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Our Bermuda Babymoon 2018 | The Reefs Review

Babybump in Bermuda for Babymoon

We just got back from our Bermuda Babymoon and many of you asked me for details so here you guys go!

We did not go on a Babymoon for Tommy because I travelled so much prior to his birth and then we bought our current home! We spent the weekend we had planned to spend in Quebec packing.

This time around, I knew I wanted to go on an official Babymoon! At first I wanted to bring Tommy and then I realized that Hell NO I did not. My mom graciously accepted my invitation to stay in Boston and watch Tommy so we could bounce for 3 nights.

Due to Zika, our options were limited. Our top picks were Palm Beach, Charleston and Bermuda. We had a really hard time choosing a hotel in Bermuda so we almost didn’t go there! I had chosen Charleston and started to research hotels when Nick was invited on a Bachelor Party in Charleston at the end of May… I researched Palm Beach and then ultimately chose Bermuda due to proximity and a sale on airfare!

I asked you guys for hotel advice and got a ton of great suggestions. After extensive research I booked The Reefs.

My first choice was Rosewood Tucker’s Point but topping $1000 a night, I couldn’t bring myself to book. I reached out to see if I could finagle a media rate to no luck. Our next two choices were Elbow Beach and The Reefs. Elbow seemed more lively but the hotel dated. The Reefs seemed romantic/quiet and the rooms a little nicer. In the end, I went with what was cheaper which was The Reefs, slightly. My friends stayed at Elbow the week before us and said Elbow was cheaper than The Reefs so it just depends on the week I guess.

I had a ton of recommendations for both Princess resorts. Nick is not a huge fan of large hotels so I didn’t look much at either resort. I wanted to be by the ocean so the Hamilton Princess was ruled out. Southampton was actually hosting an 800 person company vacation so rooms were over $1000 while there since all the regular rooms were booked. I’m very glad we did not go there for this reason because they even rented out the beach two of the days we were there and we wouldn’t have been able to use it.

Getting There

From our door step to the hotel room, it took a total of 6 hours which was pretty quick! We took a direct flight on JetBlue. I think for one ticket it was about $375 round trip (the taxes were the same as the base price!). This was a great deal but meant we had to leave on Wednesday and would be returning on Saturday instead of a typical Thursday-Sunday trip.

I had friends suggest sitting close to the front of the plane to get through customs fast as it took them an hour on a Saturday to get through, but arriving on a Wednesday was no problem. Our hotel arranged for a taxi to pick us up and it was an easy scenic 30 minute drive.

The Reefs Bermuda Review Babymoon
Our room had a balcony and gorgeous view of the beach. I thought it was great, equipped with Elemis skin care. I am not picky when it comes to this sort of thing. By the way, we received zero blogger perks on this trip as disclosure if you’re wondering while reading this. I actually later found out we were paying almost double what another couple was paying at the resort for the same room which annoyed me. The only difference was that one of us booked 6 months ago and we booked ours 30 days in advance. Lesson learned.

Our Hotel

I couldn’t have asked for a better beach for our babymoon. We never had to worry about a chair no matter what time of day it was. My biggest pet peeve about vacations is having to reserve a beach chair. It should never be allowed. There was a little beach restaurant where attendants took orders from your beach chair.

Babybump in Bermuda for Babymoon

We ended up by a pool the first day that was part of the tenth share owners (basically a timeshare). The pool was warm and gorgeous. We realized we were in the wrong place and didn’t return however we did notice that the pool on our side was not nearly as warm! It felt colder than the ocean and was too bad because the ocean wasn’t even that warm. I didn’t mind (New England blood).

The Pool at the Reefs Review

The Reefs Hotel Review

On the beach, every thing except for the drinks and food was for free. They had kayaks and paddle boards as well as snorkel gear and kid’s toys. There were not a ton of kids while we were there but we did notice a few here and there. It was totally family friendly but didn’t take away any of the calm and peaceful ambiance. My mom stayed at Cambridge Beaches where no children are allowed and I don’t think I would have noticed much of a difference had there been zero children. I bet vacation weeks feel different.

The Reefs

Going into Bermuda, we had low expectations for the food. We did not have great feedback or recommendations on where to eat. The food at The Reefs was fine. We ate breakfast there as well as lunch each day. The lunch was typical beach bar food and I enjoyed the quesadilla and nachos. They had delicious mocktails as well. Breakfast was your standard buffet with omelet station. It was also actually included in our hotel rate.

The Beach at The Reefs Hotel Bermuda Review

The other people on the trip were either fellow babymooners, families with adult children, older couples nearing the empty nest stage, and a few retirees. We visited a few other hotels and noticed huge groups of young people probably on vacation for a wedding or business trip. Our hotel had none of these. I would not recommend this hotel for a bachelorette or bachelor party for this reason.

We did have a drink at the Hamilton Princess as well as dinner at Elbow Beach. Both were very lively and could be categorized as “a scene.” If our hotel felt like Boston, these felt more New York in regards to evening activity! I can’t speak to the rooms, pool or beach but if you want a good hotel bar and you are under the age of 40, The Reefs is probably not for you. Again, it could have just been the week we were there but I didn’t mind this for our baby moon of course and neither did most of the guests it seemed. Most guests are repeat visitors. The Reefs guests LOVE The Reefs.

Mocktail The Reefs

Our last night has a DJ on the outdoor patio and all the guests kinda just hung out grabbing a drink. By the end, we felt like we knew half of the guests and enjoyed hanging out with them after hours. This is probably why it’s a great choice for families with adult children as well as honeymooners and babymooners. It’s great for kids too because it’s not too loud that the noise would wake them up.

Food

We had dinner at Blu our first night which was a taxi ride away, costing about $23 with tip from our hotel. The menu was extensive and due to an event, we had to eat inside however the outdoor seating we were told is where it’s at. It was the largest menu we saw in Bermuda from sushi to pasta dishes, even Indian food was on there. We ordered a seafood medley dish and the catch of the day as well as a caprese salad. It was pretty good and what we ordered reminded me of the Impudent Oyster in Chatham but the Impudent is much better. It’s also my favorite restaurant so I feel bad comparing anyone to it.

We also ate dinner at Devil’s Isle Cafe. I made a reservation here after reading about it online. It was really good and I highly recommend this place for all three meals. It’s a farm to table restaurant and I enjoyed the creativity and emphasis on vegetables. We were craving different things this night and split a bunch of small plates.

Our last night we ate dinner at Mickey’s at Elbow Beach kind of on a whim. We went to grab a drink and listen to the live band on Friday night by the beach bar. The tables were all reserved for the night and we couldn’t grab one so we headed downstairs and ate dinner on the beach. The food was pretty good and typical of most hotel menus we had seen. I ordered burrata and a grilled seafood plate that was delicious but way too healthy for this pregnant lady. I would recommend reserving a table at Elbow Beach on a Friday night and grab tapas from the bar menu and listen to the live band but if you can’t get in, go for a drink and then grab a low key dinner at Mickeys. Low key does not mean inexpensive here as an FYI.

What We Did

We were lazy. We didn’t do the crystal caves, we didn’t rent the little cars or visit the old town.

Babymoon Selfie

We basically relaxed by the beach all day except for Friday when we took a long walk up to the top of Gibb’s Hill Lighthouse.

Gibbs Hill Lighthouse view

We then walked over to check out the Princess South Hampton and finally back to our hotel to park ourselves in a couple of beach chairs for the day. Princess SouthHamptonThe island is small and so are the roads. Taking taxis everywhere gets expensive which is why people rent mopeds or these little tiny cars. You can’t rent a real car and I don’t think you’d want to either! I didn’t think my belly would fit in the tiny car and the mopeds are off limits for preggos. I just wanted to relax and enjoy my time off from being a primary care giver to a toddler and didn’t want to be in a car for an hour to go sight see. I wanted to rest and do nothing.

Pregnant on the Beach in Bermuda

We did go into Hamilton one night before dinner at Devil’s Isle where we grabbed souvenirs for the boys and a drink at the Hamilton Princess. We were impressed by the hotel’s sleek decor and vibe and I’m intrigued to stay there. The draw back is that they do not have beach access since it’s located in the harbor. You have to take a shuttle out by our hotel to use the beach which is a 20 minute drive.

Mocktail at the Princess Hamilton in Bermuda

The weather was perfect. I thought it might be chilly but 70-75 was perfect for sitting by the beach all day. We had zero rain and really it could not have been better. We lucked out.

We were planning our next visit before we even left but even we can’t decide which hotel we’d like to stay at next.

Leaving

The only hiccup in our entire trip was the way home. Our taxi call time got confused and we left 30 minutes later than I would have liked. It then took us 90 minutes to get through security. I’m not exaggerating. We left on a Saturday at 3 and apparently, all the flights leave between 3 and 4 pm. Being a Saturday, each flight was full. We were on JetBlue but if you were American or Delta, it would have taken at least 30 minutes longer due to a line to print boarding passes/check bags. They do not take mobile tickets and the airport lacked the kiosks for JetBlue to print our your boarding pass. I don’t know if the kiosks were available for Delta or American but I’d show up minimum 2 hours early for your flight which they recommend but we never really do.

We were so excited to bring Tommy to Bermuda until we got stuck in security. It’s only a 2 hour flight so I guess it’s worth it but keeping Tommy in a line without a tablet or phone would have been a nightmare. They yelled at you if you had your phone out. I would hope with a child, they would allow it but I don’t know.

No disclaimer is needed on this post as I paid for everything in this post including the cute hat seen above which is from Tuckernuck. <- That is an affiliate link. 🙂

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