PRETTY IN PINK

HAMILTON PRINCESS BERMUDA OFFERS THE ART LOVER THE PERFECT GETAWAY.

- NATALIE GALE

Arriving at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club in Bermuda was a royal experience—the stately flamingo pink building towers above its surroundings and the harbor, and inside bellhops and well-dressed guests bustled to and fro, clacking along the marble-tiled floor. Something delicious and expensive-smelling wafted through the air.

The Hamilton Princess is a five-star, privately owned, Fairmont-managed property in Hamilton. The hotel first opened in 1885, the year after Queen Victoria’s daughter Louise visited and became the inspiration behind the building’s “princess” name.

The Princess’s current owners bought it in 2012 and have been slowly renovating it ever since. Now, the luxe hotel features newly redone guest rooms, two outdoor pools, three on-site restaurants, a spa, a 60-berth marina, a retail corridor, and a private beach just a short ride away.

The Warhol-esque portraits of Queen Elizabeth behind the check-in desk turned out to be real Warhols as I came to grips with the magnitude of the art collection at the Princess—a Picasso in the lobby, a Haring on the way to the restroom.

And the art collection throughout the hotel is world-class. The private collection of the owners, the compilation could belong to a gallery—but here, the works are presented in a lived-in way. Pieces from other modern and pop art giants like Henri Matisse, René Magritte, David Hockney, Banksy, Anish Kapoor, KAWS, and Takashi Murakami make this one of the most impressive art collections you can find outside a museum.