The management team at The Reefs is quite literally keeping it in the family. David Dodwell senior, president of the resort based in Southampton, has been at The Reefs for the past 35 years.

And now his son David Dodwell junior has been appointed director of rooms at the resort.

In fact, The Reefs prides itself on its strong sense of family, with more than half of its guests and their relatives returning each year and several generations of family on the staff.

"I am absolutely thrilled that David has decided to return to Bermuda to work with us at The Reefs," said Mr. Dodwell snr.

"The Reefs family continues to grow, and David will fit in perfectly with the rest of the caring staff."

Mr. Dodwell snr. started his career in the hotel trade at the age of 14 working in a store room at Elbow Beach Hotel unloading trolleys, loading shelves and delivering supplies to all corners of the hotel.

He enrolled in a hotel management course at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration in Ithaca, New York, before coming back to Bermuda, where he worked at Cambridge Beaches for one year and then took on the role of resident manager at The Reefs at the age of 24.

In the mid to late 1970s Mr. Dodwell snr. was given a 20-percent stake in the resort by its previous American owner in return for a five-year commitment to stay there and went on to buy the majority interest within a five-year period.

"It was about being in the right place at the right time," he said. "I think you make your own luck.

"I have loved every minute of it — this kind of business gets in your blood."

Mr. Dodwell snr. puts the success of The Reefs down to having a good set of employees, mainly Bermudians, who have helped him achieve the highest standards, reflected in the resort winning third place in the Atlantic resorts in Conde Nast Traveler's Readers' Choice Awards 2008, which in turn give him the most satisfaction.

He also attributes the resort's good following to ploughing back the money he has made from the business into the venture to improve the facilities for the customer.

Above all, Mr. Dodwell snr, believes being the best you want to be by competing against hotels in Bermuda and across the world is behind the secret of its success.

"I am in this for the long haul and I have absolutely no intention of leaving or selling, it is my life and my career," he said.

"Right now we are involved in the biggest project that The Reefs has undertaken, worth $55 million in upgrades, renovations and additions."

The new development comprises a cocktail lounge, two restaurants, a brand new kitchen and a staff lounge. The final phase of the project, which consists of 19 two- and three-bedroom fractional residences and a new spa, alongside an infinity pool, fitness centre, club room and private pool and bar as well as a new laundry for the whole complex is expected to be completed in May 2009, according to Mr. Dodwell snr.

"It is a massive project that so far has gone well, but it is incredibly time-consuming and detail-orientated," he admitted.

"We are actually building the infrastructure for the next 30 years — it is a major investment.

"The concept there is a mixed-use development which includes the real estate component in order to fund the back office stuff."

A day in the life of Mr. Dodwell snr, who also runs a 36-room hotel on the Caribbean island of Nevis, can involve everything from holding site and marketing meetings to planning for the opening and operation of the new development.

"One minute I could be choosing a door knob and the next focusing on the marketing of the whole project," he said. "In fact, I will be launching the residence club marketing in London next month.

"What I like about it is that no two hours are the same and you meet incredible people — one minute you are meeting a journalist and then a chairman of a design company and the next a construction worker, and I think that is what makes it exciting."

Mr. Dodwell jnr.'s first employment, aged 12, was a summer job at The Reefs, starting off stocking the cabinet in the wine cellar every morning and working his way up through every department, from house keeping to the dining rooms.

At the age of 18 he went to the US to study for a major in history, but spent every summer back on the Island at the former Sonesta Beach Resort on food and beverages, and the front desk to further his hotel education.

That was followed by a five-year stint at a travel agency for high school teachers and their students, which took him to Boston, California and Oregon, however a desire to return to his first love of hotels saw him attend the same college as his father to attain a Master's degree in Hotel Management in Spring 2007, having previously come back to Bermuda via two years at Nine Beaches, during which time he oversaw the opening of the resort in the position of assistant manager and then resident manager.

"Bermuda is where I grew up as a child on the beach at The Reefs and wanted to be," he said.

"I have seen how the staff has made the hotel what it is today."

Mr. Dodwell jnr., whose job ranges from running the rooms division, front desk, reservations and house keeping departments, as well as marketing and pricing the package development, reckons the most important part of a guest's stay is the experience they have at the resort and one of the greatest challenges facing the industry as a whole is to make sure that is as enjoyable as possible.

He said it was about preparing them for what the experience will be like, giving them the full experience and ensuring it meets their expectation. Furthermore, Mr. Dodwell jnr. views listening to the customer, their likes and dislikes and fulfilling those needs in order to stay one top.

"For me to know that my father has invested his life in this hotel, it is important for me to continue that investment," he said.

During his time off, Mr. Dodwell snr., who has five children aged 11 to 32, including three daughters and two sons, likes nothing better than reading and travelling the world to sate his taste for hotels, from England and Wales to Italy and Florida, with South Africa his dream destination.

Meanwhile, Mr. Dodwell jnr., spends most of his time with his wife Kathleen and six-month old baby William, but also likes to go snowboarding and hiking, and lists such far-flung places as South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand as his top locations.

For now though his home is very much in Bermuda and he is just happy keeping up the Dodwell family tradition of the hotel trade.