shutdowns as the recession continues to bite.

Last night manager Ms Bridget Marshall said the hotel will close from December 1 to February 1.

And she also said the nine-room Edgehill Manor Guest House may also close its doors.

She has been unable to find a Bermudian as a live-in staff member.

The Palm Reef closure will allow a long-awaited $150,000 bathroom renovation scheme to go ahead.

Several of the properties' old bathrooms need retiling and plumbing.

Ms Marshall said the hotel normally closed for six weeks every winter -- but the recession had hit particularly hard this year.

"We've had to extend the closure because of lack of business. It's just too costly to stay open.'' Ms Marshall said Palm Reef had experienced a rollercoaster summer -- a good May and June, but a disastrous July.

Currently occupancy levels were good, running at about 85 percent. But predictions for the coming months were gloomy.

"December and January is bad at the best of times,'' she added.

On the possible Edgehill Manor shutdown, Ms Marshall said she had tried in vain to advertise for a staff member for the Pembroke property.

"We always have a high occupancy rate there, but if there isn't the staff I can't keep it open.'' Ms Marshall said the job, which involved general maintenance of the guest house, would appeal to a woman.