boss Mr. John Jefferis, saying he was the one being "unrealistic''.

They suggested the reason only two of the six firms invited had submitted bids for work at the hotel was because the demands bordered on impossible.

The Paget resort was seeking to build 22 luxury suites on a slope below its pool by summer. Construction was expected to start this week.

But Mr. Jefferis announced this week the hotel's owners were "deeply concerned'' with the "excessive bids'' received and had decided to put the project on hold.

He said it would be incorporated into the hotel's "master plan'' -- to be submitted to the Planning Department in about two months.

Mr. Jefferis, managing director of the Elbow Beach Development Company, blasted local construction firms for not taking a more realistic approach to pricing "now that the excesses of the 1980s were over.'' Both Mr. Jeff McKay of BTS and Mr. Peter Smith of D&J said they had not yet heard anything official from the hotel on their bids and would rather not comment on his statements.

However, Mr. Smith said: "D&J never deliberately inflates a bid. We don't bid to lose jobs. And if our bids are too high, then why are we doing most of the work out there at the moment.'' The company is currently erecting a new Bank of Bermuda branch in Hamilton.

An official at DeCosta Construction said the firm decided not to bid because the two-week tendering period was too short. The firm had been working on putting together other bids as well.

He added the "tight construction period'' required for the suites and "onerous'' demands of the hotel made the project even more unattractive. The hotel had wanted the 22 units built in about five months at a cost of around $4 million.

Mr. Gilbert Lopes, also invited to bid, said he decided against it because the hotel's time and cost demands were excessive. "They were asking for far too much,'' he said. "I don't think anybody could have done it.'' Mr. Jefferis' answer to the construction heads was, "Maybe they need to work a little harder.'' He added: "They want us to pay them enough money to make them profitable, while we take the losses.'' Meanwhile, a construction company, which has been hired by the hotel in the past, cried foul over not being invited to bid this time.

Sea-Land Construction president Mr. Andrew Cooper said he was given a "lame excuse'' for not being asked to bid.

He was told a dispute existed stemming from the last project the company worked on for the hotel. Mr. Cooper said he assumed it had something to do with the "saga'' over the American wallpaperers found working illegally at the resort this year.