“I want to bring you to one of my favourite spots in Bermuda,” Bill said to me when we met at Dockyard. It was our fourth date. I was working on the cruise ship Explorer of the Seas, and every week we came to Bermuda and docked for the day. It was springtime in 2012 and the air was fresh and the sky a perfect blue. This visit was my last because my contract would end the next day when we arrived back in New York Harbour.

Bill knew that I was exhausted after working for six months on the ship without any time off. He wanted to make this last day very special and memorable for me.

“I want you to have a chance to really relax”, Bill said to me.

It was so sweet and thoughtful, it touched my heart.

He began driving and we turned on to South Shore Road. The ocean was a gently rolling sheet of shimmering turquoise and the oleanders waved at us with their bright pink flowers. We had the windows down and we were listening to music. We were happy and in love. Bill turned left on to a small road. Up and up we climbed surrounded by a perfect green lawn with tall, majestic palms swaying on both sides. Then I saw a massive pink building at the crest of the hill.

This is the Fairmont, our most iconic hotel.” Bill explained to me. “Every room has a view unmatched anywhere in the world.”

When we came outside on to the spa patio in our thick white robes. I shook my head in wonderment. Below us lay the stunning beaches and hidden coves of the South Shore. To the north and east, the brilliant white rooftops of pastel houses were a charming mosaic surrounded by green gardens on hillsides that flowed down to the sea.

The harbours were dotted with sail boats and I had a sudden realisation that Bermuda was so small in the vast waters of the Gulf Stream, so alone, yet with so many people living peacefully together. It took my breath away and at that moment my love with the Fairmont hotel and the friendly family of people who worked there started.

So many good memories! As a drummer in the Coral Beats, we opened for the always amazing TEDx talks. I brought all my guests to the hotel restaurant to taste their famous fish chowder. I wrote many of my articles sitting in the cosy lobby chairs as winter rains blew through the island. I always admired their incredible fresh flower arrangements inside the main entrance and I will never forget the elaborate gingerbread houses they displayed each Christmas.

Each Thursday, I went to the Fairmont and opened the latest Royal Gazette newspaper, which always lay on the cedar counter in the lobby. I took a copy and went into the Jasmine lounge.

“Patricia, here is my latest article,” I said to the bartender and passed her the newspaper. Patricia always smiled back and said: “That is wonderful! I will read it later after my shift. I am sure it will cheer me up.” We laughed and exchanged small talk.

I am still friends with so many staff from the Fairmont. Every time I meet someone, we talk nostalgically about how much we miss the hotel.

As I write this, you would think I am overjoyed that the hotel will possibly reopen. Yet, it was sad to me to read how it would be changed. “Honestly!” I cried, “the Fairmont deserves so much better!”

I know that times are especially tough now, but the world is full of once-beautiful places that have been ruined by over development. I know so many of you have your own fond memories of the Fairmont hotel, and everyone wants it to reopen.

Over time, I have developed a very strong bond with this place and people. It is always in my heart and in my memories.

It was devastating for me and Bill to learn that the construction of extensive new housing development was finally approved. Honestly, I cried. We all saw the plans and they don’t look like charming Bermudian architecture.

Bill told me how he first came to Bali 30 years ago and it was an authentic paradise. But when he returned with me just before the pandemic, we were appalled. Developers had built so many cheap looking hotels that the magical island had lost its charm.

What if that happens in Bermuda?

I have been living here for more than 11 years and it has become my home. I want Bermuda to continue to be stunning and gorgeous. I wish us to preserve and improve on what we have and proudly pass it to the next generation.

I want people to come to the Fairmont, stand on the top of the green hill and gasp with appreciation like I did.

There is no other place like our Bermuda.

• Nina London is the founder of Mermaid Wellness Centre for Women and a certified Chi Gong and Laughter Yoga teacher. Her mission is to support and inspire mature women to make positive changes in their bodies and minds. Contact her at ninalondon.com and on Instagram: @coachninalondon