March 17, 2011Dear Sir,This is the second time in 45 years that I feel the need to write to you because of a real possibility of a huge mistake being permitted to happen.My first objection was voiced against the building of a baseball diamond on Cooper's Island when the US military was stationed there.The concept of creating a number of luxury homes on what little protected open space remains is more than offensive – it is an outrageous imposition. Our land mass is finite and if we want tourists to visit they are welcome in our guest houses and hotels, plus any remaining bed and breakfast places.If the former Castle Harbour Hotel site had been used wisely the number of guests to be accommodated could be far greater. It is still not too late to modify the group of three-storey buildings into a very charming and elegant boutique hotel. Especially if some of the classic touches of tray ceilings, deep porches and even “eyebrows” as employed in designs by Will Onions to great advantage, were used now!We did quite well in the past because of the warmth and friendliness of Bermudians towards our visitors. What was attracting people to visit is still here – the beauty of our country; and while being close to the US we had a lot of the character and charm of a place with strong European traits.Our young people are looking for outlets for their energy and ideas, perhaps we can channel those qualities into positive efforts to show pride in our country. Our gardens and parks invite tour guides to give details about our plantings and farms. We need to emphasise the positives and the uniqueness of Bermuda and we will get return visitors.Just because other jurisdictions have timeshare luxury homes does not mean that we have to follow suit – Bermuda is another world! Perhaps we can have a competition for artists (of all ages) and architects to design a better version of an additional section to the hotel. As my grandma would have put it, “cut a coat to fit the cloth!”ETERNAL OPTIMISTSt. George's