Kevin Mahoney

Review of Hawk's Cay Resort, Florida

Just got back last night from Hawks Cay after a 4 ...

Just got back last night from Hawks Cay after a 4 night stay. We enjoyed our stay at the resort with some reservations. We stayed in a waterfront, 2 story Villa (5073). The locaton of the resort is beautiful and the grounds well-maintained. They had a great amount of activities to engage in for kids and family, but I would also encourage vistors to look at their off resort options to save $$ or expand their overall experience. For example we chose to rent kayaks at the beautiful, and quite close, Curry Hammock State Park. The price was great and the waters and mangroves surrounding the park provide a more remote and serence environment in which to paddle and spot the abundant wildlife & sealife.

We appreciated that there was a small pool about 200 feet from our Villa, as the main pool nearest the main building/hotel was overcrowded with people and particularly young children. The water cloudy by mid-day with sunscreen and who knows what else. I took note of this because in the morning before the crowds came out the water was very clear. We expected a nicer (larger) and more elaborate, central pool for a resort devoid of a real beach.

The WiFi was atrocious. Connected one moment, impossible to connect the next. I am specifically
referring to our villa, as that was were we needed it and the only place we attempted to use it. Maybe its better elsewhere on the property?

Our 11 year old daughter's memories of the Dolphin experience will be with her forever - do not skip it. I think I would have enjoyed it myself; however, just watching her was priceless to me. If going at a peak season, like Easter....book ahead of travel to ensure a spot. Others at the resort said they couldn't get their kids into the program.

We also took a snorkeling cruise on the vessel, Blue, departing from the resort dock. It was a terrific time and a reasonalbe value for the convenience and the professionalism of the crew.

My other knits with Hawks Cay are largely about our Villa. The steps off the back porch were worn and broken on one tread with exposed nails, certainly a concern with bare feet, as well as a liability risk I would like to think the hotel would be anxious to avoid. The fact that the exposed wood on the broken edge of the step was weathered gray and the nail rusty (Tetnus anyone?) indicated to me that it had been damaged for some time. The curtains in front of the sliding-glass doors were torn from their sliders making them difficult to open and close - unavoidably worsening their condition when you attempted to move them back and forth. The light over our range-top was out, a small but bothersome inconvenience. Additionally, the carpets in our bedroom were horribly stained. Our powderoom toilet would run for about 30-40 minutes to refill it's tank - a simple adjustment to fix - but hey, I didn't bring my tools. All in all, I have to wonder if the resort managment ever took the time to walk through their rooms and villas.

I cannot comment of the food. We never ate a morsel at any of Hawks Cay's restaurants. We took breakfast in our villa, having bought food on the drive down from Miami airport. Each evening we would pick a different restaurant on nearby Marathon - and we enjoyed specatacular sunsets and excellent seafood. We don't do buffets and Alma looked very pricey. There may have been other options but my wife indicated that the reviews were not good, so we voted with our feet & our wallets.

We had a nice time, but to command the rate we paid, we expected more of Hawks Cay. Another guest told me that the resort is planning a refurbishment, and I'd say that it's overdue. Sadly, they'll likely raise their rates.