AT a time when many of Bermuda's hoteliers are struggling to fill rooms, the Oxford Guest House is bucking the trend.

Lauded by the Tourism Department for its attention to detail, appreciated by guests for its superior service, the 12-room property on Woodbourne Avenue has been through a series of hands with varied success.

Created in 1938 as a means of coping with guest overflow from the former Bermudiana Hotel, that Oxford Guest House runs as smoothly as it does today is a credit to the woman behind it. It will be 21 years this spring that Ann Smith bought the guest house, restored it from the dilapidated condition it was in and reopened its doors to visitors.

"When I bought Oxford House there were seven guest houses along this road. I'm the only one left," she explained. "It's the only house on the island that was purpose built as a guest house. It actually had lost its licence to operate because it was in quite poor shape, but we thought the location was very good.

"The work we had to do (to make improvements) was mainly cosmetic. It took us about three months to organise it, to change it and make it habitable for guests, before we were up and running. We haven't really looked back since."

With no prior experience at running a hotel, Mrs. Smith says she runs the business as if catering to guests in her own home. Three live-in employees, make her efforts that much more effective.

"It's housekeeping," she said. "It's like having guests in your house ? except that they pay. You don't need any experience for it, you just need a real devotion to the business. You have to be devoted to it. I've been lucky that I don't live here. I'm lucky that I have a home. If you live there, it can really get you down because you constantly have to be on duty."

Since the industry introduced the Hotel Merit Award eight years ago to acknowledge those who go above and beyond the minimum health, fire and tourism requirements, the Oxford Guest House has regularly walked away with the top guest house prize ? the Cedar Tree Merit Award.

"It's successful, I think, because I have good staff and I like the business," Mrs. Smith added. "You have to like people. It can be very stressful. Basically, I think it's good value. The rates are quite good. It's close to town ? they don't have to spend a lot of money on taxis.

Guests can walk to restaurants at night. It's a safe area, particularly for ladies, to walk. The rooms are well kept. They have all direct-dial phones and cablevision. Our guests have clean linen every day. I think that's the main thing; keeping it clean all the time, particularly when you're close to a road. There's a lot of dust and dirt. We're constantly cleaning.

"I don't really advertise. We have a lot of repeat guests, people hear of us through word of mouth. What's important is that (a property) is clean, well-run, the guests are well looked after, and that someone is on hand to smile even if they don't feel like smiling. I enjoy it otherwise I wouldn't do it. I'm very lucky that I found something that I enjoy doing, not a lot of people do."

important aspect to the business, Mrs. Smith feels, is the ability to adapt to change. "The whole business has changed completely. It's amazing. (Today) we see mainly businessmen. We've had to become a little more efficient. They need the Internet ? we've had to have more phones put in so they could have direct lines. We do their laundry for them and take it back the same day.

"Businessmen just want something that's efficient and close to town and somebody there to look after them. So I've had to change my attitude toward (running a guest house) as well.

"(With business clients), you have to be more professional about it. (On the brochure, we advertise) a two-week cancellation period, you can't do that with businessmen. A lot of it is very last-minute booking, which is a bit scary.

"The Bermuda Hotel Association always asks me what my predictions are; what my occupancy's going to be in August. I haven't got the faintest idea. But we're usually full when it comes to it.

"I don't know how well the small guest houses are doing out of town. They can't be doing very well. There's just no tourists. My occupancy is pretty good. I'm not unhappy but I would like more tourists. The business people are nice but I rather like talking with the tourists, finding restaurants for them, telling them where the bus is, where the ferry is, chatting with them."

The hotelier has passed her interest on to her two children ? Susan (Weare) and Richard ? who today own the Royal Palms Hotel on nearby Rosemont Avenue.

"It's very nice because we deal, in a professional way, almost on a daily basis," she explained. "I'm in constant touch with (them), which is very nice. When my husband James (a former civil engineer and Director of Public Works) was alive, I used to go home and tell him all my problems of the day. "

HE went on:"He died last year and I really miss his advice and counselling. He was always so wise. I miss that dreadfully. So it's very nice having my children in the business. They know exactly what I'm talking about.

"I intend to keep it as long as (I'm interested). I keep saying that the day that I get up in the morning and say I don't want to go in, it will be time for me to hand it to my children. I don't think they're in a hurry for that," she laughed.

The Oxford Guest House is located on Woodbourne Avenue in Hamilton. For more details, telephone 295-0503.