The Fairmont Hamilton Princess
| Hamilton Princess & Beach Club | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Hotel chain | Fairmont Hotels and Resorts |
| General information | |
| Location | Pembroke, Bermuda |
| Opening | 1 January 1885 |
| Owner | BERCO |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 410 |
| Website | |
| thehamiltonprincess.com | |
The Hamilton Princess & Beach Club, A Fairmont Managed Hotel (generally known as The Princess) 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.
The 'Princess Hotel' opened its doors on 1 January 1885. Since then it has had a number of operators. Although recent operators have modified the name, to the Hamilton Princess following the completion of the Southampton Princess, and current operators Fairmont Hotels and Resorts prefix the name of their own group, to most Bermudians it remains "The Princess".
Bermuda had gained international recognition in 1883 when Princess Louise, the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria, visited for a winter retreat and called it a place of eternal spring. At the time, she lived in Canada with her husband, the Duke of Argyll, who was Governor General there. When the hotel opened it was named The Princess in honour of the royal visit two years earlier.
Princess Louise had been induced to travel from Canada for health reasons. Many other early travellers to Bermuda were wealthy businessmen and political figures, with their families, drawn partly by the colony's reputation for a healthy climate, especially during the winter months, and also by a pace of life that was a suitable tonic for the stress and hectic pressures they experienced at home. The Bermuda Government's Trade Development Board, quickly grasping the marketing advantages of this reputation, began billing Bermuda as the Isles of Serenity.
The journey to Bermuda, whether by sail or by early steamship, was arduous (Princess fixture Samuel Clemens quipped, Bermuda is Heaven, but you have to go through Hell to get there!), especially as, in the early years of the industry, visitors travelled to the island for the winter months. As Princess Louise had done, most would spend the entire winter there, the period becoming known as the Season. Summers in Bermuda, by comparison, were relatively quiet.
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