A Canadian tourist has spoken of the "wonderful atmosphere" at the Southampton Princess as 1,200 guests spent Hurricane night in the flagship hotel's amphitheatre.

Gerry Levasseur, 70, from Edmonton, and his 65-year-old wife Helga, left their fifth floor deluxe suite at the Princess just one hour before its roof was ripped off by Fabian's devastating winds.

The Canadian, himself a hotelier, has since been put up in the Hamilton Princess for the remainder of his week long holiday on the Island.

"I have nothing but praise for the staff at the Princess," said Mr. Levasseur, who arrived on the Island on Thursday afternoon.

"All the guests were taken down to the amphitheatre and it was only an hour later that the roof was taken off our hotel room. The furniture there has just crumbled and I have lost a lot of my clothes and things - but we are not going to let it ruin our holiday.

"When the stores re-open I might have to get some new clothes, but we are not worried. We are safe, we are okay and that is what matters."

Travelling with another couple, the Canadians are regular visitors to Bermuda and fully intend to make the most of their remaining days here, hoping to go swimming with dolphins at Dockyard and generally "touring the Island".

He is full of praise for the hotel, its management and the other guests as the night passed, for them, without incident in the safety of the bowels of the building.

"We were never afraid at any stage," he told The Royal Gazette.

"Everyone was very cool, calm and collected. There was no panic, no concerns. It was actually a wonderful atmosphere in the amphitheatre.

"They put on a buffet as good as what we would have had in the dining room. They really looked after us. That is typical of the way Bermudians are - this really is how you should run a hotel.

"The manager is one hell of a guy. We saw him and his assistant out and about at 3 a.m. making sure everyone was alright. These guys must have stayed up all night."

He added he was particularly impressed that they allowed staff members' families to come in and stay at the hotel while the worst of the storm hit.

As well as its own residents, the Southampton Princess had to accommodate 200 guests from the Sonesta Beach which was decimated by Fabian, and put everyone in the Mid-Ocean amphitheatre where food and entertainment was provided.