Hawks Cay

There are good and bad points for this resort. I’ll start with the bad… On arrival we were told we had to pay an extra $200 a day for an ‘incidental’ deposit plus a daily resort fee of $60+. We were met by an extremely unwelcoming young man who didn’t really communicate well with the public and felt as if we’d disturbed his phone scrolling. We were also given a family room and told that was all they had, and he didn’t really care either. The resort fee is ridiculous - access to the pool, and a beach towel! Self parking?! Crazy!! Isn’t that just part of any hotel booking? $1,800 later we picked our jaws up from the floor and went to our room. Every day there seemed to be a wedding or conference on, which seemed a bit odd whilst you’re sunbathing. At night the music is deafening, thankfully we weren’t staying anywhere near the adult pool area. The family pool is very busy, we never got to use the adult pool as it was packed and most sun loungers had towels on them all day even when nobody was using them. I don’t think that should be allowed. Sun loungers were covered in bird droppings, cigarette ends on the floor. The bar staff were very sullen, and stated that if we didn’t tick the gratuity box they’d tick it themselves anyway. It is normal to tip and I’d always pay it but to be prompted constantly on every drink is a bit much. The lagoon looked a bit bleak, nothing like the online photos. The room itself was ok, but on arrival there were black hairs on the sink and fresh glassware and also grime around the taps and hand soap (which wasn’t soap in the end it was moisturiser) Skirting board had lots of dust. Pillows were ok and bedding seemed clean. Not a great view from the window but I guess you have to pay extra for that. Shower gel/shampoo etc were empty. We did have toilet rolls replaced. Staff were very rude, except for the cafe chef and the girls that worked there and in the shop. Cleaners on their phones at 7am shouting in rooms they were cleaning, chattering loudly and arguing in the corridors. The air conditioning was ok until you put it on the highest setting and the smell of weed drifted through. Also could smell it from staff and in the corridors. The lift is not pleasant to use, smells of burning oil and the staff lift door is not convenient when you have luggage and share a lift with daily dirty bedding etc in huge trolleys. Ok, now the good!!!! The boutique shop is nice, they have a great selection of souvenirs etc and clothing. Also plasters, Tylenol etc if needed. The staff in the cafe were polite and helpful, the chef too. Breakfast was good, and a good selection. Great cocktails. The Angler and Ale were the highlight of our visit. The staff were so friendly and actually made our stay much more enjoyable. Food was delicious, we ate there every night. The jetty was great to watch the fish, and we even saw sharks. The location is superb, duck key is beautiful! The iguanas were great, and the fish tank in reception. We felt as if we were being fleeced every day money wise and came away wishing we’d stayed somewhere else. It could be such a nice resort, and I hope one day it’s fabulous - but sadly we came away feeling very disappointed…and skint! Read less

Honest review of Hawk's Cay from a hospitality professional. Buyer Beware: Mgt has changed at this hotel as of a few weeks ago. Talk of the resort of how they are trying to make changes. We were here to celebrate my nephew's wedding. That portion of our trip was very good and they did a nice job with the wedding. Grounds nicely taken care of. Everything else in between needs improvement including: * no water bottles in the room *tv did not work in our room or many other guests at the wedding *refrigerator in room did not work * no housekeeping service for 2 of 4 days there *staff very rude and service not great. Especially Tiki Hut where my cousin waited at the bar 30 minutes seated and was finally acknowledged once she opened her mouth * 4 pm check in, a bit late especially when you have a 5 pm rehearsal dinner to attend *wristband for your room key fails often. Then when you go to the front desk there is one attendant and a long line to get it redone. *no staff at the adult pool and don't expect towels to be available post 2 pm. Long walk to regular pool to get towels. *$200 per day charged to your card for incidentals, which is excessive. Plus a resort fee which is a joke: all activities for the resort are geared towards kids. I guess the trivia at the pool was part of the resort fee but when I'm relaxing at the pool and having someone yell trivia into a microphone it's less than relaxing. How about coffee in the lobby for guests free? yoga at the lagoon in the morning? 30 min pickelball lesson for free? Something to justify this ridiculous fee. *Cafe in lobby the prices are higher than NYC. Expect to pay $22 for a fruit cup and a cup of coffee. Go off property for all meals, you will save a ton of money. *The phone system is terrible. If you try and call the front desk, it rings like 20 times; you can never reach anyone. Same thing when trying to reach reservations prior to your stay. It takes forever to get a live body on the phone. This property is expensive. They need to do better to justify the expense. Work on the staff attitudes and a few other things and then it will be a luxury property. For the expense, you'd be better off going elsewhere until Management improves on a variety of issues. Read less