If your ideal Bermuda vacation includes staying at a resort like Elbow Beach, where there's a guard at the entrance 24 hours a day and a list of luxuries and conveniences as long as your arm, don't even think about booking a room at Astwood Cove. But if you want a comfortable room in a great location and a friendly yet professional staff, then this could be the perfect place for you.

Astwood Cove seems to be in the midst of a major renovation (there was construction going on in many places about the grounds), but the property is still beautiful -- the typical Bermudian riot of lush green foliage, colorful tropical flowers, and palm trees galore. The whitewashed units are miniature versions of the standard Bermuda cottage and are in good repair outside.

The clientele while we were there consisted mainly of family groups and older couples, so we had none of the problems with noise mentioned in a review elsewhere on this site. The younger staff members that we dealt with were every bit as professional and competent as the older ones.

The inside of our unit was a bit worn and tired looking (chips in the cabinetry, a few stains on the upholstery, the occasional missing curtain hook, etc.) -- but it was clean and cheerful and had everything we needed. We felt very comfortable there. Our unit even had an amenity that wasn't advertised on the Web site -- not just one but two television sets. A nice surprise indeed, since we arrived on the day the Olympics started and hadn't counted on getting to see any of them while we were there.

Astood Cove is just across the road from Astwood Park (one of the loveliest, most secluded beaches on the island) and right on the No. 7 bus line. PawPaw's restaurant (a dining experience worth leaving home for) is just 10 minutes away on foot. There's also a grocery store close by if you'd prefer to cook in your unit and don't mind hauling bags home on the bus.

Only one thing really disturbed me -- and the staff did eveything in its power to solve the problem, including offering to move us to another unit if that was what we wanted (it wasn't). The locks were broken on two of the windows -- despite the fact that there was a huge sign on the wall in the living room warning us to lock the door and the windows at night or whenever we left the unit. At the ungodly hour of 11:30 p.m., the very resourceful night manager came up with two substantial pieces of wood with which to jam the windows shut -- so we stayed where we were, and the repairs were made as soon as the hardware stores were open again.

And that's where Astwood Cove really shines. The people who run it are first rate -- thoroughly professional but friendly, helpful, and willing to go the extra mile if that's what you need them to do. They even allowed us to stay in our unit well beyond the normal checkout time since our flight didn't leave the island until almost 8:00 that night.

Would I go back to Astwood Cove? You bet. It's not a five-star resort, to be sure, but a fancy room isn't high on my list of vacation priorities. The price was right, the location was superb, the accommodations were clean and comfortable, and the people were as nice as they could be.