Grateful tourists have praised taxi drivers and staff at The Fairmont Southampton for coming to the rescue when they lost their backpack and passports.

Lori Imbesi was visiting Bermuda with her family on board the Norwegian Breakaway last month when they accidentally left their bag in the back of the taxi taking them to the hotel.

“We were so happy that the people of Bermuda were so kind,” Mrs Imbesi, from New York, told The Royal Gazette.

“We love Bermuda and the people that live there. They came through in a huge way for us. We were very impressed.”

After arriving on April 27, Mrs Imbesi, her husband Vincent, and their two children, caught a taxi from Dockyard to The Fairmont Southampton, where they had booked a room for one night.

But about an hour after arriving, they realised they had left their backpack containing their passports in the back of the cab and immediately informed the staff at the hotel.

“Everyone at hotel was telling us not to be worried but, of course, coming from New York City, we couldn’t help but be worried,” she said.

Mrs Imbesi had no receipt and did not know the driver’s name — the only description she could give was that he wore yellow tinted glasses.

“We were worried that day and night. We weren’t sure if we could get back on the boat, back to New York.”

Come morning, the family was delighted to hear the driver, a “Mr Gilbert”, had been found.

“He had returned our bag back to the cruise ship,” Mrs Imbesi said, adding that another taxi driver helped in the search.

Mrs Imbesi sent a “huge thank you” to all those who helped, saying the story was “a true testament to the Bermudian culture”.

She was most impressed with how calm and confident the staff at the hotel were, adding that Fairmont Gold Manager John Herbert assured them that ten times out of ten situations like this are resolved successfully.

“I knew in my heart that we would get the passport back for sure,” Mr Herbert said. “We did every possible thing from our end.”

Mr Herbert called the taxi company, individual drivers, the police and even the US Consulate.

Eventually, he and his team were able to determine that the bag had been dropped off in Dockyard. He extended a special thank you to bell captain Keith James for his assistance.

“At Fairmont, we own the problem of the guest and try to make sure that the guests leave with a smile and always want to come back,” Mr Herbert said.

“I’ve handled a situation like this before but this is like an achievement because we completed it with a smile, so I’m very happy.”

Having only booked for one night, Mr Herbert said he wished the family could have stayed for one more day. But he is already looking forward to welcoming them back.

According to a spokeswoman, The Fairmont Southampton in undertaking a service promise training course with every colleague in the building to ensure that all of their guests have the same experience as the Imbesi family.

“Mr Herbert is one of many shining stars at The Fairmont Southampton and we were thrilled to hear how he went above and beyond to help the Imbesi family,” she added.