when it touches on Bermuda's tourism. Recent criticism of hotels, which certainly appears to be accurate, brought instant and huffy denials that the accusations were unfair.

It seems to us that if criticism from people in a position to know the truth is simply going to be rejected, then there is no chance of improvement.

Bermuda is an expensive destination and the people who pay top dollar have a right to expect top facilities and top service. Part of the reason Bermuda's tourism has begun to face tough times is that prices were going up while standards were going down. It may be acceptable to cut corners and save pennies if you are operating a bargain resort but a holiday visitor or a visiting businessman to Bermuda has a right to expect standards which match the charges. Things have been tough for the hotels but the fact remains that some of them need to be refurbished. Some also need to ask whether they meet the competition in what they provide.

There seems to be some thinking on the part of Bermudians that the standards are not as good as they once were. Is that true? It may well be in a general sense but it may be especially true in the sense that amenities have not kept pace with prices. Very few Bermudians actually stay in the hotels but many of us have heard horror stories from visitors about the problems they have experienced. What disturbs us is that when these stories are pointed out to management there is a defensive reaction and the reports are branded as untrue or unfair. But Bermudians do visit the hotels and they can see deterioration.

Many of us know that in some of the hotels things are either not what they used to be.

There is a basic problem with Bermuda's large hotels which operators have to face. In general, they are getting old. Four of Bermuda's large hotels are more than 50 years old. It is possible to operate grand old ladies to a high standard but it takes constant attention and excellent management. When every detail is not attended to in an old hotel it shows and shows badly. Visit some of the big hotels and we think you will agree that many details are lacking.

This newspaper has long advocated a national hotel plan which would phase the redevelopment of existing hotel sites and help rebuild old hotels by doing such things as rebuilding the Elbow Beach where it should be, near the beach, and replacing The Princess. What we are saying is not criticism. It is sensible planning for a Country which makes its living from tourism.

This is not to say that Bermuda has no good facilities. It does. In fact, it has a number of excellent facilities but they are largely smaller properties which are watched over by caring families.

What bothers us is that if hoteliers constantly deny the criticisms, they will never attend to the problems.