Just got back today from Antigua, and couldnt wait to publish a good review of this hotel. If we had read the other reviews, we probably wouldnt have gone, and it just goes to show that everybody is looking for a different thing from a holiday.


Stunning beach front location, chilled out atmosphere and very friendly staff made this one of our best Caribbean trips todate. We could have said, no TV's, no phones, no kids club, no organised games, no gym. But this is exactly what we and the majority of the guests wanted. A peaceful, all inclusive resort, where nothing is too much trouble for the staff. Yes it's a little tired, and the rooms were basic, but the food was excellent and the rooms spacious, clean and comfortable.

In those immortal words - Location, Location, Location.

This is a very typical Rex Resort and matched our experiences of Rex in Grenada, Tobago and St Kitts. A winning formula which we will continue to support.

My mum and I spent a long time trying to find the perfect caribbean holiday for my not easily pleased dad. We were looking for somewhere secluded, not crowded, beautiful and with good food. Hawksbill was the perfect fit! After a VERY long passport control queue we were greeted with a glass of champagne and check in was very quick. Within half an hour of arriving I was in the beautiful caribbean sea :)

I understand some people who have written reviews complained about the friendliness and service of the staff, but for us we had no complaints whatsoever! At every meal time someone was constantly topping up coffee/tea/wine/water and made friendly conversation whilst doing so (yes perhaps some more than others). Someone we found more amusing than offensive was the lady who was in charge of seating people every meal time. She was slightly bossy and told my dad off for seating himself at the first dinner! We found during the week that some staff were very focussed on their job but if you made the effort to chat or make a joke they would laugh and be very friendly. Our favourite member of staff was Edna, our cleaning lady, whom we nominated for the Smile Award. I do appreciate, however, that reception are slightly less friendly (but definitely not rude!) than the other staff, but please do not let that put you off the hotel!

Our room was the Superior Sea-view and it was lovely with a gorgeous view of the sea. Very high ceiling, lots of space, no air-con but it didn't matter at all to us. Between the fan and the sea breezes the temperature was perfect at night. Before we came we did read negative reviews about the garden bungallows which made us upgrade to this room instead. Completely worth it!

The beach was great! My favourite part was the snorkelling. Almost everyday I rented snorkelling gear and went swimming off the shore from the main beach in the beautiful clear turquoise water. If you go to the pier and then swim beyond you will find lots of small fishes. In the middle of the week I went quite far out and saw a massive turtle and ended up swimming with it for about half an hour! It was magical! I particularly loved that usually it was just myself snorkelling or maybe just a few other people. Very uncrowded! One day I went on a snorkelling trip on the hotel boat to cades reef. That was very peaceful as it was literally just myself and this other man snorkelling in the sea!

I absoloutely looooved the food. I have never eaten so much fish in my life. My dad, however, was not very impressed with the prawns on ala carte night so I think it is best to stick to the grilled fish of the day which was always delicious. Every meal had a large choice and between the three of us we couldn't think of a meal we were not impressed with (except the prawns).

The only slightly strange thing that happened was when the virgin rep discouraged me from scuba diving on the island as apparently virgin didin't deem any of the dive shops safe enough. This is nonsense! My parents rented a car for a few days and dropped me off at jolly beach dive shop and I had an amazing day of diving which was perfectly safe. I think it was because the rep wouldn't have received any commission from me choosing to dive at jolly beach and so tried to persuade me to do a virgin snorkelling trip instead!

So all in all I loved it and ever since my dad has been itching to get back to the caribbean and we've only been home a week! I completely recommend this hotel if you are looking for a week of relaxation and quiet in a stunning setting.

p.s. If you do manage to rent a car go see half moon bay, it's like a desert island beach! Completely stunning!

The natural beauty of Hawksbill's location coupled with the lovely tourists who frequent it make it a very enjoyable stay despite the terrible service and the ho-hum food. The four beaches on the property are stunning and never feel crowded - there is no competition for beach chairs - you can walk for miles in either direction on beautiful sand. We stayed in the beach front cottages. I would recommend either these beach front cottages, the main clubhouse or the honeymoon beach cottages - other people did complain about the garden cottages and they are much more tightly packed together. We didn't need our air conditioning so don't worry about the no air conditioning in some rooms as a factor.

I found the other couples at Hawksbill to be very friendly and interesting people and I have to say that one of its main draws for me were the other people we met at cocktail hour and dinner. There are many people who come back every year.

With any all inclusive, I think the food is not stellar and it's not here. You don't have the full range of cocktails you'd have without an all-inclusive. The price is, however, a lot less than we've paid other places.

The service is a disaster, particularly at breakfast. You can expect something between disdain and indifference but your fellow travelers will joke with you about it and you just adjust your expectations accordingly.

We were exploring Antigua during our recent trip and stumbled into this geourgeous beach and the hotel, Hawkbill Rex Resort. Setting was beautiful. We wanted to inquire about the hotel further and went up to the reception. I have never seen such a negative attitude from a receptionist, and I travelled around the world!! She couldn't give me a brochure or tell me about the rates. She looked like very irritated that her tranqule afternoon was interrupted by us... Just based on this experience, I would never go back there, although it is beautiful. But to me, when I am in a foreign country, people you meet and greet are the face representing that country, and in this case, this resort. In this case I didn't like what I saw. I was curious to find out what others who stayed there are staying and was not surprised their rating for unfriendly staff.. I hope managers for this resort read these pages and make changes.. Because this place appeared to have the potential for making you experience one of the best vacations ever, but the staff needs to change!!! Our experience where we stayed (in another hotel) was just wonderful.