Century old resort in Bermuda closes 60 per cent of property

Elbow Beach, located just outside Bermuda’s capital, Hamilton, has been recognised internationally as a leading hotel.

HAMILTON, Bermuda, October 22, 2009 – A 101-year-old Bermuda resort, named one of the world’s top hotels this year, will close more than half of its rooms next month, sending about 160 workers on the breadline. But it is expected to make a comeback, albeit on a smaller scale.

Management of the Elbow Beach Hotel said yesterday that while 98 suites and cottages on the 235-room property will remain open for business, it would shut the other rooms in its main hotel building by November 30th.

General Manager Frank Stocek said its entire food and beverages sector would also be closed and those services would be outsourced.

Although there had been a major development plan for the resort, Stocek said the global economic crisis had forced a decision to cut back on that.

Part of the ground floor of the property will reopen in March after a $10 million refurbishment, but hotel rooms in the main building will remain closed for three to four years.

“After 101 years of grand hospitality, Elbow Beach is poised to offer guests the next level of luxury accommodation in Bermuda,” Stocek said.

Owner Prince Khaled bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud added that he was proud of “the legacy of excellence” at Elbow Beach.
 
“With our renovation plans, we look forward to contributing to Bermuda's bright future as a unique tourist destination, by creating a luxurious resort that is in keeping with its heritage as the first luxury hotel to have opened on the island's south shore over a century ago,” he said.

Elbow Beach, located just outside Bermuda’s capital, Hamilton, has been recognised internationally as a leading hotel.

It was named by Travel + Leisure in the list of 500 World’s Best Hotels and took the number 18 spot in Travel + Leisure’s Top 25 Hotels in the Caribbean.

The hotel has been managed by the Mandarin Oriental Group since 2000.