First, Hawksbill is beautiful. It has a location and beaches that are simply stunning. The rooms are fine (we had a Beach Club room for our honeymoon and loved it) and the grounds well-kept. The included wine and beer were very nice and the coffee at breakfast was delicious. Beach equipment was plentiful. But, some lesser gripes: instant, not brewed, coffee in the room. Sanka packets, not brewed decaf, at meals. Over-cooked, boring, steam-table food at dinner. Almost no water pressure for showers. No shower curtain made for wet, slippery floors and falls.

In reading the other reviews, I think I may have stayed at a place with a different staff. With a few exceptions (Agatha and Conder come to mind, as well as the taxi driver Colin: great folks!), I would describe the overriding attitude as ranging from "I don't care" to contempt to outright hostility. An actual exchange illustrates: Q: Can I buy a phone card here to call the US? A: No. Pause. OK, where might I get one? In St. John's. Pause. OK, where would I go in St. John's? Anyplace that sells phone cards. (Not true, by the way. Best bet: Cable and Wireless next to Heritage Quay, at Thames and Long Streets. Just get in line, don't bother with customer service.)

At Hawksbill I felt repeatedly like I was supposed to know things about the area or the customs of the resort (like that the iced tea at lunch is self-serve from a machine and you have to ask at the bar for a glass and ice: something any idiot should know!!) that I had no way of knowing without someone telling me. In addition, food service in the early part of the week was glacial. Example: I waited 20 min. for eggs benedict at the grill one morning, only to discover when the eggs were done that I was supposed to have gotten and toasted my own English muffin. OK, why not tell me when I order? Then the cook fought with the kitchen staff because the ham had run out, with each blaming the other. In the end I gave up.

But the prize goes to the staff at the front desk, whose chilly attitude was unlike anything I've seen in 30 years of traveling. Asking to change money was greeted with eye rolls and sighs, questions were barely tolerated and telephone calls always took precedence over people waiting at the desk. There was also a lack of understanding about basic requests. For example, one night after dinner we asked for a morning wake-up call. Fine; no problem, we were told. But at 11:30 PM the phone in our room rang, waking us up. Had we asked for a wake-up call in the morning? Yes. 8:30, please. So at 7:45 the next morning, a man comes banging loudly on our door, probably waking up all the neighbors. We awoke with a start, frightened. "Hello! What do you want?", we said. "Did you ask for a wake-up call?", he said. "Yes.". "This is your wake-up call." I was slapping my head, incredulous that it could be so difficult to provide this most basic service. Finally, there were broken promises. Taxis were allegedly arranged that never showed up (most notably when we were in a hurry to catch our plane home...). The log revealed that they had never been arranged. One night we had to cancel a tour, and the message was never given to the driver.

Because I saw the same dynamics among so many staff from all departments, I am left thinking that there is something missing in management, training and supervision.

My partner and I have just got back from 2 weeks (January 2007) holiday at the Hawksbill Resort, which we chose via this website. Overall we enjoyed the hotel and its location a lot. The really beautiful cove location and its four beaches available to guests is a unique selling point in the Hotels favour. The beaches are truly some of the best on the island, and we looked hard! Be aware though that there are a lot of steps about the property, it is wheelchair unfriendly, and perhaps not an ideal location for those less than reasonably fit or with a physical disability. Hiring a car or taxi is a must do if you wish to get out and about to see the island. Four wheel drive vehicles are required to reach some of the more remote beaches, and the available maps of the island are all poor.

Our welcome on checking in was handled in a friendly, professional, prompt and comprehensive manner, and golf buggy transport of both us and the luggage to the room was a nice touch, as was a “welcome” in flowers petals on the bed. We had room 36, a standard plus room at the back of one of the two main blocks, and bar a few of the staff being a little noisy early in the morning (management - rubber tyres on the dustbins would solve this), and the dustcart coming early one morning (management - get them to come after 9.00am) there were no real noise problems. The lack of air con in our room was not a problem as meshed and slatted windows allows a good and controllable air flow through the room. The veranda outside was a nice place to read on an evening in peace. The property overall is a little past its best, and it needs the current management to consider investment to fix a few exterior infrastructure items and improve in particular the slightly tired bathrooms and room fittings. We looked in a couple of other rooms, and ours was not unique in that the bathroom was tired, the shower head and controls worn out, and the doors of the wardrobe were falling off due to poor original design. Guttering outside the main buildings had fallen off or broken making the trip to dinner hazardous on a wet day.

Breakfast – This is always offered in the main restaurant, with a lovely view over the bays. I was impressed by the (self service) menu choices offered to guests, particularly the freshly cooked to order items, although we were disappointed by the lack of staff organisation, which could be easily resolved with a little staff training and/or a strong manager. The occasionally frosty attitude of a few of the breakfast service staff made one feel you were spoiling their day and needs resolving
Menu Quality 8/10, Service 5/10.

Lunch service – this is held in the lower pool area restaurant, and was acceptable although not particularly impressive. Garlic featured in all the fish and chicken options which was not a problem for me, but proved extremely limiting for my garlic intolerant partner. I feel the garlic content surprising and somewhat pointless and overpowering with the fresh fish. Quality 6/10, Service 6/10

Afternoon Tea – this is held in the lower pool area restaurant, we did not bother with it but I understand it was a tea/coffee and sandwich or cake option

Dinner Service - This is mostly offered in the main restaurant, again. We were disappointed with some of the menu choices offered, and again garlic featured in too many dishes. Local dishes were often available which was nice, but information lacking on the constituents, which would be useful to be able to work out what would go with what, and for those that must respect special diets. The staff proved more friendly and professional than those at breakfast; however improvements should be possible with better training and management.
Menu Quality 6/10, Service 6/10.


The bar staff were friendly and the drinks they offered, particularly the cocktails, were very acceptable. My complaints about the house wine quality were not shared in general by the majority of guests. I chose drink the offerings from the wine list.

If you decide to stay here, and we would go again despite the negative issues I have mentioned, do go to Chez Pascal, the local restaurant… a romantic location, with the most fantastic menu and standards. We are both “foodies” and although it was not cheap but we went twice, rating the food as perfect, and that rarely happens with us…oh the memory makes me salivate now!!!

Do go to Shirley Heights’, it’s a wonderful experience, the hotel do a tour there which works well, and try to get to Rendezvous Bay beach, a challenge but worth it,

This was our second visit to Hawksbill for christmas 2006. We had yet again a fantastic time. We had a great club room on honeymoon cove from which our private terrace looked out straight across the ocean to the Hawksbill rock and we had some amazing sunsets.

The staff are always friendly and helpful and we don' understand why some people complain. In our experience what you give you receive! We must particularly thank David, William. Margrita, Latoya and Agatha for all the hard work they do and they made our holiday a wonderful experience. Richard, the Manager, is always checking with guests that they are having a good time and whether he can improve anything.

The grounds are spotless and the food in the restaurant is good.

Not sure why we are really telling you about this gem of a resort as we would love to keep it a secret, but we owe it to all the staff and friends we made to say how wonderful it is.

Yes, the pool is small but who needs it when you have four beautiful beaches to choose from. We spent the time on the clothing optional beach and there were never more than four couples on it.

This resort is ideal for stressed adults who want peace and tranquility with light entertainment. It just gets better and better! We have booked again for next christmas 07!

Just returned from our second visit - the last one a year ago and were not disappointed.

We loved it firstly for its setting in the wonderful grounds that edged the main beach. It felt very natural - the main hotel accomodation block where we stayed (seaview rooms) is low rise and surrounded by trees. The only snag was that the trees did tend to obstruct the sea view. The main beach was fabulous - it did shelve and the water is not ideal for young kids.

One has to bear in mind the noise at night - the crickets compete with the several varieties of frog not to mention the lizards and the noisy waves breaking nearby. In fact it was quite a racket but we got used to it very quickly. The big bats were amazing - swooping around but quite harmless.

The birds are very tame and will happily pinch your bacon at breakfast if you let them - watch out for the black ones!. The finches will even nip into your room to pinch packets of sugar. The yellow birds made quite a racket as soon as the sun rose.

We loved all the wild life and the snorkelling was good when the wind died down.

The weather was great - never broke into a sweat once - and the occasional cloud or even shower brought a welcome relief from the sun. For the evenings a light shirt was fine.

I will not repeat other peoples description of the hotel except to say it was fine. If the staff seem unfriendly it will be your fault not theirs - loose a bit of inhibition and try to smile or crack a joke - it will be well rewarded. Avoid being condescending - it will be treated in the manner it deserves. No swearing either - it will also be treated with contempt.

We will miss it all.