Pristine pink-sand beaches, manicured gardens, and tidy pastel cottages are visible from nearly every vantage point on Bermuda. As the song you’ll hear everywhere you go on the island says, Bermuda is another world (and a better one).

Yet times are changing, even at this ever-reliable destination. Last year, Trimingham’s, the venerable 165-year-old department store that anchors Front Street in the island’s capital, Hamilton, bought out its chief competitor, Smiths. Now Trimingham’s itself is going out of business in July, a blow to visitors and Bermudians alike, who will certainly cherish memories of climbing the store’s cedar staircase to buy fluttery silk scarves printed with Bermudian flowers or something crystal for a wedding present. The Bermuda Perfumery – founded in 1929 and known for bottling the ephemeral scents of native tropical flowers such as passion flower and oleander – has itself recently evaporated, though many stores still prominently display the last batches of eaux de toilette and bath products on their shelves.

In the midst of such flux, some things are happy constants. Fitting neatly into the tried-and-true category is Cambridge Beaches, on the far west end of the island in Sandys Parish (30 Kings Point Rd, 441-234-0331, www.cambridgebeaches.com; room rates, $415-$830 a night for a room or suite; $1,135-$1,615 for a two-bedroom cottage). The cottage colony, a uniquely Bermudian concept, is owned by an old island family and consists of 25 lush acres dotted with tiny (and some not so tiny) pink-walled, white-roofed houses. All have views of the water and some, like Windswept, take advantage of the resort’s location on a long point of land and afford glimpses of the Atlantic from all sides. The guest quarters are private, but are clustered around an antique main building that was once home to a sea captain. There are also tennis courts, the Ocean Spa with an indoor pool, and a saltwater outdoor pool. Five beaches complete the picture.

Inside the main chintz-decked sitting room (it hardly resembles a hotel lobby – more a country club lounge), afternoon tea is served daily at 4 p.m. A pair of honeymooners from London noted that it was “more British than the British.”

Teatime is socializing time at Cambridge Beaches. Plump sofas clustered around oversize ottomans provide a comfy place to nestle with one’s crustless smoked salmon sandwiches and mini eclairs and meet other guests. Many seem to relish the old-fashioned, convivial atmosphere – nearly everyone we met was on a return visit. A wooden board outside the dining room lists the names and hometowns of loyal guests. To be included, one must be a “fiver,” on a fifth trip to the hotel. One naval officer and his wife whom we met were on their 86th visit! The couple said that they swing by three times a year.

The evening meal is another study in tradition. Jacket and tie are de rigueur for the four-course meal. The charming Italian maitre d’, Giovanni Fiorin, greets everyone by name, innocently flirting with every female (of any age) in the party. While the menu, which changes nightly, makes delicious concessions to modern fusion cooking, such as a tempura of yellowtail snapper or a strawberry and gingerroot cheesecake, this is a great place to find beautifully rendered classics such as rack of lamb or Bermuda fish chowder – served with a splash of sherry peppers and rum, of course. The dining room hovers above the beach and on warm nights, a wall of sliding glass doors are opened to the sea breeze.

Afterward, a short stroll takes one to a pub, also featuring decor out of a posh residence in a Dickens story. There is generally some entertainment. One evening during my visit, a pianist and singer performed a medley honoring those present and from whence they came; the salute included “Moonlight in Vermont,” “Chicago,” “Old Cape Cod,” and “New York, New York” – capped off, naturally, with “Bermuda is Another World.”

With such peace, quiet, and clubbiness comes a degree of isolation. Cambridge Beaches is a trek from the airport and the nearest village, Somerset, borders on dull. The Trimingham’s branch there has closed already (and has been replaced with a garish electronics outlet), but there is a miniature English Sports Shop (37 Mangrove Bay Rd., 441-295-2672) for all one’s Bermuda shorts and accompanying knee-high needs. It’s about a 10-minute walk, and the road there is quite picturesque, winding by Mangrove Bay.

The Royal Naval Dockyard is a short taxi or bus ride away. It’s more or less the only place in Bermuda where stores stay open on Sundays. While the mall under the clocktower was full of kitchsy souvenirs and dusty Christmas decorations still hung from the rafters in April, the old British navy buildings are as lovely as they are grand. The Craft Market offers high-quality, locally made souvenirs, such as cedar boxes and – my favorite – a needlepoint kit to make a doorstop in the shape of a Bermuda cottage. The not-for profit Bermuda Arts Centre at Dockyard (4 Freeport Rd., 441-234-2809) has lovely gallery space and work of varying quality, some quite high. I particularly loved the oils by a British painter living and working in Bermuda, Jonah Jones. His seascapes capture the rocky shores and verdant foliage that set Bermuda apart from Caribbean islands. He was also featured in the cheeky “Artists Exposed” calendar for sale for $5 at the center, which pictures exhibitors barely covered up by an easel or palette, a la “Calendar Girls.”

Also at Dockyard are the Bermuda Maritime Museum (Royal Naval Dockyard, 441-234-1418, www.bmm.bm) and an outfit with which one can swim with dolphins, Dolphin Quest (Royal Naval Dockyard, 441-234-4464, www.dolphinquest.org).

Cambridge Beaches has a powerboat that makes runs to Hamilton during the week, and even with the fire-sale notices in the windows at Trimingham’s, it’s a great place to stock up on duty-free perfumes and pretty linens and china. The Irish Linen Shop (31 Front St., 441-295-4089) boasts handkerchiefs delicately embroidered with hibiscus and luxurious layettes. Peniston-Brown (23 Front St., 441-295-0570) has an overwhelming array of perfumes and colognes, as well as good savings over American prices. Jewelry is also a good buy on Front Street, with many shop windows displaying glittering gold and gemstone creations.

For a more active pursuit, climb to the oldest cast-iron lighthouse in the world, on Gibb’s Hill at Southampton, and take in a view of the entire island (it’s rather similar to looking at an aerial map on a clear day). A delightfully quirky tearoom, unsurprisingly called the Lighthouse Tearoom, offers a tasty full English breakfast or afternoon snack of scones and Devonshire cream (Southampton, 441-238-8679). The Bermuda Railway Trail is a terrific place to pedal past azure waters without the threat of harrowing traffic (the prospect of renting a moped and careening around the island’s narrow roads, very popular with tourists on the island, scares me to death). I’m not a golfer, but Cambridge Beaches offers privileges at the private Mid Ocean Club (Tucker’s Town, 441-293-0330, www.themidoceanclubbermuda.com; green fees $210 a person plus mandatory caddy, $40), said to be Bermuda’s most challenging course, or Port Royal (Southampton, 441-234-4653; green fees $110 a person, plus cart, $24).

After all that shopping, biking, gallery-going, and golf, you will certainly be ready for a hot cup of Darjeeling and a chat or simply to collapse into a chaise by the shore.