Bermuda lost one of its best known hoteliers of the "golden age of tourism" yesterday when Conrad Engelhardt passed away at the age of 84.

Mr. Engelhardt was the general manager of the Inverurie Hotel - later the Palm Reefs - on Harbour Road for 38 years and remained an outspoken observer and critic of Island tourism throughout his later years.

Last night, Mr. Engelhardt's daughter, Joann Johnston, remembered her father as a "strong and persistent" man.

"He was a very goal-oriented businessman," she said.

As a child Ms Johnston recalled, her family lived in the Inverurie Hotel for six months each year because the business was the centre of the family's lives.

"We lived in the hotel for six months and then, when it got busy in the summer, we moved out," she said.

Long-time family friend Pat Siddle also recalled Mr. Engelhardt's dedication to his family and his business.

"Despite his somewhat gruff outer appearance, he was a very kind-hearted man," said Ms Siddle. "He was always very generous with his hospitality."

Born in New York in 1917, Mr. Engelhardt was granted Bermudian status in 1969.

"He was always very proud to say that you needed six sponsors for status at the time and his six were all Sir somethings," said Ms Johnston last night.

Among the notable Bermudians who supported the hotelier's bid for status were Sir Harry Butterfield, Sir Henry Vesey, Sir James Pearman, Sir Henry Tucker and Sir Howard Trott.

Mr. Engelhardt was a graduate of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and last night his daughter said that institution was always dear to his heart.

He was known to have kept in close touch with the school's Class of '42 and even offered discount rates at the hotel to Cornell alumni during the slow season.

Ms Johnston said her father was very torn when he sold the Inverurie.

Despite battling for many years for lower airfares to the Island, he was unable to get sufficient numbers to support the hotel and decided he had to sell in 1989.

The hotel was run as a guest house under the name Palm Reef until 1997 when it closed its doors for good.

The property on Harbour Road is now being developed as a condo complex.

Mr. Engelhardt was a member of the Mid-Ocean Club, the Coral Beach Club and SKAL, a hospitality industry association. He enjoyed tennis and stamp collecting but was not content to simply loll away his retirement.

In recent years, his daughter said he'd turned his considerable energies to developing another Island property.

Mr. Engelhardt had been working on a deal to develop Christian Bay on the South Shore near the Reefs hotel.

Last night, Ms Johnston said the deal was very close to settlement and she and her mother hope to see that dream of her father's to completion.

In 1998, Mr. Engelhardt's work in Island tourism was honoured with an Award of Excellence from the Bermuda Hotel Association.

He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Anne, his daughter Joann, and two grandchildren, Emily and Arthur - who knew him best as "PopPop".

A memorial date for Mr. Engelhardt will be announced at a later time.

The family are asking that any donations be sent to the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14850.