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> Destinations > Antigua and Barbuda > Trip Reports > Trip Report
Spent the last six days at Hawksbill Resort. Watching the weather forecast at weather.com was almost enough to make me want to postpone the trip. Fortunately I listened to others on the board and I also watched the forecast from the National Weather Service in San Juan.
The weather.com had 50-60% showers forever it seemed. Here in South Florida 50% rain chance is usually a washout. They lowered to scattered showers the day I left. I must say that they did get the showers portion correct. During the six days it did actually sprinkle for the better part of 4 minutes this past Tuesday. The rest of the time the weather was beautiful.
My wife and I had a deluxe beachfront with air conditioning. The room was rather simple but nice and clean. View was great. Nice balcony with table and chairs. 4 beaches to choose and none crowded at all. The grounds are very nice and we enjoyed the stay and would return. The food was marginal. If you selected certain dinner items from the ala cart menu it was half price for all inclusive guests. The grilled lobster was excellent. Breakfast buffet was a breakfast buffet. Nothing special. Had all the normal foods and you shouldn't come away hungry. Lunch was simple and dinner needed more selections (for me anyway) but the ala cart side was better. (but again this side had a fee)
I rented a car and my wife navigated. We had the car four days and went everywhere. I would recommend a car. The resort has it delivered and it was $40.00 per day as I remember. Very little in the way of road signs so I spent the first day semi-lost but always managed. Once you get thru day one the rest is easy. I even managed to find the back way around town to avoid traffic. You just need a little sense of direction. I drove all the time at night also.
Ate dinner also at Commissioner Grill which was very nice, Bananna ??? downtown for lunch, good, OJ's down past Darkwood beach, also very good and Coconut Grove for dinner. CG asks if you would like water when they take your drink order and then proceed to bring you bottled water which I thought was a nice touch until they charge $14.00 EC for the water. It is a scam that happens a lot here in the states and I usually ask if there is a charge. I guess the idea has spread. The restaurant is a cozy little romantic place but service was slow after the meal was served.
I like to play slot machines so I visited a few places. I did not like Kings at all. Royal Antiguan has 20-30 slot machines and it was close to the resort. I won money on these machines. Tuesday was our anniversary so I went to the new casino at Jolly around 4:30. Only a few people but a nice place. I won several hundred dollars on the machines so naturally I like this gaming spot the best. Slots were very loose and drinks are free. I had to leave for dinner so didn't play any table games. (tables open at 6pm)
I dealt direct with Arlene Marsh via e-mail to make my reservations at the resort. She was very helpful and answered a lot of "tourist type island questions".
Look forward to a return trip to do some of the "tourist" boat trips and some scuba diving.
My wife and I walked around Galley Bay which is close to Hawksbill. Very nice place. More upscale and newer looking than Hawksbill. The staff all seemed very friendly. I originally tried to stay here but it was booked. I asked the off season rate for oceanfront and was quoted $590.00 per night all inclusive. Hawksbill was $230.00 for all inclusive. Galley Bay does not look to be that nice when comparing 590 to 230. Money is not an issue when I go on vacation. I do not travel on a budget but I would probaby not stay at Galley Bay unless I got a better rate. Hawksbill had everything I needed and then some.
Thanks to Ray for this trip report ...
December 2003
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