The new owner of the Sonesta Beach Hotel is seriously considering demolishing the landmark building in ten years time, The Royal Gazette has learned.

US businessman Clifford Schorer said yesterday there was a strong possibility he will send send in the bulldozers and rebuild a new hotel on the South Shore site. Mr. Schorer's company Southampton Beach Resorts Ltd. will complete the purchase of Sonesta from the Aetna Life Insurance next Wednesday.

The company has a ten-year plan to upgrade the hotel, which was built in the late 1960's, build 44 town houses, 16 cottages, open a new upmarket restaurant at Cross Bay, construct new tennis courts, and demolish two homes at Cross Bay to replace them with two luxury houses.

Mr. Schorer told The Royal Gazette yesterday that demolition is a strong possibility in ten years time time because Bermuda National Trust and the Planning Department have complained the architecture is not appropriate.

He said: "We are planning further investigation of the Carlton wing (the main hotel) and the status of that. In 10 years time that will be ripe for a major change and we will be looking at the fundamental question of the shape, the architecture and the type of building that will be there."

When asked if this meant he was seriously considering demolishing the hotel and building a new one, he said: "Yeah, absolutely.

"That is something we will be spending a lot of time on in years eight through ten because the National Trust, the Planning Department and others have expressed the opinion that the architecture is inappropriate."