devoted to the Caribbean.

However the reports were not all glowing in the March/April copy of Caribbean Travel & Life, which featured the Cambridge Beaches Spa and the Department of Tourism's Jazzscape.

The article about the best eight resort spas in the region opened: "In the dead of night, I awoke to the sound of an intruder entering my hotel room.

"Luckily, I was unharmed and all he took was my sense of security. It was my first night in Bermuda.'' The accommodation itself was not mentioned, nor was anything further about the incident, and its writer -- the magazine's senior editor Norie Quintos Danyliw -- noted that the following morning she received her first massage and "nearly a decade later I'm still a spa-goer''.

About ten years later, she describes Cambridge Beaches -- which ranked in the top eight -- as an "intimate spa facility'' providing "royal pampering in a luxurious cottage setting with a decidedly British accent''.

She said the best the spa offered was: "An invigorating personal training session followed by a dip in the whirlpool, capped off with an exotic aromatherapy massage.'' But Ms Danyliw added: "Some might find the cozy quarters a bit off-putting -- coed whirlpool is within earshot of the reception desk (a partial wall affords some privacy).'' In an accompanying article, writer Mike Harms brings to light the Island's weather in unflattering terms.

"The intrepid traveller recognises there's more to the tropics than surf and sunshine. Which was why I was unfazed by the drizzling rain when I checked into the Sonesta Beach Resort Bermuda one dreary Sunday.'' But in a separate article concerning Jazzscape, Mr. Harms is full of praise for Tourism's efforts to drum up business during the tail end of the season and bring "a little excitement to the land of starched shorts''.

TOURISM TOU