Feeling at Home at Our Luxury Bermuda Hotel

As seen in The Bermudian Magazine, Winter 2022

Spectacular ocean views, home-style luxury, and even a seawater lap pool are all on offer at the newly completed Azura

Being able to enjoy floor-to-ceiling views of the Atlantic Ocean while relishing a hot shower in the comfort of your hotel room is definitely one of life’s more enjoyable activities. Being able to wander down the cliff from your room onto terraced, panoramic beach platforms, or down to the saltwater lap pool is a pretty unique experience too.

Occupying a prime cliff top location, but tucked away on the South Shore in Warwick, the luxury boutique hotel and residential development that is Azura, is finally complete, offering owners and hotel guests several very different swimming pool options, a private beach, gym and wellness facilities as well as their recently upgraded pool-side restaurant.

Native Nature

Designed to blend into its cliff-top surroundings, Azura has almost a Mediterranean feel. Sand-like in color with grey-blue doors, the buildings are softened by wooden slats and a mass of greenery – almost all of which is native or endemic to Bermuda.

The pathways down to the beach and sand platforms are shaded by ‘bay-grape tunnels’ and there are even wooden benches so you can stop and rest on your way down or up, or while waiting for a land crab to move out of your way. One of the buildings even has a ‘green roof’, covered in plants, so the view from the pool and restaurant isn’t spoiled by too much white roof.

Extended Stay in Bermuda

Unlike standard hotel rooms, Azura is made to feel at home, especially for families or longer-term visitors. It’s also proudly Bermudian. The buildings were designed, inside and out, by Bermudian design group, cTx. International Imports, or the ‘chef shop’, supplied cooking equipment for the kitchen. Island Trading and Furniture Flair supplied some of the furnishings and Bermudian artwork adorns the walls. 95 percent of the staff are Bermudian and if you’ve forgotten any essential toiletries, or feel like buying a Bermudian gift, you can pop to Cassine’s online shop and they will deliver to your room.

From a practical perspective, the kitchen and laundry rooms are also a huge plus and the kitchen doesn’t just carry the basics. There are KitchenAid mixers and blenders, a huge fridge freezer and dishwasher, and a state-of-the-art oven with all the equipment you need.

Despite the homely feel, however, you are still living or staying in a hotel, and when you want to make the most of that fact, you can. As well as a rooftop swimming pool atop the ‘Seascape’ building, there are rooftop terraces for drinks, yoga, pilates or just relaxing at a great height. You can order spa services in your room. For public transportation, the Azura shuttle will take you into Hamilton or other beaches along South Shore and the concierge can arrange car or bike rentals and taxis, as well as tours and adventures.

Spectacular Ocean Views in Bermuda

Because of the spectacular ocean views and abundance of natural greenery outside, the designers very much took a ‘why use brick when the glass will do’ approach. The result is viewed from almost every part of your hotel room. There are floor-to-ceiling sliding doors leading out to the verandas, as many windows as they could get away with, and even the bathroom has a glass ‘wall’, albeit with an electric floor-to-ceiling blind for privacy, should you wish it.

Even outside, glass safety panels have been used instead of wood or brick walls at the cliff edge and around the pool area so as not to ruin the opportunity for a view.

Azura Residences in Bermuda

The Azura model is a new one to Bermuda. Individuals buy the residences and then give them back to the hotel in full, or part, for at least six months of the year, so they can be used as paying guest accommodation. Both parties split the profit equally. The ‘in-part’ aspect of the arrangement is possible because the residences are flexible in design. The two- and three-bedroom properties, for example, can be used in full or be divided up, with each room having its own front door and key.

The residences are available to international buyers and work permit holders as well as Bermudians so it has proved a popular opportunity for anyone who loves the island and needs or enjoys traveling here frequently, to own a piece of the rock without all the stress of home ownership, such as landscaping, housekeeping, maintenance, and the dreaded hurricane preparation.

Real Estate Sales at Nautilus

With Azura, a sell-out success, real estate sales, and construction have started at Nautilus, located right next door, and the two hotel residence developments will share all the amenities, which include or will include, the ocean pool, a larger natural beach area, an indoor restaurant, expanded wellness services and more rooftop spaces.

The ‘piece de resistance’ of Nautilus is the three-bedroom hotel residence in Nautilus House. Formerly a private home, it has also been renovated in the cTx signature style and the interiors are magazine-worthy. It is located on one of the highest points of the property and the views from the very large patio, as well as through the many floor-to-ceiling windows, are breathtaking. Behind Nautilus House is a protected spa garden, which includes a plunge pool. Ideal for a hideaway on a windy day. The rest of the Nautilus oceanfront hotel residences are due to be completed by 2025.

Driving down South Shore in Warwick, you would never know what lies behind the hill between the road and the ocean. Turn seaward at the Azura sign, however, and you might just be gobsmacked.