We stayed at this resort for 2 weeks in April and had a brilliant time. We travelled with our 4 year old daughter and she saw so much wildlife it was an amazing experience for her. There was a pelican who came every day twice a day to fish, humming birds, octopus, pigs, goats, mongoose, it was like having your own zoo nearby. I've read some of the bad reports and wondered if we went to the same hotel as we couldn't have had a better time. Some of the staff were a bit miserable but generally you couldn't meet a better bunch of people. I think they love children so we may have been treated better because of our cute daughter! David, Millie & Alex behind the bar were exceptional and couldn't do enough for you and most of the waitress's were lovely. Sometimes you had to wait a while for an ordered lunch but this was the exception rather than the norm. The restaurant manager(Geraldine) was a bit curt with you especially if you didn't do waiting in line to enter the restaurant! This was a bit impractical with a young child who would be asleep by 7:30pm and the restaurant opened at 7pm. She saw the funny side eventually and just let us get on with picking our own table. You just had to be firm with them. The dress code rules were debateable as we saw people wearing things that were supposedly not allowed on more than one night but they seemed to get away with it and we wondered why they bothered having the rules in the first place.

We stayed in a Superior Beachfront room and this was more than adequate for our needs. There were 2 double beds in the room with comfy mattresses(very important to me as I have a bad back) and I never had a back twinge at all which I normally do if i'm not in my own bed.There were a lot of ants in the bathroom but we just got a can of spray and they certainly didn't like this and within minutes they had died or gone away. Houskeeping did a basic clean every day and could have changed the bed linen more often but it wasn't a problem. Beware of having clothes cleaned as it took 2 days to have this done on the 'Express same day' service!! They also altered the order sheet to put ironing on it when we didn't ask for this. We disputed this on our final bill and eventually the miserable receptionist got it deducted from the bill after slamming her hands down on the counter and saying that the bill was right! The Garden rooms did look a bit basic so it is woth going for the next room up.

The food was excellent, piping hot and enough choice. It was nice that there was a buffet on some nights and waitress service on other nights. The restaurant by the beach lacked atmosphere and we couldn't get our choice of champagne (Moet) as they had run out(even though they had it in the display!). It took them 2 hours to find out the price of the alternatives by which time we were on our coffees! The food there was ok but the normal restaurant was much better.

The pool had a bit too much chlorine in it which bleached beige shorts yellow and some days you could see it crystalised on the surface. My partner's hands peeled completely and we stopped our daughter going in it. We did mention this to the Assistant Mgr.

Beware of very large spiders by the Beach Club Rooms as we saw a photo of one that a couple nearly stood on and it was enormous! Also watch out for ants on the beach as they bite. There were lots of mosi's around and as i'm prone to being bitten by them I expected to be bitten here. I certainly didn't go down with malaria as some reviews would lead you to believe and we stayed there at the same time as the couple who wrote that. I had 13 bites on the 1st night but it didn't spoil my holiday as i'm used to this and as it's a tropical place you would sort of expect to had these little critters around wouldn't you? Just take the most effective mosi spray you can and cover yourself with it!

Don't expect the place to be a lively resort as there was usually noone in the bar by 10pm as everyone was so tired that they didn't make it that far! We just crashed out come 9:30pm as doing nothing is very exhausting!! Be aware that some of the activities advertised didn't happen as we missed the crab racing which was scheduled for 10pm and deliberately stayed up in anticipation of this event only to go to bed at 10:30pm when there was no sign of this happening. It's just the way the Caribbean is i'm afraid 'don't worry be happy' etc.

Overall we had a fantastic time and thought it was a great place to come. It was my 2nd visit as i'd been 15 years ago and it hadn't changed that much. Some people have been coming for 25 years so yes they did get a bit better service but it didn't reflect in how we felt about the place. Definately not a place for lively people with teenagers but a great beach for kids and a safe sea. The beaches were all stunning and the sea was the most amazing blue and it was a great place to relax and chill out.

My husband and I have just returned from a fantastic 1-week relaxing break at the Hawksbill resort. We are a couple in our early 30s and had a truly wonderful time, I found the resort lovely and my husband and I would happily return again and again.

I read many of the comments posted about this hotel before we went and to be honest I was concerned about some of the things said.

Here is my opinion

1. Accommodation

We stayed in a garden room, [which many do not seem to like].
The room was clean and tidy and petals had been sprinkled over our king-size bed, which I thought was lovely.
Yes, you could say it could do with a coat of paint, but I was not there for a luxury room and found it to be perfect for us.

2. Noises

Yes, there is a farm and you do hear noises a lot of the time, but my husband and I had no problems with it and you soon get used to it.
I found the odd goat and the piglets quite entertaining following each other around the gardens, but I only saw this twice.

3. Staff

The night we arrived a lovely receptionist, who welcomed us to the hotel and offered us a free glass of champagne, buzz fizz or juice, greeted us.
Most of the staff, throughout are stay were very friendly, but the odd one or two could have done with a smile on their faces.

4. Food

We did prefer the buffet nights as it gave more choice and you could have it at your own pace.
I have a nut allergy so I had to ask many times if there were any nuts in some of the foods. The staffs were always happy to find out and I never felt it a problem to ask.
The food was good and I enjoyed it but do not expect it to be out of this world.

5. Beach

WOW, the beaches are stunning, clean and tidy, the best I have ever seen.

Having read ALL the other reviews since booking our holiday I have to wonder if we stayed at the same place!!!!
The staff are some of the lovliest, friendly, helpfull people I have ever met. Nothing was too much trouble for any of them. The general manager should be really proud of them all. Also having read the reviews its funny how all the bad ones are by one nationality and I have to say the way they spoke to some of the staff I understand why they got an abrupt reply!!!! I saw one person banging his watch face at one waitress really rudely but at no time did the 4 in our party encounter anything but lovely smiling faces.

We had a sea front room which was perfectly adequate. It had a huge bed, ex large nicely tiled shower room and nice comfy chairs inside and a patio with table and chairs.The hot water did go off a few times but this was only a trip and as soon as we reported it it was no longer that 10-l5 mins before someone came to re-set it.

The food was a really good standard with loads of choice especially the fish that was caught fresh everyday. Breakfast was very varied with lots of things cooked to order.

Silvias garden tour is amazing, I don't know how she remembers all the things!! Myron in water sports has the patience of a saint!
David, Alex, William, Millie, Natasha and all the others I am sorry that I can't remember the names a big THANKS to each and everyone of you. To Grescilda this is from Hansom, the ugly one and 2 lovely ladies!!!!

We hired Rickys taxi to go round the island and a few other trips and he waited for us at different places for as long as we wanted.

The animals around the place were nice to see and not a problem. They did not wonder in for long. At no time did I ever see a cat anywhere near the tables!! We did see a mongoose a few times, which was nice.

We had a lovely, relaxing holiday and would gladly go back.

Overall a great value. Main attraction is the location. This is a great place if you want to have absolute quite vacation with minimum frills.

The key in really enjoying this place is in choosing the right room. We went with the garden view room and let me tell you it is worth crying over. We did not stay there more than 4 hours before changing. It faces the resort "garden" and its as basic as basic can get. The room ended before you entered it. It was a closet turned room.

Once we changed to the ocean view rooms it was a much better experience. We were few steps from the both restaurants. Though we only went to the one up the stairs for dinner. The staff service is spotty. Don't expect anyone to come to the beach to take yoru drink orders etc. If you ordered anything a-la-carte expect to wait a while.

We never had to look far for beach chairs. We travelled with a 8 month baby and left our stroller all over the resort as we frolicked about and everyone kept an eye on it. We strolled from one beach to the next to keep ourselves entertained.

Another cool treat at this resort is the snorkeling. Since with a baby we couldn't do any activities we usually do in the caribbean like snorkeling, kayaking etc. It was a great treat to put on our snorkels and find group of colorful fish just swimming not more than few yards off the shore.

There is also the Eden Beach-Nude beach at the other extreme end. I think that's where most of the guests congregate because we saw a lot more guests at dinner and lunch then at the beach.

Overall a fun location. We will come again but next time booking teh right room. Stay far far away from the garden rooms.