The Wyndham resort will close next month as work begins on a $200 million dollar revamp which will see the trademark curved 150-room Carlton Wing flattened as the hotel goes upmarket.

Wyndham boss Alan Worden said the new water park installed by previous owner Cliff Schorer could also go while the 100-room Bay Wing facing Sinky Bay might yet be saved.

He said: ?We are looking at this with a fresh approach, a blank canvass.?

World renowned resort planners and architects Hart Howerton have been hired to upgrade the 32-acre Southampton former Sonesta property from a three star to a five star facility.

As well as a new luxury hotel with condo-hotel and fractional accommodation, the site is expected to include a recreation club designed to appeal to Bermudian families wanting fine dining and spa facilities.

Five new villas will overlook Cross Bay while nearly 60 villas will be put elsewhere on the hillside.

Explaining the concept to Mr. Worden said the hotel would still have around 250 beds when work was finished in 2009 but standards will have increased dramatically.

?In the 1960s when this was developed there were the traditional transient rooms ? the 500 square foot shoe box. Now the consumer expects suites of two or three bedrooms, people want to stay in a place at least as nice as their home but the inventory in Bermuda doesn?t meet that need. Wyndham certainly doesn?t meet that need.?

He said the hotel could still reopen under the Wyndham brand.

?We are talking to a variety of flags, including the Wyndham. A number of flags have approached us who are really interested in being involved in Bermuda.?

The Southampton Club, a swanky leisure facility open to both island residents and hotel guests will offer tennis, squash, and exercise facilities, pool and beach access, spa amenities and fine dining options.

The concept was introduced at another of Mr. Worden?s hotels in Nantucket two years ago. ?We have had about 450 family memberships in that time.?

Mr. Worden, who heads Windwalker Bermuda LLC, an ownership consortium financed by resort financiers the Lehman Brothers, is confident the mammoth project could be done on time and on budget with work shared between several firms.

Over the next few weeks a local design team, including a Bermudian architectural and engineering firm, will be announced.

Minister of Tourism and Transport Ewart Brown said: ?We share Windwalker?s enthusiasm for this new hotel project. This is an exciting venture for tourism in Bermuda and we are delighted that Windwalker and Lehman Brothers are investing in Bermuda.

?Since they took over the hotel in March they have been wonderful partners with the government. We look forward to seeing the new hotel come to fruition and we will do all we can to help them succeed.?

Windwalker has hired Ernst & Young?s Hospitality Research Group and Lou Ann Gleason to conduct market analysis to clearly understand the needs of Bermuda?s tourists.

Mr. Worden?s publicists said he had 15 years experience in real estate investment banking and advisory experience in New York City, most recently serving as a Director at Wells Hill Partners, Ltd., a New York City-based boutique real estate investment banking firm.

Previously Mr. Worden spent ten years affiliated with a family office in New York where he focused on real estate investments in private equity, commercial mortgage backed securities and short duration private debt.