or take showers for three days, a frustrated hotelier told The Royal Gazette yesterday.

Mermaid Beach owner Mr. Brian Alkon said his property went without power from Monday until late yesterday afternoon. His guests were "not happy''.

He said he understood the Bermuda Electric Company was doing a good job in getting the private sector back on line. But he said he believed hotels should be a priority.

Mr. Alkon said he spoke to Belco linemen on Tuesday night who told him they were coming back in the morning to fix the pole and transformer outside the hotel.

But as of 11 a.m. yesterday no one had started doing any work on the pole outside of the hotel, he said, but plenty of Belco trucks had driven past it.

Mr. Alkon said he telephoned the chief executive officer of the Hotel Employers of Bermuda, Mr. John Harvey, on Tuesday to find out why other hotels had received their power while his phone call was never returned.

"When I finally contacted him, Mr. Harvey said the president of Belco, Mr.

Garry Madeiros, had told him the hotel was back on line, which is why he had not returned my call,'' said Mr. Alkon, adding that the hotel did not have power at that point so he called Mr. Madeiros.

He said: "Mr. Madeiros told me he must have gotten his information wrong and had to go to a meeting, but would call me back.'' In addition to inconveniencing the guests, Mr. Alkon said he was forced to bring in extra security because he could not put his security lights on once his generator had run out of fuel.

"Guests had to sleep with their windows open because there was no air- conditioning and this made them more vulnerable,'' he said.

"I am duty bound to my guests and have not charged them for the last two days because I have not been able to provide them with basic amenities such as running water.

"They have not been able to have a shower for almost three days.'' "After two days of eating buffet-style dinners in a dirty restaurant, they are getting very angry,'' he added.

"Why should they be sitting in Hamilton having dinner with electric lights and air conditioning when I am in Warwick, in the dark?''