Guests who have stayed at the The Reefs Beach Club as long ago as 1952 will find at least one member of staff from 54 years ago still preparing afternoon tea.

Sylvia Celeste Bean is the ultimate proof that the South Shore resort finds its greatest strength in being a home-from-home community that attracts extraordinary levels of loyalty from repeat visitors and ever-present staff.

A rocky outcrop above the beach is known as ?Caso?s Point? in memory of a long-standing guest who visited the resort an incredible 123 times and always fished from the same vantage point.

The level of repeat visitors is one of the resort?s greatest endorsements, together with the views of vacationers who voted The Reefs third best hotel for service in the greater Caribbean region in this year?s Travel and Leisure Magazine and Conde Nast World?s Best Top 100 list.

On the face of things, there doesn?t appear to be a great deal that needs altering at The Reefs despite a new man being appointed at the helm in the past month.

But managing director Ben Tutt and his staff are not going to be resting on their laurels.

The resort has been granted planning permission, at the third attempt, to redevelop land to its immediate west and add some extra guest suites in a new east wing, as well as create a new dining room, spa, house keeping and laundry facility, gym, pool and reception.

The project will also include the creation of around 25 longtail nests, with half of them to be built into the walls of the new hotel building walls.

That is all for the future and could still be subject to a review by UK inspectors if objectors request, for now Mr. Tutt is looking at the immediate upgrading of furniture and fittings at the 65-room resort and spa.

He has previously worked for the Wyndham Hotel group in Puerto Rico, and a number of hotels in California and Colorado. He is a graduate of Cornell University?s school of hotel administration, and it was through the Cornell network he was head-hunted by David Dodwell, president of The Reefs, to become only the third general manager of the resort in the past 34 years.

He took over from Neal Stephens, who is now the owner/manager of the Rosemont Hotel, last month.

Mr. Tutt?s immediate sights are on upgrading the resort with new furniture, fittings and equipment.

Everything from bed linen to chairs to new televisions are on the itinerary checklist in the coming months.

?Quality of service is a large portion of the success of any hotel. The number one thing I hear from repeat guests here is that they feel part of the family. We treat them as part of the family and we have staff who have been here for over 50 years,? said Mr. Tutt.

?The staff hug is very common. Guests walk in and hug the staff they remember from their previous visits.?

Sylvia Celeste Bean makes afternoon tea for guests. She is the longest serving staff member having begun her career in 1952 and now finds herself greeting guests many of whom are the children of the honeymooning couples she has met during the past 54 years.

In her lengthy service at the resort she has worked as a waitress, assistant maitre?d and maitre?d.

Since 2004 she has been responsible for arranging afternoon tea.

?I find that I am now serving the children of the honeymoon couples I first met. We have a lot of repeat guests and staff who have been here for 20, 30 or 40 years,? she explained.

?This place has become a part of me. And for many guests and staff it becomes their home from home. The Reefs has a special clientele that makes it a pleasure to work here.?

The new managing director of The Reefs is a fourth generation hotelier. Mr. Tutt?s family has managed the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs since it opened in 1918 ? an establishment that has held five star and five diamond awards since the hotel ratings were introduced.

He started out as an apprentice chef at the Broadmoor before going on to work for a number of hotels around the US, including Carefree Resorts in California.

As well as 8,000 past guests who receive The Reefs regular newsletters there is an impressive network of 40,000 who happily receive email updates about what is happening at the resort ? another example of The Reefs? extended family network that ensures it continuing success.

?It is very nice. Some of the emails I get back are from people who stayed here 25 years ago for their honeymoon and still remember their stay here being special and happy to hear about the latest news from The Reefs,? he said.

?The setting for The Reefs is remarkable but a lot of the success is down to the people, the friendships that guests develop amongst themselves and with the staff.?

Mr. Tutt said: ?I do not want to change the feel of the place because that is what makes it work.

?I love what I do. Working in the hotel business is exciting and every day is different. The bottom line is that you have to care and that is what The Reefs has been doing very well.?

He believes the recent injection of competition to the airline market has helped Bermuda?s tourism prospects.

?The more cities you can link up with the better. I have heard that Charlotte could be coming on. And Bermuda also has a certain mystic. For someone from the North East US there is no easier tropical island to reach. I believe it is affordable and great value. ?Bermuda?s pristine environment adds value and it has an infrastructure you don?t see on other islands.?

And from the hotel, looking at the panoramic view across the private beach below, he added: ?We will bring the physical part of the hotel up to scratch and then look to bring a new generation in to The Reefs. I want to keep us up there amongst the top of the (world best) lists and being number one would not hurt.?