Hawksbill Resort Antigua

Lovely resort, nice rooms well served with mini bar and toiletries. Amazing views. Out of the way so car hire needed. All of the staff were absolutely lovely. As a vegan and despite having notified this before arriving, it was a struggle at mealtimes sometimes. Main course dishes tended to have cheese so I had to just have vegetables and salad. The salads and vegetables were lovely though so it wasn’t too bad. However, lunch time was impossible. The only item was a veg and tofu wrap which was awful - unseasoned veg in loads of oil that literally dripped from the wrap - it was horrible. I was left with fries and/or green salad for lunch. Advertised as a place for relaxation rather than busy activity, this is true in the daytime. But at night, if you want to have quiet early nights, it’s impossible. The volume from the entertainment is extremely loud and the base from the speakers bangs so much and carries due to the entertainment area being outside and there’s absolutely nothing to buffer the sound. Being jet lagged, I needed to go to bed rather than stay out for music but the banging sound made evenings very unpleasant. For this reason only I would not book again because there is no area of the resort that would be protected from the noise. For car hire, I can’t recommend RL Rentals highly enough. Reasonable price, no hidden extras, and very helpful. Read less

Visited Hawksbill for our special anniversary. What a great find good price and great time had by us both. Special staff to many to name good food. Entertainment good but finished a bit early. The hotel made it special at dinner on our 50th wedding day. Lovely table all set out with champagne. Did two trips jeep safari and shirley heights booked with hotel. Both were great. Fabulous time had by us both. Will return. Read less

We stayed at Hawksbill Resort Antigua from April 20-27 and had an AMAZING time. As a quick summary, the resort was exactly as advertised and a very well-priced alternative to some of the other Antigua offerings. Our main reasons for choosing this resort were the relatively quiet atmosphere, no fighting for chairs/palapas, the recent renovation, four beautiful beaches and the amazing infinity pool. For people who do not need to be entertained all day, Hawksbill is a wonderful choice for a quiet vacation in unbeatable surroundings. Some of the highlights: FOOD Breakfast everyday was at the main buffet restaurant. Breakfast selection had a ton of choices - all the usual stuff - eggs, bacon, toast, sausage, hash browns, fruit, yogurt, cereal, oatmeal, etc. I noticed little extras that you don’t usually see at all inclusives like four different types of milk to choose from! There were never any lineups for anything and the food was fresh, plentiful and hot (also probably the best bagels I’ve ever had!) Lunch everyday we had at the beach grill (except for one day at PDs grill). The beach grill was wonderful – usually had a cheeseburger and fries or jerk chicken wrap – both were amazing and the amount of chicken in the wrap was unbelievable – far surpassing any restaurant we had ever eaten at. Service ranged from extremely quick to a little slower, but never a super long wait. PDs grill was also good – presentation of food was nice and tasted good – but didn’t see an advantage of eating here over the beach grill so just tried it the one time. Dinner we had every night in the buffet as there are no a la cartes. This was not a problem for us, but some people may find it limiting if they prefer a more formal sit-down meal. Buffet dinner was by far the best buffet offerings we have had at any all inclusive. Each night had a few offerings for entrées (usually a couple different meats and a fish) and tons of side dishes, bread, etc. The meats (especially roast beef dinner, lamb and jerk pork) were the best meals I’ve ever had at an all-inclusive resort. Only thing missing that most places have are a pasta bar – would be nice to have this as another option. BARS I am not a big drinker and find that most resorts we go to often use cheap alcohol and/or bad mixes, but things were totally different here! Delicious strawberry daquiris and pina coladas – I probably drank more here than I usually do because they were so good! Beer was alright and other alcohol offerings were decent. Not the highest end alcohol, but certainly not the cheapest stuff either. Service at bars was always great as well. Never had to wait too long for a drink and they had no problem filling up the cups that we brought. In addition to the alcohol, diet coke was always available (this has been an issue for me at other resorts, but no problems here). ROOMS We were in the most basic room – garden view bungalow – and pleasantly surprised. We actually had a view of the ocean and were only a few steps further from the beach than the beachfront bungalows (at a fraction of the price). Room was cleaned well daily and always had towels. Never had any problems getting hot water and the water pressure was decent. Although our room did not seem refurbished, it was spotless and really didn’t need anything to be done to it. Huge porch out front of the room that was as big as the room itself. STAFF Staff were friendly and all did a good job (except for the one girl who took our drink orders at the pool and never returned with the drinks). Brad (the regular drink guy) was always excellent and reliable in making his way around the resort taking orders. Ronell was always working hard lugging the luggage up and down the hill to and from the rooms. Chris Henry (the Maître d) looked to be the hardest worker amongst them all – working away from morning to night to ensure that guests were well looked after. Dalston was our favorite server at night – funny man! BEACH How many resorts have four beaches to choose from? We spent most of our time on the main beach as it was centrally located near our room, as well as the food/bars. Nice and sandy and easy access to get in and out. One of the biggest pluses about this resort was that there were more than enough chairs and palapas everywhere that you did not have to get up at the crack of dawn to secure one. We saw chairs sit empty all day (including in the shade) so even if you didn’t show up to the beach until later in the day you would still be able to get a chair. POOL Usually we spend very little time at the pool on vacation as we are there primarily for a beach vacation – things changed for us at Hawksbill. Once we saw the brand new infinity pool we knew that is where we wanted to be. Sitting at the pool you felt like you were in a completely different resort – a 5 start experience for sure. The pool itself was well built and the views down below of the water/beach/resort were amazing. There were more than enough chairs at the pool and even a few spots were you could get away from the others and felt like you were at your own private pool. Whoever planned for and designed this infinity pool did an A+ job! ANIMALS I’m not usually a fan of resort cats, but gotta admit that the two resort cats at Hawksbill grew on me (they were always around the buffet, but pretty laid back and not overly in your face trying to get food). There were also two ducks that were always around (a third joined them by the end of the week) that were extremely friendly and would come eat right from your hand (they even showed up at our room porch one day looking for us!) A few random goats walked by a couple times as well. But the highlight was the pigs on Eden Beach. It took a couple visits over to find them, but once we figured out the right time (4:30pm – 5pm seemed to be prime time) we were hooked. Sometimes you would see 50+ pigs behind the fences across the back of the beach, but some would regularly wander out and gather usually around the small hut on the beach. We would usually see two large mothers, along with 20+ baby piglets. The piglets were super friendly and would walk right up to us. They were so cute to watch playing and laying in the sun – a real highlight of the trip that you don’t see anywhere else! THE ONLY NEGATIVE The only negative was our experience on the final day. Our airport pickup from Sunwing was delayed and we were told to ask at the front desk for our new pickup time. But when we went to ask, the women at the front desk were extremely rude and kept saying our pickup time was still the same. It wasn't what they said - but how they said it. While the lack of communication was probably Sunwing's fault, the women at the front desk were not willing to help in any way and gave the impression that they just wanted us gone. The tone that we were greeted with upon our arrival vs. the tone that we were left with that final day was like night and day. Overall though, we had an amazing week and plan on returning. Staff were warm and welcoming and service was excellent throughout. The resort seems to do all the little things right – clean rooms, excellent food and a quiet, relaxing atmosphere. For anyone looking for a quiet getaway (that doesn’t need to be entertained from morning to night) definitely check this place out! Read less

We travelled as a group of 4 couples celebrating various events such as a 35th wedding anniversary and a couple of birthday's. We had an amazing stay at this resort. As mentioned in previous reviews, the resort would not be great for anyone with mobility issues but for us it was great. The resort is beautiful, clean and the staff are wonderful. We give a huge shout out to Dalston, he has been doing this job for a very long time and it shows in how he treats the guests and tends to their every need. You can see that he loves what he is doing. He made sure to take care of our group every evening and helped in planning the anniversary and birthday celebrations. He is a treasure to have at this resort. The food was amazing, especially at lunch and dinner. We are already in the midst of planning our vacation next year to this resort. Can't wait to come back again. Read less

Such a lovely resort, it has a perfect location with 4 glorious beaches to choose from (one being a clothes optional beach - but is well sign posted!). We had a Sea View villa with our own loungers which was perfect for a relaxing day - along with our well stocked mini fridge. Rooms are large spacious with comfy beds and lovely toiletries. The staff were all amazing, so friendly and helpful. We enjoyed the free water sport activities and also for an extra cost the jet ski's. Definitely a hidden gem and truly a relaxing holiday. Read less