The New St. Regis Hotel Officially Opens
[Updated] St. Regis Hotel & Resort is set to officially open today [May 22] in the east end, with a small event set to be held to mark the occasion.
Their website describes the hotel by saying, “A haven of oceanfront elegance situated in the historic town of St. George’s, The St. Regis Bermuda Resort is just steps from the soft white sands of St. Catherine’s Beach. The calm turquoise water and stunning views create an iconic setting where lavishly appointed accommodations, exceptional amenities and impeccable service meets effortless luxury.
“Immerse in unparalleled leisure and wellness facilities. Overlooking azure waters, the pool deck area features two swimming pools, luxuriant loungers and private cabanas for an exclusive retreat. Enjoy state of the art cuisine at the flavorful all-day restaurant. Refined relaxation awaits at Iridium Spa, offering a comprehensive menu of unique personalized treatments using natural and precious elements. Younger guests are invited to enjoy unique amenities and enriching activities at The St. Regis Kids Club, while also creating lasting memories through meaningful family excursions and experiences.”
The event was granted a large group exemption, with the official notice stating: “Whereas the Minister of National Security considers that the proposed Opening of the St. Regis Hotel & Resort is justifying an exemption from the prohibition in section 5 [1] and [2] of the Public Health [Covid-19 Emergency Powers] [Phased Re-Opening] Regulations 2021 on groups of more than ten persons assembling;
“Now, therefore, the Minister grants an exemption under section 5 [5] of those Regulations to Laura Purroy, permitting a group of more than 10 persons to assemble on Saturday, May 22, 2021, between 10:00 am and 12:00 pm, at the St Regis Resort, 34 Coot Pond Road, St. Georges GE 03 with the following conditions:
“All persons attending the Opening of the St. Regis Resort must be in possession of a valid SafeKey QR Code issued by the Ministry of Health which will denote that persons have been fully immunised or have tested negative for the coronavirus in the last 72 hours.
“Maximum number of attendees – 30 persons. Duration of Exemption: 9:30am – 12:00pm Venue: St Regis Resort, 34 Coot Pond Road, St. Georges GE 03.’
Update 9.08pm: Premier David Burt tweeted the photo below and said, “Cut the ribbon at today’s opening of the St. Regis Hotel & Resort in St. George’s. It’s an exciting time for our tourism industry and it was great to see so many young Bermudians ready to welcome guests to this brand new luxury hotel which has created 140 new jobs in Bermuda.”
Only 30 people and they must be vaccinated or test negative? In the same Official notice (May 21) is an exemption for a wedding which allows for 55 people and only requires masks and social distancing. A hotel that is vital to the economy has more restrictions than a wedding? What happens to guests? Are they limited in number and subject to curfew and can they dine indoors? Rules seem to be getting blurred.
I wish the development well, but it’s very jarring to look at these graceless oversized boxes of buildings, so close to the beach and so close to Fort St. Catherine. It’s also far enough out of the old town that I suspect there won’t be a lot of foot-traffic between the hotel and the town.
Amazing no comments here.
Bermuda has become another world….
Bermuda is a world full of ungrateful, pampered people who don’t remotely appreciate the work that goes into keeping this island afloat. Peasants.
Des shright, damn peons, peasantry, useless eaters, sheep, good for noffins, “don’t wanna get wif di programme”, You heard him!
The picture looks straight out of Narcos.
Thanks premier for opening an OBA project.
He has to open whatever he can, even if he had nothing to do with the project.
Four years in power & he does not even have anything in the pipeline, unless of course talking about something counts. The often grandly announced causeway replacement comes to mind.
Must be covid at fault.
I honestly hope that this place does well, but I can’t see how that will happen.
They’ve essentially put up a hotel in the same place they took down another one about a decade ago… one that failed because the tourism model had shifted. Moving the hotel a little to the left, and branding it St. Regis won’t mean it won’t suffer the same fate at the Holiday Inn/Club Med that stood there before.
Bermuda basically has a four month tourism season, and unfortunately those summer months don’t align to the times when the bulk of travelers want to get away, which is Christmas and Spring Break. Is our weather better than that in Canada and the northern US during that time? Yes. Is it better than Cayman, Jamaica and The Bahamas? No. So people will fly (cheaply) further south; Bermuda is not a consideration for most vacation travelers anymore. It’s just not. So why are we adding new room inventory?
To me, building a new hotel on the site of a failed hotel is the very definition of insanity… doing the same thing and expecting a different result. We can’t even fill the hotel rooms we have now… the one’s on better beaches in hotels with better amenities. Why are we celebrating adding more rooms when there’s no demand. Factor in that the hotel itself looks like pre-fab military housing, it doesn’t bode well, St. Regis branding and Marriott marketing aside. I believe we had another Marriott just down the road a while back that didn’t make it either.
And Butterfield Bank, who did the financing, should know better. Bad hotel loans nearly took down the bank in 2009. Adding another big hotel loan to a hopsitality loan portfolio that still hasn’t been fully cleaned up should be something shareholders and analysts should question. I guess it’s not surprising, though. The same guys running Butterfield now are the ones who were at HSBC when it financed Tucker’s Point, which went bankrupt pretty quickly after opening. Maybe their new logo should have been a white elephant instead of a crippled duck.
The savior to the success of the St. Regis is the planned casino. Just check their job site – at least (6) positions are for the casino supervisors n managers.
That will bring in wealthy gamblers who can afford the $1,000 per night stay and tourists who would rather a 1 1/2 flight vs the long haul to Las Vegas.
The local Airbnb’s, restaurants n stores will benefit from their presence, too.
One caveat – As long as the casino opening is within a year or so.
So, all in all, I’m glad to see St. George being revitalized n wish the St. Regis n staff much success!
“A haven of oceanfront elegance situated in the historic town of St. George’s”
First, the town is called “St. George”. The parish is called “St. George’s”.
Second, the hotel is certainly not “in” the “historic town”, whatever you want to call it.
One might have hoped one of our leading politicians might have noticed and informed St. Regis of such fundamental mistakes about our beloved islands.
This is not an auspicious start for St. Regis in Bermuda.
I notice all the mask and social distancing
They MUST BE SEATED at a table in order to remove their masks!!! And only 6 max per table!!! The Premier’s actions are unforgivable given that he requires all of us to comply but he does not! Same fate for him as was for Zane and Wayne!!!
Rise up Bermuda! This arrogance is what keeps us from getting our lives back!!!
Remember that this was an obaUBP project.
Who can afford those prices. No meals included. The everyday person can not afford it. I will not stay there.
Currently listing next week at $1,100 before taxes for a standard room.
By anyone’s standards, that’s madness.
And its nowhere near finished.