Rosedon Hotel

Rosedon was built in 1906 as the private home of Mr. E. J. Thompson. It was named after his son, Robert Rosedon Thompson; Rosedon was an old family name of the Thompsons in England. The property on which the house was built was actually purchased by cable from England. Mr. Thompson, who owned the E.J. Thompson Bakery on Pitts Bay Road, was in England on business when he learned that this magnificent site was available. He promptly bought it and his close friend, Mr. Beswick of Boston, designed the house and drew the plans. The builder was a Mr. N. W. Hutchings of Bermuda. Mr. Beswick knew what he was doing. The walls were built double with thickness and furred to prevent any dampness seeping through. The woods were all imported - pine, oak, cherry, mahogany and California redwood went into the decor, with each room designed to suit a particular wood. The pillars in the entrance hall were specially carved and imported from Chicago. There was no electricity in those days and Rosedon was the only house in Bermuda to be lit by gas, which was piped from the Bakery just a few blocks away. This was considered most luxurious as other homes were lit by kerosene lamps. Rosedon was sold by the Thompson family in the 1930's to an American named Brown who installed the magnificent private bathrooms. Each of the five double bedrooms had a private tiled bathroom with glassed-in shower. The colour scheme ranged from turquoise to a candy pink that was so inviting it could have been part of a Ziegfeld set. The whole atmosphere of the house, to this day, is one of friendly comfort and the spacious rooms are airy and cool, even on the hottest summer day. Before World War II, Rosedon was rented from the Brown Estate by a Mr. Percy Crawford who ran it as a bed and breakfast guest house until the outbreak of war when the tourist business disappeared overnight. It was purchased from the Brown Estate by the present owner, Mrs. Geoffrey Kitson, in 1950 and reopened as a guest house. Over the years she and her late husband Geoffrey have expanded it from the original five bedrooms to today's thirty nine. Today their sons, Kirk & Richard Kitson and grandchildren, Lee & Scott continue to keep this unique hotel running. Rosedon is now classified as a small hotel and has become one of the most popular and successful on the Island. Rosedon is particularly proud of its friendly and efficient staff, many of whom have been here from ten to fifty years. This continuity of staff has made Rosedon truly a Home away from Home for our visitors.