It's been two years of strategic planning, public and private sector consultations, raising financing and going through a multi-layered bureaucratic process in Bermuda, and at the end of it all Ramadhin (Rammy) Smith is still smiling.

"We're almost there and we're still excited," he says about The Cliffs Resort and Spa, the luxury hotel and residential development he and his partner David Johanson are planning to build in Bermuda on the site formerly proposed for a Ritz Carlton property.

In a classic case of serendipity the two future business partners met and became friends while they were both involved in the Waterfront project in Hamilton. Bermuda Coatings Limited, one of Mr. Smith's companies, provided fireproofing and other commercial grade coating materials for the development.

It was another major project for this self-made man who came from humble beginnings 'back of town' and subsequently worked to own and build at least three successful businesses spanning real estate, professional recruitment services and fireproofing materials. Mr. Johanson, a civil engineer with over 20 years experience in developing and managing commercial and residential projects, managed the Waterfront project for Boston-based Beacon Properties, prior to establishing his own company The DJ Group LLC.

"Rammy and I started talking about the concept of a resort hotel and residential development on the Ritz Carlton site," says Mr. Johanson. "And the idea was to do something even more upscale, but intimate, in nature."

That basic idea spawned what is now The Cliffs, which comprises 100 hotel rooms, 32 villas and 35 residential units, including 12 oceanfront units located in duplexes along the cliff edge.

The 14 acre site along South Shore will also include a full service spa facility with private pool, a restaurant, an additional central pool deck with food service, two boardrooms with meeting facilities in the main building and a beachfront facility with watersports services.The two- and three-bedroom villas and condominiums will be available for purchase or with a leaseback option. The 1,500-1,800 square feet condominiums and 3,000 square feet villas range in price from $1.5 million to $3 million.

Mr. Smith and Mr. Johanson are now poised to bring critical elements of the project together in preparation for a final push for planning approval towards the end of the year. The partners are in an advanced stage of discussions with a consortium of Bermuda-based and overseas banks interested in financing the project.

They also recently met with the design team for the project, prior to final designs being prepared for the next phase of approvals. The design team includes local company Conyers Associates, US group Hill Glazier Architects which specialises in the design of hotels, resorts and spas and Los Angeles-based hospitality industry interior design specialists Barry Design Associates Inc.

And they are about to put the marketing package together, in conjunction with local realtors JW Bermuda Realty, for a pre-construction sales campaign. The partners are hopeful that construction will begin early next year, with the property opening in 2007.

Whilst the development is another so-called 'mixed use' property which is in the pipeline for Bermuda, Mr. Smith emphasises that the intention from day one for the project was to build the hotel and residential components concurrently.

"We view the hotel portion as the main ingredient for the project," he says. "It's central to what we're trying to do with this development."

Indeed, it is Mr. Smith's passionate desire to do something to help Bermuda as it continues the long process of reinventing itself as a tourism destination that clearly still drives his enthusiasm for the project.

"Bermuda needs to have the level of product that we intend to bring to the table with this project to attract the people at the upper-end of the travel market who just aren't coming here in enough numbers," he adds.

"And we have some of the best people in the hospitality business working with us who share our vision for the project and Bermuda."

At the head of that group is Horst Schulze, the renowned former chairman of Ritz Carlton Hotels, whose management company West Paces Hotel Group will operate The Cliffs.

"We're very fortunate to have Horst on board, he is acknowledged around the world for the exceptional results he achieved in terms of luxury service standards at Ritz Carlton," says Mr. Smith. "He knows Bermuda and our proximity to the top five percent of the travelling public in the US. For those people price is almost meaningless, service and quality is everything."

"They key is that when they go on vacation they want the same level of high service and quality that they get at a Ritz or Four Seasons when they travel on business," adds Mr. Johanson, "but at a smaller property that they can enjoy with their families without convention crowds."

Mr Schulze's company, which he established with other former senior Ritz Carlton executives, specialises in developing the highest service standards, training and operations within smaller 'boutique' hotels (75-100 rooms).

Mr. Smith says that the original intention to hire and train Bermudians to fill the positions at the new hotel has not changed."Our desire, and Horst's, is to hire from the local labour pool," he says.

"Horst has opened hotels all over the world and trained locals; we will be looking for suitably qualified locals and providing all the training necessary. and he is very keen to use Bermuda's culture - everything form our cuisine to our history - to make the guests' experience extra special and make them want to come back. Who better to speak to them about our culture than Bermudians?"

As he looks forward to moving on through the next decisive phase of the project Mr. Smith's optimism is unwavering.

"We still have the vision that The Cliffs will be the catalyst for the rejuvenation and respect Bermuda can and should enjoy as a destination," he says.

"We have all the ingredients, but not all the product. We think we'll be the trailblazers to bring that product up a notch, but we can't do it all alone, there has to be support from everyone for Bermuda's sake, from the Department of Tourism and Government in general to the unions to the public. It'll take hard work between now and three years from now, but it can be done."