Bermuda's hotels suffered devastating damage as suites were destroyed, roofs ripped off and beachside bars and restaurants along the South Shore reduced to rubble.

Shoreline eateries and bars at Sonesta Beach, Ariel Sands, Elbow Beach and the Fairmont Southampton took heavy hits.

At Sonesta Beach, most of the roof was lifted off, rooms were damaged, and the restaurant at Cross Bay was knocked out.

The Island's biggest hotel, the Fairmont Southampton, will be closed for two weeks after suffering extensive damage.

And at Elbow Beach, Mickey's and Cafe Lido restaurants on Elbow Beach, where owners MEF recently invested $5 million, will need to be demolished.

"We really had the shock of our lives," said Giaacchino DiMeglio of MEF as he stood in the fractured former kitchen of Cafe Lido.

Mr. DiMeglio slept at the hotel last night and attempted to check how the restaurant was faring at 9 p.m. and again two hours later. By that time it was apparent

"The waves took out the cabana down below," he said. "The bottom cracked and was bouncing up and hitting the front of the restaurant.

"It was like an earthquake, it shook apart from floor to ceiling."

The foundation had buckled and cracked in many areas and a large portion of the ceiling and roof lost left the now clear skies clearly visible.

Nearby Mickey's restaurant, eternally vulnerable to storms, was completely ripped out and apparently lost to the sea. In addition to the decking area, of which no trace was left today, the bar and kitchen area were simply gaping holes.

Most of the roof was lifted off by the winds and many hotel rooms destroyed, with one now harbouring a boat that had been washed in from the ocean.

Sonesta managing director, Dennis Tucker, said 200 guests had been evacuated on Friday to the nearby Fairmont Southampton and soon afterwards the building became waterlogged.

The Longtail Cafe was washed out, and below, in the Greenhouse breakfast room, tables, chairs and other furniture lay strewn across the floor - which was inch deep in sand.

Around the building, windows were shattered and doors torn off their hinges through the combined force of wind and water.

Mr. Tucker said: "The western end of the roof has been demolished and the rooms up there have been severely damaged.

"We will be meeting later on this afternoon to do a proper assessment and will move as quickly as we can to clean up, but, as far as reopening there is no way we can give an approximation for that. It looks as though we are going to be closed for a while."

Major repair work was needed today at the Fairmont Southampton, where the gusts had ripped through the deluxe suites on the top floor, and extensively damaged the entire roof.

Sales and marketing manager for Fairmont Bermuda Michael Choiniere said the hotel would be closed for the next two weeks while Somers Construction carried out repairs and renovation.

The spa and indoor pool were severely damaged, along with the golf course and pro-shop, as were numerous windows throughout the complex.

During the hurricane the 1,000 guests, which included the 200 from Sonesta, were asked to remain in the Mid-Ocean Amphitheatre, where food and entertainment was provided.

Mr. Choiniere said the hotel was today trying to find alternative accommodation for the guests at the Cambridge Beaches and Elbow Beach hotels.

"The property has received severe damage," he said. "We had 1,000 people with us last night and all of them are safe and sound and secure. They were wonderful guests and were very understanding of the situation, and we cannot say enough about our staff. These people were tremendous. There are people here that have not slept yet."

"We were all downstairs in the ballroom. It wasn't very pleasant, obviously. We were there for quite a few hours, just sticking it out, waiting for news," said Sonia Wachsberg, on holiday at the Fairmont Southampton from Toronto with six members of her family and their nanny.

The family, who have a seven-month-old baby with them, come to Bermuda each year: "We came in on Monday. We knew it was coming but not to the extent that it did. "We have never experienced a hurricane before, so that was a first.

"It was terrifying. I found it every scary - not knowing, the unknown, and then seeing everything closed and not able able to circulate. It was especially scary because we have family with a small baby."

Mrs.Wachsberg said she could not believe the damage when she ventured outside today.

"It is devastating," she said. "It's just unbelievable. We were really unaware of what damage was occurring around us because we were quite well isolated - they (the hotel) did the best they could in the circumstances.

"We were some of the lucky ones who were able to go up to their rooms at night. However, we had flooding all through the night. Water was coming through the ceiling and the spotlights.

"They told us if we found it unbearable we could go back down to the ballroom and sleep there but it wasn't really an option after spending nine or ten hours down there. We weren't too happy to do that."

The Fairmont Hamilton, meanwhile, suffered some damage and the situation is to be properly assessed over the next couple of days. No new reservations are being taken until at least Monday, but the hotel is not expected to close at this stage.

Roofs were ripped off at least 30 buildings at Ariel Sands and umbrellas scattered around the property.

The pool at the Devonshire property partly owned by film star Michael Douglas looked like a swamp, covered in branches and debris, the patio was destroyed and the outside bar was completely wrecked, although the statue of Shakespeare's Ariel survived.

Tourist Patrick List from Los Angeles who was here for a wedding, said: "We watched everyone else being rescued.

"It was frightening. We knew it was coming but we came anyway."