If you want the most exquisite beaches for a quiet vacation, this place is it. If you want every amenity (like TV, radio, swim-up bar), this is not for you. Hawksbill has four beaches, each a little different. Only the beach with the bar,lunch restaurant, and swimming pool is even a little noisy because the few people who brought children tended to stay on that beach. But there are 3 other beaches, including a long, and secluded, clothing optional beach. You can snorkel right off the beaches to old reefs with just enough fish to keep it interesting.
During our stay from Feb. 15 to Feb. 22, every staff person we dealt with was at least courteous, and almost all were warm and friendly. When we asked for extra towels, help with the air-conditioning or finding a light switch hidden behind a mirror, maintenance and housekeeping were fast to comply. We didn't particularly like our first assigned room, so Reception transferred us to a room we liked.
This resort looks like its been around for awhile and could use some updating. But because of a lease problem that's not likely to happen for a few years. Hawksbill is run by an European company and attracts a mostly English and Italian clientele. Americans seemed to be third. So it has the charm and air of an old European resort. The farm next door has goats and sheep and ocassionally they get onto the resort property. If you're scared of farm animals, stay away. Don't go here if you want American pizzazz -- the rooms are OK but not as decked out as American hotels; the evening entertainment was basic and ended by 10 pm at the latest; there are snorkels, kayaks and sunfish sailboats available without charge, but tour operators picked up guests at Hawksbill's pier for day trips.
The food was more than acceptable. The kitchen alternates between buffet nights and menu service for dinner. The only meal we didn't like was the local lobster. It is so unlike Maine lobster that its really a different specie. Lunches are either buffet grill or off a small basic sandwich menu. Breakfast is always buffet with made to order eggs and pancakes, or cereal or yogurt or cheese and ham, more than enough variety for a week or two.
In our opinion the price to value ratio is incredibly favorable.
What we can't say enough about is the beauty of the setting.

We visitied Hawksbill two years ago and didn't think we would return because we felt that it was a nice place, but nothing special, and for the price there were other areas that we would like to explore.

However, we noticed after returning that the peace that we experienced at Hawksbill stayed with us for a long time and Hawksbill grew on us the more we thought about it. So we decided to return in Feb 08. In our more than 15 years of travelling south this is only the second time we've returned to the same destination. It was an excellent decision on our part and we've joined the reviewers who say that they'll be back time and time again.

Ultimately it comes down to us wanting a beach front room, a smaller resort, space between people on the beach, beautiful turquoise waters, and a quiet (people-wise) atmosphere. Hawksbill delivers on all those fronts and we're finding that rare at the price point it's at ($3500 Cdn for 2 people one week including airfare). We'd recommend the resort in an instant to anyone with the same priorities.

The resort does have its quirks and they're well documented in other reviews - it depends on what a person's priorities are. If you're used to luxury or active social life, this probably isn't the place for you. If you're relaxed, go-with-the-flow and don't tend to let little things bother you, then this might be a perfect spot. None of what I've written below will prevent us from returning again.

We are Canadians in our 40s and this year travelled with my 67 year old mother. Average age at the resort is 50s and when we were there was mostly British with some Italian.

Rooms
We booked the Beach Club rooms because of their proximity to the beach and the perception of more privacy and space with the room locations. Next time we return we'll consider the Beach Club rooms overlooking the Honeymoon Cove beach. We didn't use the air conditioning in our room, we took one of the comforter covers off of one of the beds and used that as our blanket. My mother is very heat sensitive and used her air conditioning frequently. Rooms were fine and I had more water pressure in the shower than I do at home most days. No wash cloths (common in the Caribbean) but soap, bath gel, shampoo and conditioner are provided.

Food and Service
Food is fine, simple buffet in the mornings, grilled fare at lunch with enough variety for a week though I can see where others would say it would be limiting after a couple of weeks. Fish was always excellent. Dinners alternated between a la carte and buffet. There was generally something that we liked each night so never went hungry. We've been to other resorts with better food but we've also been to resorts with worse food. I'd put the food here as average to above average. Presentation on the a la carte nights was always perfect.

Service could get slow in the evenings if the restaurant was busy, but we didn't mind. Staff at breakfast and dinner was polite and attentive. At lunch sometimes there wasn't enough staff and service could be very slow. In general we found the staff less "angry" than they were a couple of years ago though we still felt at times that we were inconvieniencing staff. We just joked about it and didn't let it bother us. If you've primarily visited Latin countries (Dominican Republic, Mexico...) you'll find the service much more reserved with very little of the flirtation and open cheer that seems to be common with service staff in those countries.

I would like to personally thank Sophie, who when she found out my mother had a sore throat at dinner one night went out of her way to get Mom a healing tea and mints. Other staff called Mom beautiful (she kept looking around to see who they were talking to) and paid her special attention which was nice to see.

Beaches
Beaches are quiet. We mostly hung out at the Royal Palm Beach in front of our rooms and at Eden beach where topless and clothing optional is permitted. On Eden beach you could easily get a spot where you'd be more than 100 feet from the next person while we were there though we typically were 50 feet or so from others. Prime spots under the tree and in a couple of other areas were actually reserved with beach towels overnight but we didn't mind because the less prime spots aren't much less prime. You could easily get a spot on Eden beach with shade and chair even after arriving at 11:00 a.m and there were always free chairs and locations on the Royal Palm beach in front of the cottages. We can't speak for the main beach because we never really hung out there. No blaring music at the two beaches at all.

Two years ago the resort didn't have beach towels for two days and this year we came prepared with our own beach towels just in case. We didn't have a problem with towels this time though the day we were leaving there was a couple who were told that they wouldn't get towels until the next day. Towels are easy enough to pack and they make a nice pillow at the beach. Just something to be aware of.

Other
The resort has a nice "book exchange" area with three bookshelves full of novels and books in different languages. We found plenty to read after we had exhausted our stash of what we brought down. Games and ping pong are also available there.

Goats do roam the property and there were times that we'd get a barn yard smell on the beach. No big deal, it was fun to watch the baby goats play.

And, though nothing to do with the resort, if your flight leaves several hours after you arrive at the airport, do not clear security since you can't go outside and there's very little to buy or eat in the airport waiting area.

Having spent a fortnight at this hotel we left generally satisfied. The location is excellent as were most of the staff. Our room was disappointing, it clearly had not been updated for years. The water supply failed three times during the first week, the tap basin was very loose and the hot water failed completely. The horizontal shutters were in poor condition several slats dropped out when attempts were made to open or close them. Some control handles did not work and others could only be accessed by pulling out a relatively heavy dressing table. Some of the electrical sockets did not work. Other than the shutters the faults were put right reasonably promptly. Our room, 65 was a garden room facing inland. The sitting out area was very poor. The old chairs were more suitable for an office and stood on bare soil which was more often than not muddy as we had a lot of rain. Had the room been better maintained I would have rated the stay considerably more highly.

The grounds were spacious and well maintained though there appeared to be a problem with the septic tank soakaway which was overflowing the main path from time to time. The beaches were excellent. As the sea was quite rough most of the time it wasn't possible to get full use of the sailing dinghies and canoes. If conditions had been calmer these would have been a great asset.

The food was more than adequate with quite varied menus and both restaurants had very nice atmospheres. The dinners that were waiter served were very good, the local fish was always excellent, As the resort covers a very large area and we had some very heavy rain I would have liked a large umbrella which would have been useful in walking up to the Taramind Restaurant in the evenings when it was raining.

I found it useful to have a wireless internet connection in the Reception area.

To sum up I would consider going back as there were many pluses that made up for the defects. With just a bit more effort and a little expenditure this resort could be very good.

Stayed by myself for three nights at the Hawksbill. I left the chilly Park City weather for warm nights and some rain clouds- but the stay was incredible.

Better food than the Grand Pineapple on the East side of Antigua and kinder staff. It feels like a boutique resort with more things to do. It's really all about the beaches. If you are a beach person, you have four to choose from and you will find the one you love.

Don't stay in a Garden room- there are open walls and it's like camping. Spend the money to get a better room with AC, on the beach. I couldn't sleep at night with ear plugs in and a pillow over my head b/c of the sounds of the jungle.

Felt very safe as a woman travelling alone and the guests and staff were very sweet to me. More friendly than any other hotel at which I have stayed. They have excellent staff.

Don't swim out to the Hawksbill rock. I did, stepped on an urchin and spent the rest of my vacation pulling the spines out of my foot. The staff was very helpful with my stupid mistake, but they don't have an infirmary on property.

Preferred this hotel to the Grand Pineapple which I went to afterwards. Better all around resort with more character and individuality.