Bermuda Basks In Meetings Biz
<B>Bermuda Basks In Meetings Biz</B>
By Frank Rosci
Bermuda, in all its semitropical splendor, ranks as one of the world's most technologically advanced and sophisticated island destinations for business travel.
"Bermuda is a total island resort, which offers individual business travelers, small corporate groups, associations and incentive travel groups state-of-the-art services and 3,400 guest rooms in a diverse choice of venues, as well as a full slate of leisure activities," said Gary Phillips, Bermuda's director of tourism.
Recent renovations in the hospitality circuit on the 21.6-mile-long island have occurred at the 244-room Elbow Beach Hotel, where $42 million was spent installing a high-tech, full-service Xerox business center. Equipped with two computers pre-loaded with standard software for e-mail, spreadsheet analysis and word processing, the business center provides services that include manuscript generation, translations into 40 languages, packaging and mailing.
Hotel guests receive a direct connection number, which allows them to log on to the hotel's online server, or to create virtual networks among a small group (one to 100 rooms) within the hotel, giving them a completely secure internal network, said general manager William Shoaf.
"Elbow Beach is especially well-suited to those groups booking 200 people, or 100 rooms or fewer," he said. For corporate VIPs, Elbow Beach offers its penthouse suite or one of three two-level, three-bedroom royal suites. The hotel offers more than 12,000 square feet of oceanview function space, videoconferencing facilities, high-speed T-1 Internet access and eight meeting rooms.
The Newstead Hotel, a small upscale property with 50 rooms and suites overlooking the harbor and capital of Hamilton, also has completed a recent renovation, which added two meeting rooms and a new four-suite room block. In addition, all guest rooms now have voicemail and a separate dataport for computers or fax machines. High-speed Internet access is available in all guest rooms--the only hotel on the island with this feature. The property's Pickwick Room accommodates meetings and seminars of up to 30 attendees.
Elsewhere on the island, the 201-room Grotto Bay Beach Hotel is in the final stage of a $6 million refurbishment, which includes the expansion of the main building and a plan to construct another 79 rooms.
Meanwhile, the Ariel Sands, a 50-room cottage colony, recently opened the Seaside Conference Center for small to midsize business gatherings, and extensive renovations are slated for both the Hamilton and Southampton Princess Hotels.