A new hotel in the East End — and the resurrection of the St George’s Golf Course — are finally paving the way for a brighter future for the St George’s Club, according to club president Sally Kyle.

After years of difficult business in the former capital, hopes of a resurgence are high with work due to begin on a five-star resort in the coming months.

“I think we’re pretty excited about the possibility of the golf course reopening,” Mrs Kyle said.

“That really has made a huge dent in our business. A lot of our original members joined because there was the golf course, so a lot of members didn’t renew their leases. It hasn’t looked very pretty over the last couple of years, so I think that’s all very positive. And it was a lovely course.”

Mrs Kyle gave an interview to The Royal Gazette to kick off a series of articles with hoteliers assessing the state of the tourism industry at the beginning of 2016.

She reflected on the East End’s difficulties after the golf course closed in the light of the Club Med implosion in 2008.

While efforts were made to maintain and reopen the course, with the support of local residents and St George’s MP Kenneth Bascome, Mrs Kyle said the cost of keeping it open was just too high.

“We partnered with the Chamber of Commerce and a few local businesses, and they were supportive, however with the recession it was difficult for people to continue to commit and it was costly,” she said. “It’s a big undertaking. The fact that there was no water catchment there meant we couldn’t water and those were the years when there was drought. When you’ve got droughts and the hurricanes, it’s hard.”

Mrs Kyle said that the proposed resort would not be viewed as a rival, noting that it would serve a different niche.

“St Regis is very high end, so you’re looking at a five-star resort,” she said. “We have our niche because we are value for money for families who want to come here.

“I think it would be great marketing for the Town of St George and that’s good for everybody. I think all of us in the Bermuda Hotel Association feel that we are not necessarily individual resorts, but that Bermuda is the resort. We have all got something different to offer and even if someone doesn’t stay in our hotel they might come and eat at our resort.”

Mrs Kyle said that business has been up and down in 2015, saying that a reduction of winter flights had hurt the number of visitors, but she said she believed the Bermuda Tourism Authority is moving in the right direction.

“Certainly Bermuda is out there as a destination, which is helpful to all the hotels,” she said. “In the past, we very much had to rely on doing our own advertising, and if the destination is not out there, frankly it’s a waste of our money.”

She said that while casinos could also be beneficial for the Island, the St George’s Club does not intend on seeking a licence to operate one.

“It’s not something I would feel the need to have,” she said. “It’s an expensive product to put in, the infrastructure would be very costly, which is why it makes sense for it to be with a new development.”

Mrs Kyle also expressed hope about the potential boost from the America’s Cup. While she said the hotel didn’t receive a huge boost from the World Series events in October, she believed the 2017 event could be much more positive.

“The St George’s Club, as all the hotels on the Island, have had to commit to having a certain number of rooms a night for the five weeks, and obviously not everybody can be in the West End or Hamilton, so people will be in the east and they will have to lay on some extra ferries and water taxis to take people down. I think there may even be some extra cruise ships in just to cope with everybody.

“I think the October weekend was a great indication of how exciting it is. Hamilton was just buzzing.

“We didn’t see much of a boost, I have to say. I think it was always going to be centred around Hamilton, and certainly the hotels in Hamilton felt the difference.”

• In The Royal Gazette tomorrow: Tucker’s Point.