Furness Bermuda Line hotels

Last updated

BermudianaHoteladvert.jpg

Furness Bermuda Line new service to Bermuda in the 1920s created the need of additional modern accommodations for the tourists coming to the island after the first World War. This lead for Furness Withy, parent company of the line, to begin buying existing hotels and purchasing land for this new demand. This led to the formation of the Bermuda Development Company which would Furness' new business development. Eventually the company would manage four main properties: The St George, The Mid Ocean Club, Bermudiana, and the Castle Harbor Hotel. The hotels would continue to see increased business and benefit from legislation passed that would prevent ships from being used as hotels in 1938. [1] Furness Withy would eventually sell all its ownership in the hotels by 1958. [2]

Contents

The St. George

The St George Hotel Stgeorge hotel bermuda.jpg
The St George Hotel
St George Hotel Indoor Swimming Pool Stgeorgehotelpool.jpg
St George Hotel Indoor Swimming Pool

The St. George Hotel, built in 1906, with 100 rooms, was located in the town of St George. [3] Furness purchased the hotel and would eventually renovate and enlarge it, and build a new golf course. [4] The hotel also had a beach club at Achilles Bay, which is now managed by its successor, the St. Georges Club. The St. George also became known for having one of the largest indoor swimming pools in Bermuda. [2] The hotel also had a ship shaped bar building called the Sea Venture at the top of the hotel's rose walk. [5] The hotel was torn down, and today the property consists of the St. George Club while the golf course land still exists and in the process of being restored. [6]

The Mid Ocean Club

Mid Ocean Club original hotel building Midoceanclub.jpg
Mid Ocean Club original hotel building

The Mid-Ocean Club was opened in what is now Tucker's Town on March 3, 1922, by Governor Sir James Willcocks. [2] A 18-hole golf course in Tucker's Town, Bermuda. Designed by Charles Blair Macdonald in 1921, it was modified to its current design in 1953 by Robert Trent Jones. The hotel would be used for several Western Big Three Conferences that would include dignitaries such as Winston Churchill. [7] The original hotel building would be torn down in the 1970s, but the golf course remains. [8]

The Bermudiana

Bermudiana Hotel Bermudiana hotel.jpg
Bermudiana Hotel

The Bermudiana hotel was constructed through 1923 and opened on January 28, 1924.It had 248 rooms located on Hamilton Harbor. [2] The hotel would close in 1939 after the start of World War II, opening again in 1941 to house members of the Imperial Censorship. [9]

In 1951 after a complete renovation, the hotel became Bermuda's first apartment hotel, offering accommodation to both visitors and permanent residents who could lease the apartments. The renovaition also built the new Bermudiana Theatre, designed by architect C. Howard Crane, and able to seat up to 445 people. The theater would offer “21-weeks’ season of continuous plays” would be offered and that the new theatre within the Bermudiana Hotel would allow performances to be viewed in an “atmosphere of luxury and comfort on a par with any metropolitan theatre.” [9]

The hotel would change ownership in 1955, and would later burn down in 1958. [10] A new 237-room hotel, also named Bermudiana, was opened in 1960 on the existing property, until it was demolished in the 1990s. [11]

The Castle Harbour Hotel

The Castle Harbor Hotel, located on Castle Harbour opened in 1931. [12] [13] All the materials for constructing the hotel were pre-cast in England and brought to Bermuda by Furness ships. [2] The hotel closed in 1984 for renovations and expansion, and re-opened as the Marriott Castle Harbour Hotel in 1986. The originally built Castle Harbor Hotel would closed in 1999 for a complete rebuilding. The original hotel building was eventually gutted to the structural steel 'skeleton', and rebuilt. [14] The hotel reopened as the Rosewood Bermuda, which is remains today with some recognizable elements of the original property, including the iconic elevator tower, built to bring guests up from the shoreline.

Hotel Tender Boats

Furness Bermuda Line would purchase and construct tender boats to ferry passenger from their ships to their hotel properties. This was due to the long duration by land it would take to transport passengers from the ship piers. Furness would first purchase the former British Admiralty vessel HMS Arctic Whale in 1923 and rename it the Bermudian. [15] In 1929, the company would custom build a tender Mid-Ocean, which would later be renamed the Castle Harbour, when the Castle Harbor Hotel finally opened. [2]

Ship NameYear CompletedShipyardYears in Service for HotelsStatusNotes
Bermudian1915Admiralty whaler, Adty No 878. Smiths Dock Company, South Bank, UK [16] 1923-1947Scrapped 1958
  • Built as H.M.S. Arctic Whale, purchased by Furness in 1923 for service to St. George Hotel [15]
HMS Castle Harbour.jpg Castle Harbour

(originally Mid-Ocean)

1929Blythswood Shipbuilding Co. Ltd, Glasgow, Scotland 1929-1939Torpedoed & sunk during WWII off Tobago1942 [17]
  • Purpose-built for Furness Bermuda Line for service to St George Hotel & Mid Ocean Club, and later Castle Harbour Hotel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bermuda</span> British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic Ocean

Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about 1,035 km (643 mi) to the west-northwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Bermuda</span>

Bermuda is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is situated around 1,770 km (1,100 mi) northeast of Miami, Florida, and 1,350 km (840 mi) south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, west of Portugal, northwest of Brazil, 1,759 km (1,093 mi) north of Havana, Cuba and north-northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about 1,030 km (640 mi) west-northwest, followed by Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia, Canada 1,236 km northward. Although commonly referred to in the singular, the territory consists of approximately 138 islands, with a total area of 57 km2 (22 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecology of Bermuda</span>

The flora and fauna of Bermuda form part of a unique ecosystem due to Bermuda's isolation from the mainland of North America. The wide range of endemic species and the islands form a distinct ecoregion, the Bermuda subtropical conifer forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamilton Princess & Beach Club</span> Hotel in Bermuda

The Hamilton Princess & Beach Club, A Fairmont Managed Hotel is one of the grandest and most famous hotels in Bermuda, located in Pembroke Parish just outside the City of Hamilton. It also happens to be the oldest hotel in the Fairmont chains. One of the largest in Bermuda, it has over 400 rooms. It is one of two Fairmont Hotels on the island, the second being the Fairmont Southampton, which was originally opened as the Southampton Princess.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamilton Harbour, Bermuda</span>

Hamilton Harbour is a natural harbour in Bermuda which serves as the port for the capital, the City of Hamilton. It is an arm of the Great Sound, and forms a tapering wedge shape of water between Paget Parish and the peninsula which forms Pembroke Parish, and upon which the capital sits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castle Harbour, Bermuda</span>

Castle Harbour is a large natural harbour in Bermuda. It is located between the northeastern end of the main island and St. David's Island. Originally called Southampton Port, it was renamed as a result of its heavy fortification in the early decades of the Seventeenth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. George's Harbour, Bermuda</span>

St. George's Harbour is a natural harbour in the north of Bermuda. It serves as the port for the town of St. George's, located on St. George's Island, to its north. To its south is St. David's Island. The harbour and both islands lie within St. George's Parish. It was for two centuries the primary harbour of the British Overseas Territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tucker's Town, Bermuda</span> Village in St. Georges, Bermuda

Tucker's Town is a small community in St. George's Parish, Bermuda at the mouth of Castle Harbour. It is the only part of the parish on the Main Island, and includes the Tucker's Town Peninsula that today is the site of many homes belonging to wealthy non-Bermudians. The most densely populated part of Tucker's Town was historically situated west of Tucker's Town Bay, and was almost entirely cleared to make way for golf links.

This is a list of regular named Holidays in Bermuda. Every Sunday is also considered a holiday.

The British Overseas Territory of Bermuda has been affected by several tornadoes and waterspouts in its history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mid Ocean Club</span>

The Mid Ocean Club is a private 6,520 yard, 18-hole golf course in Tucker's Town, Bermuda. Designed by Charles Blair Macdonald in 1921, and originally built in collaboration with the Furness Bermuda Line (part of Furness Withy.

The Talbot Brothers were a musical group based in Bermuda that were among the most popular calypso performers of the 1950s. The band was composed of brothers Archie, Austin, Bryan, a.k.a. "Dick", Ross, a.k.a. "Blackie" and Roy Talbot (bass), and their cousin Cromwell "Mandy" Mandres (accordion).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosewood Hotels & Resorts</span> International hotel and resort chain

Rosewood Hotels & Resorts is an international luxury hotel and resort company operating 31 hotels in 16 countries, currently owned by Hong Kong-based Rosewood Hotel Group. It was founded in Dallas, Texas, in 1979 by Caroline Rose Hunt, the daughter of oil tycoon H. L. Hunt. The company was sold by Rosewood Corp. and Maritz, Wolff & Co. in 2011 to New World Hospitality for $229 million, along with five of the properties that were sold for $570 million. Arranged by Perkins Coie, the $800 million deal was awarded “Merger & Acquisition of the Year 2011” by the Americas Lodging Investment Summit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Victoria, Bermuda</span> Historic site in St. Georges Island, Bermuda

Fort Victoria is a disused British Army fort, built to house coastal artillery atop Retreat Hill, within St. George's Garrison, at the North-East of St. George's Island, in the British colony of Bermuda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Admiralty House, Bermuda</span> Military unit

Admiralty House, Bermuda, was the official residence and offices for the senior officer of the Royal Navy in the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda, originally the Commander-in-Chief of the North America and West Indies Station.

HMS <i>Castle Harbour</i>

HMS Castle Harbour was a civilian harbour vessel of 730 tons that was taken-up from trade (TUFT) during the Second World War by the Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda for use by the Royal Naval Examination Service and later armed and commissioned as a warship, providing harbour defence from submarines.

Al Donahue was an American violinist and big band leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Furness Bermuda Line</span>

Furness Bermuda Line was a UK shipping line that operated in the 20th century. It was part of Furness, Withy and ran passenger liners between New York and the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda from 1919 to 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The St. George Hotel (Bermuda)</span> Hotel

The St. George Hotel, was a hotel built in 1906 in the historic town of St. George's, Bermuda. The hotel would have multiple owners through the years, including the Furness Bermuda Line and be one of their many properties on the island. The hotel was torn down in the 1970s and replaced by the St. George Club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. George's Garrison, Bermuda</span> British military post

St. George's Garrison was the first permanent military camp of the Bermuda Garrison established in the British colony and Imperial fortress of Bermuda, with construction of Old Military Road and the original Royal Barracks commencing during the war between Britain and France that followed the French Revolution. It would remain in use until 1957, when it was transferred to the civil (colonial) government with most of the other Admiralty and War Office properties in Bermuda.

References

  1. "SHIP-HOTELS BARRED IN BERMUDA HARBORS; Bill Closes Hamilton and St. George After Dec. 1". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Plowman, Piers. (2002). Queen of Bermuda and the Furness Bermuda Line. Card, Stephen J. The Keep, The Old Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda: Bermuda Maritime Museum Press. ISBN   0-921560-10-9. OCLC   65177653.
  3. "Exhibit fails to capture Furness link to tourism glory days". www.royalgazette.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  4. "RESTORING ST. GEORGE'S, OLD BERMUDA CAPITAL; 'New and Old Look'". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  5. "Bermuda's History 1900 to 1939 pre-war". www.bermuda-online.org. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  6. "Work progressing on golf course revamp". www.royalgazette.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  7. "Allies Will Meet in Bermuda Club, 'Not Before June 15,' Governor Says; Swank Hotel Also Selected to House Some of the Delegates -- Authorities Push Measures to Insure Security". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  8. "History - Mid Ocean Club". themidoceanclub.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  9. 1 2 "The Bermudiana Theatre Club". The Bermudian Magazine. 15 January 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  10. "Eyewitness Account Of Bermudiana Blaze". Bernews. 12 December 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  11. Sayer, E. T. (1 March 1959). "A NEW HOTEL FOR BERMUDA; It Will Rise On the Site Of Old Bermudiana Which Burned (Published 1959)". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  12. "NEW BERMUDA LINER SETS MARK FOR RUN; Monarch of Bermuda Cuts Two Hours and 45 Minutes From Record for 667 Miles. SHIP PROVES SMOOTHNESS Is Virtually Vibrationless and Steady in Head Seas--Hotel Opens to Greet 510 Passengers". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  13. "Roadway Burns in Bermuda; Plot Against Big Hotel Hinted". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  14. "Rosewood To Open New Hotel In Bermuda's Tucker's Point Club Complex". Hotel Business. 21 May 2001. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  15. 1 2 "Quebec SS Co. / Bermuda & West Indies SS Co. / Trinidad Shipping & Trading Co". www.theshipslist.com. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  16. "Royal Navy ships of World War 1, based on British Warships, 1914-1919 by Dittmar and Colledge". www.naval-history.net. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  17. "Castle Harbour (British Steam merchant) - Ships hit by German U-boats during WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 25 January 2021.