We visited at the end of July, and stayed at this pretty resort for a fortnight.
The hotel is lovely and in a beautiful setting, the views and the access to beaches was amazing. The resort is a little far out from the main city and felt a little isolated, but there were minibuses and boats to get around to see the island.
Our beachfront bungalow was clean and mostly well maintained, with a couple of little niggles that stop me from giving it a full 5 stars. The cord for the kettle didn't reach the plug socket, so we had to keep the kettle on the floor, which was a bit of a hazard. The taps in the bathroom were too close to the mirror, so when you turned them on, the mirror would push them off again. The wardrobe sliding doors weren't on a track on the bottom, and kept falling off, injuring my arm on more than one occasion. They are only tiny issues, but combined, they irked us by the end of the holiday.
The resort is beautiful, and the grounds well maintained, but again there were a couple of tiny issues that stopped it feeling like true luxury. There are no dedicated smoking areas, so people would smoke all over the resort and leave cigarette butts around, there was even one floating in the pool at one point. As a non-smoker, I found that disgusting. The beaches were also littered with cigarette butts, which just spoils the enjoyment of sitting on the beach. There were also areas on the beaches with quite a bit of litter. I understand that this is more of an issue with lazy guests, but dedicated smoking areas and more facilities around the resort to dispose of rubbish would alleviate some of these issues.
The staff was mostly incredibly friendly, with a couple of quite sullen exceptions. They really didn't look like they wanted to be there, and made asking for something feel awkward. I noticed that on the whole, the older the staff member, the more genuinely friendly and efficient they were. David the bartender, Myra, Jacinth and Patricia in the Tamarind Tree restaurant were especially lovely, as were Lafeisha in the Seagrapes Restaurant and Shaquilla in P.D.s Grill. Our room attendant Elizabeth was also lovely, and very efficient. Amit, I think, was the hardest working person on the island, wherever we went for food throughout the day, he seemed to be there!!
The food was well presented, delicious and varied, the different theme nights in the Tamarind Tree meant that there was always something new to try, and we couldn't fall into the trap of having the same meal every evening. The desserts were amazing, and I could never resist having a sweet treat to end the night.
The drinks were plentiful, generous and free-flowing, and nothing was ever too much trouble for the bar staff, though some were faster than others.
The evening entertainment was lowkey, but in a good way, there was nothing too jarring and loud. It was a nice accompaniment to the evening meal. I loved the steel band, the saxophonist and especially the fire man!!
I think for the price point, the resort is really good value for money and would recommend the resort to people looking for a budget friendly all inclusive.
I really enjoyed my time and am sad to not be able to give the resort 5 stars, but the little details matter. I really liked my time at the Hawksbill, but can't say that I loved it, which is a shame. I think with a few tweaks, this resort could be amazing.
