The luxury boutique hotel and condominium residence features 60 rooms.Azura Bermuda
Yoga instructor Teaya Dent begins her class saying, “I invite you to experience the beauty of a Bermuda morning.”
I am sitting cross-legged, with three other women, on an open-air rooftop at Azura, a 60-room luxury boutique hotel and condominium residence on the island’s south shore. It’s the end of March, so it’s still chilly here, and we all showed up in layers.
Soon, though, we’re peeling those off, basking in the warmth of the sun as we do lunges, downward dogs, some standing poses – all while looking out over the brilliant turquoise waters of the Atlantic.
This contemporary resort offers yoga overlooking the sea.Azura Bermuda
By the end of our class, we’re lying on our mats listening to the rhythmic roll of the waves, birdsong and feeling blissfully zoned out. Dent says: “Breathe in slowly. Take one long, last exhale and remember, you are where you are meant to be.” It feels prophetic.
Why you should visit
Winter felt interminably long this year, so when the invitation came to spend a weekend at this new contemporary resort perched on limestone cliffs overlooking the sea, I could not pack fast enough.
Azura is on the site of the former Surf Side Beach Club, in the middle of the island, surrounded by lush greenery. On one side is the Alfred Blackburn Smith Nature Reserve, and on the other, the Railway Trail, with 35 kilometres of cycling and walking paths. The property has added 20 rooms and suites (many with full kitchens and large living spaces), an ocean-fed seawater pool and bar at the private beach. Its new Mediterranean restaurant, Surf, has gained renown for its fish, seafood and steak (the charred octopus and tenderloin are musts).
Azura Bermuda is surrounded by greenery and walking and cycling paths.Azura Bermuda
All white, with clean, fluid lines, Azura is an architectural gem – not too sprawling, not too tall, with groomed pathways, lined with oleander and hibiscus bushes, which meander through the property and down to the sea.
Our first night we’re invited for cocktails by the resort’s Canadian co-owner Jonathan Halata, who lives here with his husband and their young daughter. Halata is proud of what he and his partners have created, but honest about the challenges of bringing a new hotel to life in Bermuda. The planning and approval processes are onerous, he says, which means “many hotel projects never make it off the page.” (The next day he takes us on a boat ride around the island, and we see a Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton Reserve, both shuttered.)
The rooms feature scandi furniture and beachy hues.Azura Bermuda
Halata, and his friend Fayelle Wharton Bush, oversaw the interior design of the rooms which are decorated in calming beachy hues, so soft blues, pinks, corals and greens. The furniture is scandi, made from a pale cerused oak. The artwork is island-influenced, featuring local artists such as Chris Duperreault, who uses a Japanese printmaking technique to make stunning fish prints – the perfect way to pull some of the teeming sea life inside.
The focal point, though, is the view. My room has a wall of glass, facing the Atlantic. From the king-size bed, reading chair and soaker tub, I happily spend hours watching waves crash into boiler reefs, their spray shooting high into the air. I also see humpback whales migrating from their breeding grounds in the northern Caribbean to summer feeding areas off the west coast of Canada. At night, I’m lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves.
Room for improvement
Oceanfront rooms start at US$839 a night.Azura Bermuda
I need a good cup of coffee to start my day and the coffee maker in my room was a dud. I didn’t fare much better at the poolside restaurant. The staff, while super helpful and friendly, were not trained baristas, and my lattes routinely arrived after my breakfast. For an early riser like me, a coffee station in the lobby would be a much-appreciated perk.
Since you’re in the neighbourhood
Bermuda packs a lot into a small space. Only 54 square kilometres, from tip to tip, it has more than 30 gorgeous beaches, 122 churches (with only 64,000 permanent residents, the country has the most churches per capita in the world), nine cathedrals, two underground crystal caves and more than 225 documented shipwrecks stretching back to 1609, when the British Sea Venture ran aground.
Azura’s resident expert on all things is Darren Williams, who runs a taxi and limo service. He made seeing the island fun and fact-filled, taking us to St. George, the former capital and UNESCO World Heritage site. With its narrow cobblestone streets, beautiful buildings, quaint shops and cafes, it is worth spending a few hours here. We also visited the Crystal and Fantasy Caves, discovered more than a century ago by two young boys searching for a lost cricket ball. We lunched there, at Café Ole – the place Williams deemed suitable for a first sampling of a Bermuda fish sandwich. Like locals, we ordered “the works,” rock fish, tomato, lettuce and lots of tartar sauce. It was messy but divine.
The take-away
I flew BermudAir, direct from Toronto, and was in my room in just over three hours. The hotel’s proximity is a major selling point for travellers from this big city. Azura is undeniably luxurious but also laid back. The perfect place to sip rum swizzles by the sea, with pink sand tickling your feet. And yet, the hotel’s perch on the cliffs means people with mobility issues might want to think twice. There are a lot of steps to reach the water, but there are terraces and chairs where you can stop on your way down to the private beach.
- Azura Bermuda, located on Bermuda’s south shore; oceanfront rooms start at US$839 a night. For details, azurabermuda.com
The writer was a guest of the hotel. It did not review or approve the story before publication.
