This was our second visit to this lovely Island of Bermuda. It is perhaps one of our favourite places in the World!

My wife and I were travelling with my mother-in-law so we needed a base with two separate units. Hotels are expensive and eating out isn't cheap so a self catering studio was a good option for budget travellers like us who like a little luxury along the way.

We found just the place - Watford Studios. Two, one bedroom units close together. They could be hired separately but my mother-in-law took the smaller Unit 1 and we had Unit 2 that had a separate kitchen and small lounge plus a balcony overlooking the Atlantic.

We took a taxi from the airport to Watford Studios at a cost of £30. This was the only major travel expense.

We were not disappointed. The first plus, was location. Situated a minute's walk from both Watford Bridge Ferry stop and a pink bus, bus stop. Perfect, as the only way to get about is by bus/ferry. £23 for a 7 day pass with unlimited travel on the island. The buses and ferry all run up to midnight and are very punctual.

Studio 2 was lovely. A first floor apartment on the hillside with a double balcony with views toward Hamilton and Bermuda Bay. The apartment was clean, simply furnished with tiled floors. The bedroom had aircon and it was just a perfect place to be for the week.

Studio 1 was slightly cheaper. It had a self contained bedroom, lounge and kitchen with separate bathroom. It had a nice fairly private patio with restricted views of the Atlantic. Again the place was clean and comfortably furnished.

To hire both was great as we ate and sat out in Studio 2 and my mother-in-law simply used her place to sleep, though she did sit out a few times on her private patio.

The owners lived in an adjoining house and were very hospitable. Christine could not be a better host. She ran us to the Supermarket - a five minute drive away - on the first night when we arrived. She also bought our 7 day passes for us - a plus as you need to go into Hamilton to buy them normally so we were all ready for off with our passes first thing the following day.

As mentioned, the ferry and bus stop are yards away and we watched the ferries come and go throughout our stay. Dockyard is only 10 minutes by ferry and 30 minutes into Hamilton. We went to all corners of these lovely islands during our one week stay and can only say that we will return to Bermuda again and again.

The island is very safe, the people are very friendly and there are few places if any that you would feel uncomfortable walking around even at night (unlike some other Caribbean Islands)

We ate out 3/7 nights fairly cheaply at one of two or three local restaurants. I would recommend the Salt Rock Grill Restaurant that was only a short walk away. Good choice of food and some nights there was an 'all you can eat' barbeque. You could sit outside with fantastic sunset views over Mangrove Bay.

The Studios also had a private jetty where we could sunbathe and swim quite safely. There was no beach here but there are plenty of pink sandy beaches to visit around the island. The nearest to Watford was only a five minute walk away with further beached 10 and 15 minutes away toward Cambridge.

During our stay I retraced the site of the Bermuda Railway. The railway trail makes a great off-road walk and you can retrace it almost the full length of the island. I hope to create a website on the history railway www.bermudarailway.co.uk in the coming months.

On our return to the airport we took the ferry to Hamiltion. We could have boarded a bus from there to the airport but a taxi only cost £12.

I would definitely recommend Watford Studios - in particular Studio 2. The costs are affordable for Bermuda probably as they are well out of Hamilton. Don’t be put off by this as no one goes anywhere quickly in Bermuda and after all the island is only 20 miles long.

We stayed here for just over a week last year & thoroughly loved the place. Our host Christine was really great & had a vast knowledge of the island with lots of handy tips to make our stay that much more enjoyable. We stayed in 2 different studios both of which have a fully equipped kitchen so ideal for making your own meals to save a little money. (Bermuda is not cheap!) Also very comfortable beds, great views of the harbour, free cable TV & internet access. There is a small local supermarket nearby which is adequate for most needs which Christine happily takes you to & from on your arrival to help you get settled in. The location is ideally placed next to the ferry stop with regular ferries to the Dockyard & over to the capital Hamilton. The bus stop is literally metres away with the numbers 7 & 8 bus approx every 10-15 mins. Number 7 bus takes you to the popular South Shore beaches but there are also smaller local bays & beaches to explore nearby. This is a quieter part of the island & slightly away from the main tourist spots but it does still provide you with easy access to everything. Word of warning the buses do get very crowded at peak times, especially when the cruise liners are in dock but it's all part of the experience. Recommend trying the Sunday Brunch at Seahorse Grill & sushi at Salt Rock Grill or during the happy hour at The Harbourfront. Lunch specials at The Lobster Pot are great value. All in all we had a brilliant time there & would definitely return.

When we booked our stay at Watford Studios, we were hoping to have found a location that was a great value, convenient to our sightseeing activities, and accomodating to a family with a small child. Watford Studios easily lived up to our expectations. The room (we stayed in the studio unit) was clean and comfortable. It included a small kitchen in which we were able to cook many meals - enabling us to save quite a bit of money, cable televesion and high speed internet. The host had placed a crib in the room prior to our arrival for our child. The view of the water is partially obstructed from the studio units porch, but it was still a great place to sit and enjoy the sea breeze. We made extensive use of public transportation while on the island. Both the bus and ferry had stops nearly adjacent to the unit. Both the bus and ferry systems were an easy to use, safe, and inexpensive way to get around Bermuda. Water tour operators (including dive shops) use the ferry stop too pick up customers, so you can easily schedule those activities. Within walking distance from the Unit were several good restaurants and shops that supplied the basics. There were also some nice beaches within walking distance (approx. 1.5 mile). The best beaches (on the South Shore) were a 15-20 minute busride away. A couple words of advice: 1) This location is best for active travelers as we found ourselves doing a lot of walking, busing, ferrying, etc., and feel the trip would not have been as enjoyable if we were not interested in those activities. 2) The property's dock is not ideal for young children to swim from because the ladder to the water is approx. 6 foot. However, it has a great view, and there are child friendly beaches nearby. 3) When the passengers from the cruise ships are heading from Dockyard to the beaches, the buses can be hard to get. This was frustrating, but it was only and issue one day (Saturday). I would suggest checking the cruise schedules and planning your bus trips around this busy time. Overall great trip, already looking forward to returning.

The Watford Studio's is a great place to relax, and enjoy the Bermudian way of life. The host is very accommodating, including being taken on a tour by car of the area and also to the grocery store to get start up groceries, all within the first hour of arriving, as this is a studio with stove top, oven, microwave, small-ish fridge, so meals can be made at home to save money. The studio was very clean. There are some things that are good to be aware of for those coming from the States. Either arrange in advance with the hosts or bring $10 in change to use a bus to get to a place where you can buy a 7 day bus/ferry pass. We were somewhat landlocked for a few days over the weekend, only to find out come Monday morning that the area post office did not sell the passes needed. Also, as you may have already known, Bermuda is somewhat crowded, and there are other homes next to and above the studio apartment. So be aware when sitting on the porch that you have less privacy then thought by looking at the pictures that are provided on the website for this location. This end of the island is good with the exception that it is not a tourist area immediately around where you are staying, and while that has it's pluses, they also are not set up to support a tourists's immediate needs. Finding out how to get around this to rent a bicycle and get bus tickets took the first few days, which could have been avoided if things had been set up in advance, and if we'd known how we wanted to get around in the first place before we even got there, which, because we had never been there, didn't, until we got there.