First, let me begin by stating 9 Beaches is NOT a 5 star resort. There isn’t a spa; there isn’t a priceless art collection, it lacks a mammoth pool with water features, it doesn’t abut a tournament length golf course and it doesn’t have high end suites. If you’re looking for “luxury”, this probably isn’t the resort for you.

9 Beaches is, however, a uniquely comfortable and enjoyable, if perhaps a bit off the beaten path, resort that should appeal to the young and young at heart who are somewhat adventurous.

The resort is situated near Somerset Village, Sandy, at the tip of a small West End peninsula known locally as Daniel’s Head. The shoreline is comprised of numerous beaches (seemed like more than nine… didn’t stop to actually count), ranging in size from postage stamp, affording intimate privacy, to the larger and more social beaches on either side of the main resort buildings.

Although the resort's rooms/cabanas/upscale tents are a bit small and on the rustic side, they’re clean, comfortable and, due to the raised pole construction of sail cloth material stretched over an aluminum frame, very unique. Many are over or right on the waters edge and each has a great ocean view from the abundant windows and private deck, as well as easy and often adjacent beach access.

There are no TVs, stereos or CD players in the individual cabanas, but the resort does provide wireless internet access with adequate signal strength in most cabanas. The resort’s main building has a comfortable restaurant with interior and exterior seating, as well as a lounge area with satellite TV and internet connected computer for those who need to stay in touch with the world.

The resort is somewhat isolated, so offsite dinning and entertainment requires, at minimum, a 15-20 minute vehicle trip to The Dockyard, which is the closest commercial area with multiple dinning and entertainment options. Transportation is available from the resort by scheduled mini-bus service at $5.00 per person each way, or by taxi at approximately $12-14 each way. The center of commerce in Bermuda is the city of Hamilton, which can be accessed via a twenty minute ferry ride from The Dock Yard, for an $8.00 per person roundtrip fare.

A few cons. Limited dinning & entertainment onsite, less than attentive service in the restaurant, small hot water heaters allowing little more than a quick rinse, easily audible noise from adjacent cabanas (due to fabric construction), lack of a music source in the cabanas (presumably to limit audible noise from adjacent cabanas) and the occasional wafting aroma of the nearby dairy farm. Gym facility has been remodeled but only equipped with a few tread mills and a single multi-position strength machine... no free weights or dumbbells.

Major gripes. The weather in mid-April ’08 sucked (constant rain, low 70’s) which is no fault of the resort. The only other onsite restaurant and lounge wasn’t yet open for the season, which precluded live entertainment as advertised, and for which I do hold the resort accountable. Most island events and many activities don’t occur / open until May.

The pros. Affordable rates, clean and comfortable waterfront rooms. Casual, friendly and relaxing atmosphere. Friendly locals and staff. Resort provided pre-programmed cell phone. Beautiful white and pink sand beaches. A well stocked (if a bit pricey) grocery store within an easy ten minute walk of the resort. Less than a two hour flight from most of the U.S. east coast.

All in all, the 9 Beaches resort is well worth the very affordable rates, certainly when considering the beachfront location in Bermuda.

(Written at length on the third consecutive rainy day !) :-(

My wife stayed at 9 Beaches from April 6th to April 10th, 2008. First of all, the staff, like most Bermudians, were wonderful. Karat and Laurie at the front desk, they were great and very helpful. Shaine the bartender was a great guy, always ready with a joke and some great history of the island. Joseph the head chef, great guy and always making sure everything we ordered was right. We opted for the April mid-week special and chose the Aqua Vista cabana. We were happy to find out that we were treated to a free upgrade to Top Banana #59. Fantastic spot! Overlooking Daniel's Head Island and the wreck of the HMS Vixen right outside our door. We had the Paradise Pier to our right and nobody to our left. This is one of the best cabanas on the property. We were pretty far from the main area of the resort but we still had a full wireless internet signal, so we were able to upload photos to our website and download music and movies from itunes right in our room. The cabanas are great and have everything you need. If you’re complaining about these cabanas you’re the type of person that is never happy. There were some complainers there that were griping about the noise. We thought it was great, the sound of the ocean under your bed was the perfect way to sleep. The one day it rained we turned the heater on and listened to the rain hit the canvas walls and roof, it was great. The have clean beds, towels, full plumbing, plenty of hot water and electricity and the best view you could ever imagine. The cabanas are fantastic, don’t be a wimp, go enjoy.

We were disappointed by a couple things however. One, the Dark n' Stormy bar and grill was not open yet even though the weather would have permitted it. Very disappointing! We felt if that the resort is open, everything should be. Bummer.

Two, dinner was very good at Hi-Tide, I had the butter chicken which was great. My wife had the stuffed chicken breast but there was nothing in it. The chef said the goat cheese must have melted out when it was grilled, but offered nothing but that explanation. Oh well.

Three, they have happy hour from 4-7 PM and drinks were reasonably priced during that time, but we found out the next day that happy hour is only on Mondays. Hmmmm... We left scratching our heads on that one. EASY FIX: The rooms have mini-fridges, ice at the resort is free and Arnold’s market is only about 15 min. away in Somerset village. Go get a $20 bottle of Goslings and a 6 pack of Ginger Beer and save yourself a bundle.

9 Beaches is a wonderful resort, but could benefit from just a few simple tweaks. For example, it is a big piece of land, if they offered golf cart service from your cabana to the main lobby / restaurant area it would be great. They should also offer a shuttle to the end of the long road to get to the bus stop. There is a soccer field at the end of the road by the bus stop where local kids hang out and drink at night, a woman by herself walking by here could run into a potential problem. 9 Beaches should really offer their guests some way to bypass that when going to and coming back from town. We actually enjoyed the walk to the bus stop but not everyone would, the roads are dark and very narrow and dangerous.

TIP: Load up on the breakfast. There is tons of food and it is good. We ate breakfast late, got some cheese and crackers at the market for a mid-day snack and saved our money for dinner. It was the way to go.

TIP: Buy a multi-day bus pass. We had a 3-day pass and the bus drivers didn’t even punch it until day 2 of our trip, we got a full day and a half of free transportation. I think they work on the ferries too. You cannot go wrong, the buses are, fast, fun and clean.

Hey. One more thing that bugged me. If anyone tells you that the water is too cold in April, they are wrong, the water was in the mid-70's. We snorkeled for hours and had no problems. I went all the way out to the wreck and saw the giant rockfish that lives in the bow. He's a monster.

We (a family of four) have just retruned from 9 Beaches, which is everything they say it is on the tin; relaxing, friendly, efficient and stunningly beautiful. What really sets it apart though is the attitude of the staff who are all, without exception, wonderful. The cabanas (cabins) are perfectly adequete for a family of four, so long as you don't squabble, remember - the walls are canvas so you could be overheard by your next door neighbour if you are too noisy. All nine beaches are stunning and very clean as they are swept clean every day, the water sports are great and the marvellous "Chef Joe" presides over a good set of menu's that cater for most tastes. If you are looking for a kickedback, flipflop type of holiday you will go a long way to beat this.

My husband & I stayed @ 9 Beaches the first week of April. We were a little nervous @ first, because that was the first day that they were reopening the resort for the season. Everything ran so smoothly, we would have never known that it was their first day of operation. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by a friendly check in staff, as well as a rum swizzle, the place was absolutely amazing to say the least. The weather was great, and the views from the lobby were amazing.

We were then driven on a golf cart to our assigned cabana, which was just a sort ride across the resort. Once @ our cabana, it was all that we had expected and more! The views from our deck were breathtaking. The water was so crystal clear and so blue in color.

Once we had checked into our cabana, and settled in, we walked up to the restaurant to get some lunch. We were greeted by Sue, General Manager, who was so friendly, and let us know if there was anything that we needed to let her know, or any of the staff, and they would see to our needs. The whole staff genuinely just wants you to relax, and feel right @ home, which we did.

For the people that are questioning whether you want to stay in a cabana for vacation, this is the place to be. It is so different from anything we have ever done. We have stayed @ a lot of different resorts before, but we wanted to stay somewhere this time where you had no schedule, no dress code, and just pure relaxation. Well, we got all of the above & more. The cabanas are exactly the way they explain them on their website. You can hear the waves @ night, and the wind blowing on your canvas. So peaceful to sleep by, and to sit on your own private deck - :-)

The bar staff @ the Umm Umm lounge, which consisted of Shaine, Hian & Jahdal were so friendly and accommodating. They gave us a history of Bermuda and gave us some ideas of what to visit/do on our vacation.

The HiTide Restaurant has the best resort food that we have ever had. We met the head chef, Joseph, who came out to see how everyone liked their meals. Very interested in making sure that everyone was happy & satisfied w/everything. Also, Imelda, our waitress for most of the week, was so hard working and eager to get us anything that we wanted while we were there.

Unfortunately, Dark N' Stormy's was not open as of yet. They were hoping to open the 2nd week of April. We were a little disappointed, but you could still sit on the deck and order food, and look @ the beautiful water and boats going by.

There is a mini bus that comes to the resort, and runs on the hour. They will take you to the Naval Dockyard, where you can also catch the ferry into Hamilton or St. George's. $5 per person. I highly recommend that you go to the Dockyard. There is so much to do there. Lots of shops, pubs and restaurants. Check out the Frog & Onion, really neat place! We also took the ferry into Hamilton for the day, and walked around. There are all kinds of little shops, restaurants and pubs also. Purchase your tokens for the ferry @ the desk @ 9 beaches, it is alot cheaper.

We plan on returning later this year to 9 beaches once again. 7 days was not enough, we will stay longer this time around.