Moore Inn (a long ride from Surf Side but worth it).











