By this point you will have read a number of other reviews about hermitage bay. Hopefully, I will be able to give you an all inclusive guide to hermitage bay & all of it's little foibles and charm.

A few people have mentioned the road / dirt track that leads up to the complex is a little bumpy, well so what? I honestly believe that the long & bumpy road is really what starts the magic, but this is were the excitement really starts. The anticipation starts to build as you drive through virtual wasteland and the odd local house, but you get the impression as you drive & drive that you are going into the middle of now-where, leaving civilisation behind, and with it all of your cares in the world.
If it wasn't for the road, this area would be full of developments and could end up like some of the less exclusive resorts in Antigua (Jolly Harbour for example).

The next bit is wonderful. You pull up and get let out and this is really where the wow factor begins. You climb a small number of steps into the entrance lobby, which is styled on a large colonial house with a huge ceiling and breathtaking views of the beach and sea. You will be greeted with a virgin mojito (without rum), and your bags are delivered to you room. The reception staff
(like all the staff here)are helpful, polite and full of personality.
We arrived late during the evening, so we were shown straight through to dinner. The dining room is not huge, but does allow everyone to feel intimate. Most of the table are set up for 2 people (honeymooners do tend to make up a majority of the population), the table cloths are crisp and white and the chairs are also covered in white material (almost giving the feeling of an intimate wedding breakfast).
The food... The food..... You will probably eat your body weight in the stuff on a daily basis, as it is so so good. It's like going to that restaurant that you save for really special occasions because its a little too expensive to go to regularly. Only here you get it every meal and it's all included. The evening menu is changed on a daily basis and although it's billed as Asian fusion, it appear far more European than that. There were elements of Thai and south East Asian cooking, but there was enough of a good selection to make it difficult to choose which mouth watering dinner to have next. If your a soup fan, then you will not be disappointed, as there is an amazing soup everyday. I am, and I was in heaven! The puddings are also fab. I would recommend the ginger cake, which is fantastic, and the key lime pie is to die for.
The only disappointing thing is that i was never able to have 4 courses in one night, because i always felt constantly stuffed.
The service during diner is great. Your water is topped up even virtually as soon as you put the glass down and your wine or champagne is too (especially if you get Roselyn, she's great).
From the wine list, you can choose from 2 whites, a rose, a sparkling wine 3 red. All of which are good wines. There are plenty more to choose from, but they all cost, and quite a considerable amount too (but they are all pretty top end and would normally be expensive).

After our first dinner, we headed off to the bar. At the bar, again, everything is free (unless you want to spend $25 on a really expensive whiskey). All spirits are branded & the beer is bottled, so no watered down rubbish here. There's a really good cocktail menu, but the bartenders are all very good and seem to love creating special drinks just for you.
Tajal is one of the barmen and is an absolute legend. He has recently won a tournament that made him the cocktail champion of the entire Caribbean! He is amazing. If you see him, get him to try & replicate his winning cocktail, it's out of this world.
We taught him how to make B52's and Dr Peppers too. Although they do close the bar at 12, they will leave out beers for you if you want to stay up chatting with the other guests for a few hours. When that runs out, just raid the mini bar (it'll be filled up again tomorrow)

We then decided to go to our room. This is the part, I would love to be able to do again, because it is not often that you get this sort of wow factor . I am a letting agent in Oxford & let hundreds of stunning properties, but I have never seen anything like this. The photos I have included and the ones of the web site do not really give the cottage justice (we stayed in a hillside cottage as part of the honeymoon package).
I would give anything to have that amazement factor again. The first time you clap eyes on the plunge pool, the terrace overlooking the bay, the massive bed in the amazingly large room, the huge bathroom with the cute his and hers basins & possibly the biggest bath, then there's the cool outdoor rain shower.
The bedroom also has a wall of folding doors that open out so that you can lie in bed and watch a romantic sunset, whilst supping champagne. Perfect.
The rooms have an ipod dock, that links up to speakers in the bedroom and in the bathroom, and are pretty good. We often listened to out ipod whilst in the plunge pool.
Then there's the mini bar. Oh boy! You get a tick list every night to fill in so that they can stock it for you when they clean the room. This can be virtually anything, from Smirnoff, Bombay sapphire to the house champagne (which we drunk a bottle of virtually every night before dinner). Make sure you make the most of it. It's fantastic.
On a sad note, we arrived the day after a couple had tragically been shot and killed during a robbery at another development in Antigua. We have a letter waiting for us in our room when we arrived to tell us this, and to explain that this is an unheard of occurrence in Antigua, they have laid on a lot of extra security to ensure that it doesn't happen at Hermitage Bay. We were often followed back to our room by a guard, just to ensure that we got back ok.
Mosquitoes are a bit of a problem, but if you take a high percentage deet spray with you, you shouldn't get too affected. I was bitten a few times, but only when I sprayed a little too late in the day.
Other tips.... Make sure you have the Kobe Beef burgers for lunch. Kobe beef is one of the most expensive in the world & I have seen burgers made of this stuff in restaurants for £30+ ($60), its obviously included here and will probably be the best burger you will ever eat, trust me on that one. You will never have a big mac again.
Use the plunge pool as much as you can. You'll dream about having one of these when you get back home. Make sure that you make the most of it. There's nothing like drinking a bottle of champagne, in your plunge pool, whilst watching the sunset... Well there is, but i'll leave that up to your imagination!
Diving - We used Jolly diving, which was recommended by Devon at hermitage bay. The guy that runs it is an eccentric American that dives in a shirt and red bow tie. Although they appeared to be a little disorganised to begin with they did look after us. We didn't see a lot, apart from loads of Jelly Fish & the eye of a 3m nurse shark, but it was fun.
Make sure you use the golf buggies (especially if you are staying near the top of the hill like us) it's a bit of a trek to the top, but to be honest after the amount I ate and drank, I deserved to burn off a bit of energy on the way home after the bar closed.
Use the water sports & get Devon or his colleagues to take you out if you are not a confident sailor. There are two person canoes also available & you can take them around the bay and go exploring the amazing caves in this exclusive bay.
What else can I say about this place? It's perfect. It's not stuffy, but you are extremely well looked after, from Ziggi the beach guy, to Jessica in the restaurant & the amazing Tajal in the bar. This place is magical and no-one ever wants to leave. We heard stories of people coming for a couple of days and then cancelling the place the went to next so that they could come back. Danny de Vito has stayed here & so has Camilla, so it can't be that bad.
Overall, everyone is friendly, helpful and will do anything at all to make your stay as amazing as possible. The setting and the complex can not be faulted, and I would recommend anyone that is looking to go to Antigua to give this place a try. We saw a few of the developments in Jolly Harbour and spoke to a few people who had been to the Caribbean & especially Antigua quite a few times. There was not a single person who could better this place. I almost want this place to stay a secret so that it doesn't become busy and over developed.
This place is heaven on earth & whether you are on your honeymoon or just want a romantic break in the sun, this place is definitely worth it. If you don't believe me then see it for yourselves. I am sure of one thing though, if you go somewhere else you'll just experience mediocrity. If you want something special, this is the place to come! It's almost like a L' Oreal moment.
Enjoy it!

We really enjoyed our four-night stay at Hermitage Bay. We got exactly what we went for – total peace and quiet. Our pictures prove it!

Our room was fantastic. We had a pool suit (#38) - nearly at the top, only one higher. The walk up was a good workout but there is always the golf cart to take you if you are tired or it’s late. But, if you do walk up there is nothing better than just falling in a perfectly relaxing plunge pool.

The air-con worked really well and kept the room at whatever temperature we wanted. The iPod deck was a great feature – hopefully we were not too loud for our neighbors.

I’ve seen other comments on mosquitoes and we didn’t have any issues. I think combined we got about 4 bites over the five days there. There are screens on all windows, so that certainly helps and the resort gives you Off! which is also helpful. But it’s a tropical island…you should not expect to have NO bites at all!

Regarding the beach, it was really fantastic. Very quiet, light breezes the whole time, clear blue water, and a small reef in front to snorkel around. The sand was not the soft, powder sand that some might want – it's coarse sand with a strip of broken shells between the water and the resort. It was, however, easy enough to walk on. Only downside was the number of jellyfish in the water and a few on the sand. We must have seen 10-15 while there and it would have been nice if the watersports folks warned us about them before we went snorkeling around and brushed up against them.

For the rooms, the beds were very comfortable, view was fantastic, plunge pool the perfect temperature, curtains to block the sun while you lay on the daybeds….perfect.

Only part that was unfortunate was that the outdoor shower was only ok, not great. They were not totally private. The curtains would blow open pretty far so if your shower faced another room or the walking path you became a potential exhibitionist. Also, people are here for romance so if you want to take a shower for two it’s difficult.

Specific to suite 38, there seemed to be a security guard on duty most of the day that would stand about 10-15 feet away from the shower on the walking path (path was above the shower so you could make eye contact with the guard). Sometimes another guard would stop by and they would just chitchat. So, while we were thrilled about the security measures, it would make sense tell the staff to mosey down the walkway when guests are showering.

Following on that, the pools were not totally private, either. Ours was close to private, only one other suite and the security guards could see us, which they did once or twice. It would have been nice if there were trees or some other foliage/structure blocking the view. Many of the other pools seemed less private than ours (we could chat eye to eye with other guests in their pool as we walked down to lunch). Anyways, having complete privacy and blocking out the world would is why people go to these types of resorts – seeing some eyes looking back at you breaks the vibe.

That said, the semi-privacy issue is only a minor hiccup. The only real complaint is regarding the level of service and food that should be expected for a hotel charging these prices.

The staff at Hermitage Bay was good and certainly was trying hard but at times they could be too intrusive. Other issues were:
- Not having staff at the watersports check out hut (could be gone for an hour)
- Food orders mixed up at least once a day (always fixed without fuss)
- Food taking a while to come out (frustrating when other people who sat down after you get their first and second courses before you have been served)
- Not having enough towels at the beach area, had to wait for the laundry to be finished on two days

As far as the food, it’s all-inclusive in the Caribbean…so the food was marginal. Maybe it’s being too hard on them but the food was a disappointment. I think they are trying to be creative with their menu but the chef isn’t able to execute on it. Might be better to simplify the menu and focus on doing a few things really well than trying to do 20 things marginally.

Also, a very small but annoying feature, is that there are no snacks outside of plantain chips at the resort. It would have been BRILLIANT to offer some nice treats for the room’s mini-bar – fruit, candies, chips, something! The gift shop doesn’t even sell anything.

I think all of these issues are more a function of Antigua being newer to the upscale resort game and there being only so many qualified people available to work there (check-in staff, chefs, wait staff, etc). Hermitage Bay is the newest hotel in this category on the island so maybe it will just take time but I think they would be better served to bring in outside staff to work alongside and train the current staff. Again, the staff is very friendly and wants to make your stay as comfortable as possible, they just don’t seem to have been trained on how to make that happen.

We’ve been to some of the nicer hotels in the world (Crillion and Park Hyatt in Paris, Sukhothai in Bangkok, Grand Hyatt Tokyo, Peninsula Beijing, etc.) so maybe our expectations are based on the wrong hotels and we expected too much in terms of food/service. But if these hotels can be near perfect at prices that are significantly lower, then the Hermitage Bay can/should spend the money and time required to train their staff accordingly or at least bring veterans in to run the day to day operations. A hotel open for two years should not be experiencing these problems.

Additionally, we have been to a similar resort in Thailand (Six Senses Koh Samui) that was priced similarly and was clearly a cut above for food, service, and staff. The investment they make in their staff shows.

The bottom line is that we just expected a little more for the prices they are charging. We are happy to pay $1,000+ a night but want a flawless experience.

Are we glad we went? Did we have a wonderful time? Definitely.

Would we go back? Not at these prices…there are just too many other places to try out.

I would really love to give this place a "Perfect 10". It is so nearly there.

I won't repeat everyone else's raves, but, yes, the staff were genuinely charming (something which cannot be taught), the atmosphere and decor in the airy bar/lounge/dining areas was comfotable and elegant in a relaxed island style, the gardens beautiful and lovingly tended (plants labelled), the food simply but freshly prepared with plenty of local fish fruit and vegetables ( the juice freshly squeezed at breakfast). Always the sign of a well run hotel, the manager was around all the time. When he went away for a few days, his incomparably elegant deputy, Michael from Guadaloupe, prowled the place constantly, keeping an eagle eye for anything not quite right and dispensing witty advice. Very impressive. Being child-free (below 12) the pool was peaceful. This is a huge plus if you go in school holdays - I have lost count of the number of times we have gone to small boutique hotels which sell their atmosphere of serenity but are full of screaming children.

The only real minus for us was the rooms. We had a beachfront cottage with a stunning view straight onto the sand. Inside it should have been just as good as it was v. spacious with lots of lovely wood. However it gave the impression of an impractical designer with poor attention to detail: half way across the dark floor there is a step running the width of the room: it is far too shallow to make any difference as a divider between living and sleeping areas but perfect for tripping over as it is almost invisible against the dark wood floor. There is no glass in the windows or French doors, just wood louvers. This all sounds very green and rustic but means that you hear everything anyone says as they walk past, and presumably they hear everything from inside too...Nobody was noisy but we found this a bit unsettling. It also meant that we could hear the music from the bar area at night whenever amplifiers were used (nobody would come here for nightlife so who needs amplifiers in a cosy quiet little bar???). It went off at 10/10.30PM but was loud enought to stop us watching a film in the room or be intrusive if reading. However, the really appalling feature was that the loo is virtually part of the main room. There was no door to the bathroom, plus there was a huge cutout in the bathroom wall behind the bed (ie it was only really a half height wall). This seems to be an alarming new trend in hotel design but when will architects/designers realise there is NOTHING chic or sexy about the sights, sounds and smells from a loo. This is just so stupid because an open plan bath is fun and the loo could so easily be put in a small area with a door. As it is, it's just gross.
Hopefully the management will block up or glaze the hole and put in a door.

We were glad we chose a beach cottage (amazingly, cheaper than hillside) as you need to be pretty fit to hike up the hillside and there were lots of uneven steps with no handrail to many of the front doors.

Once we had adjusted to the room, we had a lovely restful time and suffered a real shock on leaving and facing the surly faces and general third world experience of Antigua airport.

My Fiance and I stayed at HB at the end of April this year in suite no.38 right at the top of the hill, beautiful views. A couple of months on and we are still wondering what the resort really was all about?

It claims to be exclusive, it prices itself as exclusive, but exclusive it is not.

The suites are standard dark wood & white linen for a resort of this hype, with no little extra touches. The outside shower is a great idea, but tie the bottom of the curtains down if you can, or it feels like you are getting washed in a pillow fight.

The staff are friendly, some very genuinely, some just obviously working you for an extra tip! Strangley enough the owner feels the staff are his USP. Although Carribean staff are not always known for being the most "proactive" in the wrorld, we are still waiting to find a couple that travel all the way to Antigua just for the staff?

The food is average, and we did feel even though the menu changed each day that we were eating pretty much the "same" food each day, a better chef is a must if they want to deliver on what they promise and work their way up the rankings. The wine list is poor, even outside the all inclusive. The bar ran out of bourbon on our first night (no, there was only a couple of shots left to start with), 6 nights later it had not been replinshed. Cigarettes the same.....

Many customers around us really made the most of getting every penny out of the all inclusive price. Which is really what HB is, a good value high end all inclusive hotel, but not an excluisve resort.

I know all the reviews before are pretty / very good, but if you are looking for something special, there are many other places to try that would give the similar great views and location and make you feel altogether a bit more special. By paying attention to the detail and personalising your holiday for just for you, (I have been fortunate enough to try many, and god is in the detail).

To be fair the owner did ask us if everything had been ok and if we had enjoyed our stay, however no real interest was shown in even just the few little things that could have made it a much better place. A great test is always, would we return.....no.

If you are reading this and thinking, wow they are a bit picky, maybe we are, but recheck all the advertisements for HB and they really claim to be something very very special and and I guess our opinion is they are just not, really really special.

If you do visit HB, enjoy