Beachfamily

Anyone been to Hawksbill Beach Resort in Antigua, lately (the one with 4 beaches, that's AI now)? How is it? I am pretty ready to book in for 7 days in early Dec. Taking husband & 2 kids (12 and 10)we just want r&r, good food, beautiful beach and watersports. Also, I hope it's a clean place? Many thanks for any info!

Pason

Hi Beachfamily,

I see you are ready to book Antigua. You can't go wrong with the Island itself and the beaches are once again some of the nicest I've seen. Hawksbill is close to the Jolly Beach where we stayed and we liked being close to Fryes beach and one other that is quite popular (the name escapes me). Have you checked out wheretostay.com for travellers reviews, that has been helpful to me in the past. I believe Hawksbill is rated around the same as Jolly on that website so that might help you get a feel for what to expect. It also has written reviews by each traveller to give you the whole scoop.

Good luck!

Pason

Just to let you know,
If you are checking out wheretostay.com go to travellers reviews under the Island you want. There will be an overall rating and if you click on read reviews you can see what each person rating the resort had to say.

One thought that crossed our minds when we wanted to take the kids to Jolly beach was that we could always try to get into a resort close to it and go over to Jolly on some day passes. The reason for this being cost mainly. To take two kids in a superior room might be on the pricey side but if you have a good deal on a close resort you can go on a day pass and check out the facilities at Jolly (it's got a good atmosphere for kids). We did a day pass to Pineapple beach when we stayed at Jolly because at the time we couldn't afford the whole week at Pineapple. In hindsight I was glad we did because we were able to compare and we decided we liked Jolly better.

Have fun, let us know what you decide.

Beachfamily

Thanks, just posted a similar question on wheretostay.com. I don't seem to find recent traveler reviews for Hawksbill, and I heard that it's under new management since mid-summer? Beaches look awesome at Hawksbill and I am wondering if it has more food variety than Pineapple Beach (hoping food quality is good at both places).

matkat

Check out tripadvisor.com, they have some recent reviews.

Beachfamily

Thanks, matkat, have you been there? I guess most of the reviews (on tripadvisor) are very good, but then there's one or two that throw me . . . any comparison with Pineapple Beach?

redgirl

Hi , I stayed at Galley Bay in June and we walked over the hill and into The Hawksbill on a few occasions , a steep fifteen minute walk btw. Did you know that the furthest beach on the property which is also the most beautiful,is a clothing optional beach? Couples and a few locals literally let it all hangout here. We didn't have any issues with this at all but maybe I'd see it differently with kids .

matkat

No, unfortunately I haven't been to Antigua, I just know that Tripadvisor usually has a lot of recent reviews.

ejcrowe

I haven't stayed at Hawksbill in the last two years, but I don't think it has substantially changed since then. It was not AI when I stayed, by the way. The food was always at least acceptable and occasionally good. We found the grounds to be expansive and to provide lots of little nooks and beach palapas that provide an amazing amount of privacy compared to the bumber of guests the resort can hold. The beaches are its best selling point--the main beach houses the water sports center and is usually the most crowded. It's also where the lunch restaurant is located. The first and third beaches were completely empty when I visited--we had them to ourselves each time we ambled over to them. The last beach is the clothing optional one and it's quite a hike from the rooms to get there. You can't see it from any other vantage point on the resort, so there's no need to worry about it if you prefer not to see folks with their clothes off. The water is rougher on the CO beach and it's awkward to enter the water due to the slippery rocks just at the water's edge.

Hawksbill is pretty secluded and I would consider renting a car for a few days, especially with kids in tow so you can see other beaches and try a local restaurant or two.