Bermuda: Hidden treasure.

Bermuda is not for bargain-hunters, but those willing to loosen the purse strings will be rewarded in spectacular style.

Bermuda is small, clean, safe and wealthy. When Hurricane Fabian battered its shores in September 2003, reinvestment soon ensured normal service resumed with little disruption. The island's affluence and stability also protect it from the poverty, pollution, crime and unemployment that beset much of the Caribbean, more than 1,000 miles to the south.

An island of high expectations and consistent quality, Bermuda has an American business brain and traditional British sense of style and etiquette. The only direct flights from the UK are provided by British Airways, which has increased frequency to five a week between June and October, and to four-weekly between November and May, using their four-class 777 configuration inaugurated in October 2003. Many groups opt for a twin-centre trip, combining a beach resort with a US city, taking advantage of further connections with New York and new links with Philadelphia, Chicago and Baltimore.

Q: Although not strictly speaking a Caribbean destination, Bermuda has a similar feel and often goes up against such destinations in pitches. So how does it compare?

A: 'Bermuda has a more British, formal and organised feel,' says TFI head of operations Roger Harvey. 'It has definite seasons and, unlike the Caribbean, I would not want to take a group there in winter.'

Bermuda has an exclusive tag, whereas more people are familiar with the Caribbean. 'It is …