Hurricanes are an occupational hazard for staff and managers of Bermuda's Lido seafront restaurant. The dining complex, including the famous Mickey's bistro on the beach, suffered hefty damage in 2003's Hurricane Fabian.

It has taken around $12 million to rebuild a better and, hopefully, hurricane-resistant Lido complex.

As he gazes through one of the dining area's panoramic window views at the calm blue ocean, Gioacchino Di Meglio wonders if a repeat of the devastation of four years ago - or from the other hurricanes that have cannoned through since he arrived at the Lido in 1992 - may at last be a thing of the past.

With a degree of confidence the MEF Group director says: "I'm confident that we have done a good job with the rebuilding. There is a lot of iron in these walls."

He adds the caveat: "But you never know. We are not risk-free."

The MEF group operates the Lido restaurant, the Sea Breeze cafe bar, Mickey's Bistro and the Deep nightclub.

At the moment the nightclub is closed and having improvements made that will turn it into a more relaxed, lounge/club venue.

Looking at the place today it is hard to image the Lido complex was effectively ripped apart by Hurricane Fabian, a category three hurricane that was not only the most powerful of the 2003 season but the strongest to hit Bermuda in 50 years.

The silver lining was the chance to reconstruct and redesign. For MEF that has entailed around $4m to fit-out the various dining interiors, kitchens and night club. A further $8m is thought to have been spent by Elbow Beach Hotel to rebuild what was wrecked by Fabian.

In the past month a brand new conference room / private dining area at the far end of the Lido Restaurant has been completed. It can be isolated from the rest of the dining area and has its own access to a beach patio area where cocktails can be enjoyed. The room is also serviced by waiters through its own dedicated link to the kitchens.

Remarkably, the new room, which boasts the most spectacular views of the beach and ocean, was previously part of the kitchen area and was used as the dish washing area.

Today it can either be a conference room for up to 26 people, or turned into a dining area for as many as 46. A concealed flat-screen TV is soon to be installed to complete its conference-facility credentials.

Mickey's Bistro has been wiped out three times since Hurricane Felix in 1995. But the restaurant refuses to be beat and has been rebuilt to a specification that should now protect it even from a maximum category five hurricane, according to Mr. Di Meglio who mentions that important utility lines are now buried underground.

"Mickey's has a casual feeling for dining outside and it is a real money-maker because people love to dine on the beach wearing casual dress," said Mr. Di Meglio.

A retractable roof allows diners to experience totally open-air surroundings when conditions permit, and the electronic roof, like those above the Sea Breeze Cafe/Bar outdoor area, can be quickly closed up if showers threaten.

The al fresco experience of Sea Breeze for an outdoor breakfast or casual tapas or sushi late into the night has added a welcome relaxed ambiance to the dining complex and is popular with customers seeking snacky food rather than full-blown dinner.

Ennio Lucarini is the general manager of the Lido dining and entertainment complex. With so much outdoor dining on offer it adds another dimension and both Mr. Lucarini and Mr. Di Meglio must keep a constant eye on the weather.

"The biggest challenge is our exposure to the weather. We have to make decisions on whether to go ahead with outdoor service and risk a rain shower coming at the start of the evening when the tables have been laid, or if it is going to be too windy," explained Mr. Di Meglio.

"We have to make sure that people are eating in a safe environment and that concern can be a constant stress. We watch the news, the internet and the satellite images to see what storms are in the area and what shower activity so we can anticipate."

Better access to weather predictions and the sturdier facilities now means that, whereas in the past the Lido complex could lose up to five or six days of business due to adverse weather, it now loses none.

With a main restaurant that has three distinct 'furniture-look' areas to create a more intimate feel, a category five hurricane-proof Mickey's, outdoor breakfast and al fresco patio eating, and a soon to re-open relaxed night club, the Lido experience has just about everything that Mr. Di Meglio and his colleagues have envisioned.

What is missing? A barbecue food area on the beach perhaps - well that is already being considered. No, what is missing is cellphone signal coverage for Digicel customers in the main Lido Restaurant. If you are connected to CellularOne you are fine, but Digicel customers remain out of reach of their network. Mr. Di Meglio hopes the powers that be will take note.