The upmarket beach club at the $250 million Tucker's Point Club will open one year behind schedule, The Royal Gazette has learned.

The club, to be used by hotel guests and people buying luxury homes on the site, was due to open this summer, but will not be operational until 2003, developers Bermuda Properties have confirmed.

But houses on the site of the former Marriott's Castle Harbour Resort are selling well and the 108-suite hotel is still on schedule to be built and open in 2004, said Bermuda Properties sales executive Cathy Frith.

The company is using sales of 26 luxury homes on the site ranging from $1.7 million to $3.2 million to help finance the hotel, which will be run by Dallas-based Rosewood Hotels and Resorts. So far, seven of the 13 estate homes, costing $2.5 million to $3.2 million, have been sold, and four out of 13 of the town houses, selling for $1.7 million to $1.9 million, have been snapped up.

But none of the eight plots of land for housing valued between $1.75 million and $4.6 million have been sold.

Ms Frith said there were no major problems with the project, but money was being focused on other parts of the development.

"It's just one of those things where we are focusing on other things and the designs took a little while for everyone to agree on and now we can move forward," she said.

"There are no major hiccups, its just part of the development process. It's also the allocation of funds. We need to focus the money.

"The beach club is important but we won't have that many houses built by next year and we don't want to have it too far out from the time the hotel is ready because we want it to be a new facility.

"We are still on schedule to have the hotel open in 2004. It is more than likely we'll start the demolition of the hotel this summer or early fall. We don't have a demolition date as yet."

Tucker's Point Club is being in five phases, culminating in the opening of the hotel in 2004.

The developers were scheduled to open nine holes of the golf course last October, but have decided to open all 18 holes. The new clubhouse and beach club were due to be opened this year.