What was to be a peaceful holiday turned into a nightmare for a visiting American family after one member claimed she had to fight off a would-be rapist.

The 26-year-old female visitor claimed she managed to convince her attacker, intent on rape, to leave her room peacefully.

The young professional, visiting the Island with her parents, brother and sister-in-law but staying in a cottage by herself, told The Royal Gazette that she was confronted by the assailant when he climbed onto her bed at night.

The alleged assault took place on a Sunday night after a family gathering in the parent's cottage at a local cottage colony.

The brother and his wife left for their cottage and the woman, who stayed in a separate cottage by herself, followed suit shortly after.

The woman went to bed at about 11 p.m. and said she was awakened an hour later to the sound of her air conditioner running.

"That was unusual because I never turned the air conditioner on," she said.

"I saw a silhouette of him standing next to my bed. He climbed onto the bed and put one hand on my neck and one on my throat, as if to crock me," she said.

She said the assailant forced himself on her, pressed his lips against hers and attempted to reach down her trousers as she resisted, calling him "crazy" at one point.

"He just chuckled, as if I was right," the woman said.

The woman said she was told not to scream and could feel his hand around her neck. She described the man as slender, about six feet tall but said his facial features were distorted by the darkness.

"I just tried to keep my wits about me," she said, as the man began kissing her. She said the assailant was "obviously intent to rape me", as he began shoving his hand down her trousers.

"I remember at one point I asked why and he said because he liked me."

She said part of her resistance was to bat his hand away while telling him to stop.

"I refused to co-operate," the woman told The Royal Gazette, "I wasn't going to give in without a fight."

She said after a few minutes the man asked if she wanted him to leave.

"I said 'yes' and he said he would go if I went back to sleep." She then acted as if she went to sleep.

After several seconds, she said, she got up and noticed that none of her windows or the door, had been forced open. She made her way to her parent's cottage and woke them. Police arrived about 15 minutes after they called the manager.

The woman's brother, who went back to the room after Police technicians examined the cottage, said the phone line looked as if had been pulled apart.

Police said they are investigating the incident but declined to release specifics, as per regulations relating to sensitive cases such as sexual assaults.

A Police spokesman said: "We're dealing with an incident which was reported on that day and the matter is still under active investigation. We will release more information when we feel it is appropriate."

The alleged victim's family said they felt compelled to contact the media in a bid to warn visitors and locals of the threat.

The shaken family also insisted there was nothing they could have done differently after the young woman swore she secured her door before retiring for the night.

The victim's brother, a freelance journalist, said that when they travelled to Bermuda, books had given the impression that there is very little crime on the Island.

He showed The Royal Gazette a book published by Discovery Channel called the Insight Guide published in 2000, which suggests there is not much crime because criminals cannot leave the Island.

"We (Island visitors) leave the big cities where we are certainly no strangers to crime and it puts you off your guard here," said the brother. "But I don't know what we would have done differently," he added.

After the incident, the family moved hotels but did not cut their stay short.

The victim said she would return to the Island but is wary of being by herself.