Whether you visit Bermuda in April for the spectacular whale-watching season, or any other time of the year, the Pompano Beach Club in Southampton Parish is a destination in itself as the ideal base for exploration. This expansive, welcoming beachside resort has something for everyone of all ages: a pristine beach, verdant Port Royal Golf Course, tennis court, two gourmet restaurants and poolside lunch service, three hot tubs, a wading pool, spacious suites with jaw-dropping views, a heated pool, ping-pong, a pool table, a board game room, a fitness room, a reading room, an incredible spa, and much more. It’s also situated in a pink sand paradise that is studded with palm trees and lush foliage.
The Pompano Beach Club has repeatedly garnered Certificate of Excellence Awards: 6 from Trip Advisor and a World Travel Award, too. Foodies will savor the resort’s fresh fish dishes, and guests can even arrange to go fishing with others at the hotel on a chartered boat. My son opted to do it and caught a Horse-Eye Jack, a Chubb, a Grouper, a Double Strawberry Fish and a Blue Parrotfish. When he returned with his fish bounty, the hotel’s kitchen staff expertly showed him how to prepare the fish for cooking, and then pan-seared them for him for lunch and dinner. You really can’t get much fresher than that, and the chefs are superb.
The Pompano Beach Club is also place where you can spend days enjoying its various offerings and never tire of the exquisite views and friendly staff. Swim at the heated indoor pool, where smoothies are created upon demand at the Coral Reef Café — and seafood wraps and other delicacies are delivered to your poolside umbrella table. Soak up the sun at the beach, and parents with young children will find sand castle-building equipment and floats, and a game room that offers air hockey and (free) arcade games. Snorkeling equipment can be borrowed from the front desk.
Wedding parties and honeymooners will definitely want to hit the spa for pampering treatments and mani-pedis, and the fitness room with its inspiring ocean views for sunrise and/or sunset workouts. The Ocean Grill and Cedar Room restaurants overlook the Atlantic Ocean’s ever-shifting color displays of teal, light blue, sky blue and navy hues. From dawn to dusk, the lighting and colors in Bermuda are incredibly gorgeous and stretch beyond description. Buildings are painted in pastel colors, and rooftops are uniformly white; Bermuda buildings are also required by law to be painted twice a year, so the result is a polished, stunning view. To hurricane-proof the island, many structures are made out of a lovely, sturdy limestone that looks like ancient stone. And at night, there are so many stars hanging over the Atlantic Ocean that you’ll feel as though you’re in a fairy tale. You’ll be able to see them from the balcony on your suite before you settle in to a dream.
All 75 of Pompano’s rooms offer ocean views and spacious accommodations, which is a refreshing alternative to the overcrowding at many other Bermuda resorts. Rooms also have all of the amenities you would want or need, including individual temperature control and panoramic ocean views.
To explore this friendly island where people are always waving and beeping hello to each other, you can rent a Vespa, a moped, a car, or a bicycle – or ride a ferry, or hop on one of the huge pink buses that provide easy access to all parts of the tiny country. Hamilton is the major city, and the country is divided into 9 parishes. Southampton and Pompano Beach Club feature beautiful beaches and are situated within easy range of the Royal Dockyard’s quaint shops and boats-for-hire.
There’s a British vibe in Bermuda, underscored by the fact that everyone drives on the left, there’s plenty of Cadbury chocolate, and you can purchase digestive biscuits. Another clue: the enormous picture of the Queen that graces the airport wall. It’s also a place beloved by actor Michael Douglas and actor/director Clint Eastwood, as both own sprawling properties there. Be sure to try the local fish stew, which is flavored with local dark rum and topped off with a spicy oil mixture. The Mahi-Mahi, Tilefish, Rockfish, ginger beer and rum cake are all highly recommended.
Don’t pass up an opportunity to watch whales as they frolic, spout and flip their tails with impunity in the salty, cold Atlantic waters. They travel past Bermuda during the first two weeks of April, but if you visit at any other time, you’ll still see plenty of other amazing sights in the deep ocean: twisting sea turtles, flying fish (they exist!), long-tailed white birds that look like something out of a Dr. Seuss book, and languid jellyfish. Not to mention unbelievable views of the shoreline, the ocean, and the sky.
You don’t need to leave the Pompano Beach Resort to commune with nature though, because birds will flit about you at breakfast – since they fly freely in and out of the resort – and fish will gather around the shoreline in the late afternoon. None of them bite, and you’ll be able to look down through the crystal clear water and see various types of tropical fish, some minuscule and some quite large. On the beach, I spotted a baby lizard, enormous snails attached to rocks, and gigantic beetle fossils. You’ll also find fresh aloe vera plants dotting the trails of the property, palm trees, and bright tropical flowers. The resort is multi-tiered because it’s on a hillside so you’ll find dozens of different views and photograph angles.
The most amazing feature of this resort is that it manages to feel like home to all who visit. Perhaps that’s why people return year after year. It’s a family owned and operated business, and that makes a difference.
For resort pictures, rates, booking, more information about the property, and/or to arrange airport transfers, visit PompanoBeachClub.com
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