The 9 Beaches hotel in Bermuda was more than what we
expected. Everyone of the employees were so very nice and helpful they made our stay so comfortable that we hated to leave. We had the best bartender on the island for the 8 days we were there. His name is Jahadal Williams, and he was fantastic!!! Jahadal made the best frozen chocolate monkeys, and long island ice teas that were to die for!!! It's a place worth visiting over and over again!
The hotel has evrything from snorkeling, scuba diving, snuba, renting kayaks, catamarans, to volleyball, tennis, to the island nights buffet (mondays, wednesday, friday nights) where you do the limbo and eat and dink and have a great time with live music. It's just a wonderful place to be. We can't wait to go back again!!!

Okay....here goes.

My wife and I decided to go to Bermuda for a week's vacation and after searching the internet, we were intrigued with 9 Beaches. Bermuda is expensive and 9 Beaches, while also on the expensive side, was not too bad relative to other resorts. My wife uses Trip Advisor all the time so she did her homework before we left.

We were there the first week of July. It was about 85 degrees every day and the water temperature was not far off. Bermuda is a gorgeous island from one end to the other. When we arrived, we went through customs which took quite a while. Two planes landed at the same time. They have a separate line for Bermudians and residents so you have to follow the long queue. If you have small kids, you may want to pack some snacks or have some games while you're lined up.

The airport is at one end and 9 Beaches is about as far away at the other end as you can go. The taxi ride there cost $63 and the taxi ride back cost $50. You may want to negotiate a fee with your driver.

When you get to 9 Beaches, you register, they give you Rum Swizzles to drink and then you are driven to your cabana. My wife had heard that you should avoid cabanas 1-20 because of the farm smell so we had made that request. When we arrived, we found out we were in Cabana 11. When we asked to change to a higher number, they told us they were booked up and would see what they could do the following day. It never did happen.

We were driven to Cabana 11 which is on the leeward side of the land. No surprises here - the cabanas are not huge but are clean. There was a stand alone air conditioner which we put on right away. Our view was spectacular and it was nice because there was a lot of natural vegetation around the deck that made it very private.

We explored the grounds and sure enough, the farm smell quickly permeated our nostrils. It turns out the farm is just on the other side of the main drive and it is foul!!! Every time we walked out of our cabana, there it was! When we walked to the beach, there were dips in the road and it's like the smell got stuck there. It was better and worse at different times of the day, but don't kid yourself, it's there and it's nauseating!!

We arrived on Sunday at about 2 pm and hadn't had lunch so asked where we could eat. They have a buffet on Sundays - we weren't that impressed. For $20 each, you get a minimum choice of food that included burgers that were literally charbroiled on the outside and raw on the inside (I still haven't figured out how they did that), salads and some other foods. It took 3 times to get the right bill at the end.

Service at 9 Beaches is hit and miss. There were really terrific workers there but some of the people they have on the main desk could use some tips on customer service. You really feel like you are interrupting if you have a question. The concierge wasn't very helpful. Laurie was on the front desk - she's fantastic! Always a laugh and goes out of her way to help. The others could learn from her.

9 Beaches does offer events (that you pay for). We rented a kayak for an hour and went out to the shipwreck. One of the workers suggested I go to the kitchen and they give day-old bread that you can take out and feed the fish. We had fun.
We also did the Monday night sail - wasn't worth it. It cost over $100 for the two of us and although the boat was great, they only put up the main sail for about 15 minutes. We did do the snorkel cruise with the Reefcombers - worth every penny!!!

We enjoyed the restaurant enough at 9 Beaches. If you like mussels, order the garlic mussels as an appetizer!! We ate there for 3 of our 6 dinners, mostly because we didn't have other transportation to go elsewhere. Word of advice: rent the scooters if you want but there have been a lot of fatalities in Bermuda this year and seeing some of the drivers, it may be safer by bus or taxi.

We bought the bus passes ($12 each) which, if you use the transit system at least 3 times in the course of a day, you come out ahead. We took the bus from the resort to the Dockyard, took the ferry to St. George and back. On another day, we took the bus to the Botannical Gardens, back to Horseshoe Beach, then into Hamilton, the ferry to the Dockyard and then back to the resort. You really can get around fairly easily so don't feel that you are trapped at 9 Beaches. It is about a 15 minute walk to the bus stop from the resort so if you aren't very mobile, you may find this difficult.

This was another example of the service. We asked the front desk person how to get to the bus stop and she told us to follow the road out of the resort. Well, at one point, the road goes straight or turns and the person didn't tell us which way to go. Of course, we went the wrong way......

We really enjoyed the main beach although if you want an umbrella, you have to get there early. It was a bit annoying that some people staked out the umbrella and then went away for hours and then came back.

When you walk around the grounds of 9 Beaches, you will be amazed with the view and the colour of the water (mind you, you get that no matter where you are in Bermuda). The other cabanas (higher than 20 ) are all out in an open area, some on the water, some more inland but they are all strategically placed so that all have a view. We met some nice folks from NYC who were in the stinky end with us but managed to get relocated. They said it was like two different resorts - the main area and then the stretch near the farm. On another note, roosters don't just crow first thing in the morning - they go all day and there was one morning that a constipated cow started mooing very early in the a.m.

We heard other stories from others staying there... from no air conditioning units to no fans to one couple who had to ride in a maintenance vehicle after checking in and the driver turned a corner so fast, the wife fell out and rolled down a hill. One morning we woke up and there was no water. Speaking of the water, buy bottled. Don't think you can drink anything from the tap - it probably tastes worse than it smells.

So 9 Beaches..... we heard great things before going and after being there, you can see a lot of possibilities to make it a great resort. Not there yet! We heard from some of the locals that if you can't get a job at some of the classier resorts, go to 9 Beaches and you'll get hired. That speaks to some of the customer service we experienced.

if I were to go again, I would insist on a cabana on the windward side. There is no breeze at all on the leeward side and our air conditioner showed the temperature during the day at 90 degrees even when it was going. Remember, these cabanas are made of canvas and the truth is, no matter how hard you try to air condition a tent, it isn't possible.

The rooms were really nice. The pics that the hotel posts are accurate. The AC could have been colder. It's not rated a 5 b/c it's far from the other stuff to do in Bermuda. Dinners were a little boring. Breakfast was good. We stayed in the room over the water. The beaches had a lot of seaweed but we found our own private little beach. They gave us cell phones and we could call for on beach service for drinks. Swizzles were great drinks. Good entertainment at night. Bar had board games and darts. Internet was high speed. We beat Mark in a game of darts and got free apparel. His wife took us on a nice walking tour. Free sea kayaks. Tennis courts were good.

We stayed in cabana 59 for 4 nights from 16 July and had an experience we will never forget. As many other reviews will corroborate, 9Beaches is not your typical Bermuda luxury experience. If marble bathrooms, ice-cold airconditioning and a chocolate on your pillow is your idea of holiday bliss; 9Beaches is not for you. However if your definition of luxury is wall to wall turquoise ocean views and a relaxed atmosphere then you may find what you are looking for here.

The resort's own website, I feel, is one of the best examples of telling it as it is. The cabanas are pretty basic, but perfectly functional. We found we had plenty of space with a comfy bed and the shower was excellent, no shortage of hot water. And our 'view from the loo' was picture postcard! Yes, the tent like construction could potentially make for a bit of a sweat-box, we had a direct sea breeze to cool us and found the ceiling plus portable fan more than enough - did not need the small air con unit at all. Our room category was a 'Top Banana' and was perfectly located directly across from Daniel's Head Island with the most amazing view I have ever had from a room. And being on the west coast - stunning sunsets. Other reviewers have said that the rooms aren't too private - that's true if you can't resist keeping all your blinds open on the wraparound windows and french doors (as we didn't), but if you're not precious about the possibility of a distant snorkeller spotting you when you're in your room it's really nothing to worry about.

The nine or so beaches are all very different, the biggest being the one by the watersports area. If you're expecting great sweeps of sand like on the south shore of Bermuda then you'd be misplaced, these are more like small sheltered coves, surrounded by rocks -really private and the water is like a millpond - perfect for snorkelling. Some reviewers have mentioned seaweed, yes there's a little bit, but not much and certainly nothing to spoil the gorgeousness of the soft sand and bright turquoise waters.

The ground of 9Beaches are huge - they're not manicured by any means (and all the better for it I think) but there's lots of stunning trees and in the mornings and evenings they attract many beatifully elegant longtail birds (Bermuda's national bird), we also saw herons and Kiskiris (yellow, black and white - very cute and not shy!) We had a couple of bugs in the room but it was our own fault as I'd left my birthday cake out. All other times there was no problem and bug spray is provided in all the cabanas if you're worried.

Breakfast had something for everyone, and you can also order eggs any style for a very small fee. The service was just fine, if a little slow paced, but you're on holiday, what's the rush!? The A La Cart concept is great (where you order from the menu and your food is delivered to wherever you want it in the resort) and was perfect for when you want an informal evening, very prompt delivery and great value.

We also ate in High Tides one evening and had an excellent meal - the menu has a good range (particularly of fish dishes) and we were very impressed with both the quality and the value of food relative to elsewhere on the island. Again friendly and helpful service to boot. We also enjoyed the 'Island Nights' which is a regular event on Thu, Fri, Sat nights where there is a band, limbo dancing - all you can eat, drink & dance for $75! It's a popular night for guests and locals alike and although the music is loud (and the band are pretty good), it's all finished by 10pm so really not much of a disturbance if you're not attending.

Overall, we were throughly impressed with 9Beaches and will definitely return. We really enjoyed the casual atmosphere of the place and the location of the cabana was just perfect (oh, and no problem from the local dairy farm, could only smell anything when we scootered directly past it). I would definitely recommend paying the extra for at very least the Aqua Vista room category, I'm not sure I'd be as taken with the charm of the cabanas if I didn't benefit from the direct ocean views and breezes. Well done to all at 9Beaches, I imagine it's a challenge breaking from the traditional Bermuda mould but they've done a great job in bringing 'the unexpected Bermuda' to life.