Hermitage Bay, Antigua

As a frequent traveler who is passionate about islands in the Caribbean and off the beaten track remote locales in Central America, I had the Hilton and Small Luxury Hotels partnership on my radar long before it became a reality for HH points bookings at SLH properties. I selected Hermitage Bay for a 6 night rewards stay over Thanksgiving because of its beautiful beach, secluded location and small number of rooms in comparison with most resorts. I arrived with high expectations after having vacationed at many other luxury boutique lodges and resorts. The first 24 hours were a total disappointment because we were not given the beachfront suite room type that I had specifically reserved months prior to arrival but, on day two, they rectified the situation and we were moved from the garden to the correct beachfront suite room type and fairly compensated for the issue and inconvenience. It was smooth sailing thereafter! What I love most about Hermitage Bay is their idyllic location on a long stretch of white sand beach dotted with almond trees, seagrapes ,and palms for shade, and with ample chaise loungers and umbrellas to be able to enjoy the perfect beach vacation. The constant sound of the waves and beauty of the turquoise water and green hills in the distance transports you into an out of this world experience. Add to that the unique “Tree” bar built around a tree on the beach and the AMAZING Jesse (beach attendant) Shari-Ann (bartender) who are both so kind and demonstrate that they truly care about the guests enjoyment of Hermitage Bay. And did I men the best piña coladas to cool off from the heat?! Last but not least is the heavenly serenade of the tree frogs each evening - it is THE BEST NATURAL MUSIC! The beachfront suites are very comfortable and have a to die for deck overlooking the beach and ocean with a sunset view. The AC unit was extremely quiet which was a major plus to be able to enjoy the sound of the waves even while it was in use. Meals were excellent and there were plenty of choices in both food and drink to satisfy a wide range of preferences. We thoroughly enjoyed the fresh catch fish options at both lunch and dinner! Dinner entertainment with the local musicians was a treat every evening and they had some really talented singers! Watersports with Tafari and Galloway are the BEST and we enjoyed the two complimentary tours included during our stay. We also enjoyed sailing the Hobie Cats and paddleboarding. Shout out to Jamie and Jillian and the entire team of restaurant hosts and servers - thank you all! And a special shout out to Simone who went out of her way to make us feel welcome at Hermitage Bay and to Anthony for his kindness, humor and musical talent! We already booked a return stay in 2025 and can’t wait! Highly recommend! Read less

***READ IF CONSIDERING VACATIONING HERE*** To the owner & staff of Hermitage Bay; we hope you read our review. I am not sure where to begin, but our experience here at Hermitage Bay was nothing short of incredible. The report is gorgeous inside and out. It's beyond clean, it's in a beautiful location. The water is crystal clear and you have your own private reef to explore 10-15 feet off the edge of the water. It's that close. The resort was a special experience for us, and we would LOVE to be welcomed back. It was a 5/5 experience. Please read our review of our time here. Upon arrival we were greeted with fantastic welcome drinks by Selange. She helped us with our booking and was an absolute pleasure to start our trip with. She even upgraded us to the hillside view suites which are the gorgeous units with an incredible view since we celebrated our honeymoon here. However, when we arrived to the room we were a bit dissapointed because the room we were given was not renovated yet as the supplies were delayed from Hurricane. We were a bit upset because we were very excited for the new rooms (the entire resort is being renovated). Even though the hillside was just as beautiful and the view was fantastic, we expressed our concerns to Rachael, the GM, and she met with us the following morning. She was beyond understanding with our disappointments, and then gave us a beautiful, nearly fully renovated room up front on the water with a pool. The care she had for our honeymoon celebration made us feel welcome and seen. Kempton, I believe the assistant GM, checked on us EVERY DAY. He made sure we were happy, and it just made the experience better for us. He was also fantastic. The entire week was absolutely beautiful, and I would like to break things down a little bit so every area is met and everyone and everything this resort has to offer is recognized: FOOD: The food at hermitage bay was absolutely outstanding. Every day we were given breakfast, lunch, dinner & an incredible sushi bar happy hour from 4:30-6. The chefs were outstanding, and the resort did not hold back on giving us anything we could have wanted. Every meal was started with fresh pastries or selections of breads, endless sides and starters. The experience was fantastic. Our highlight of the trip was with Ismael at the sushi bar. He was spectacular and was very talented at what he does. We would look forward to seeing him every day, and he would give us extra servings of literally whatever we wanted. His hospitality and dedication made our trip even better; and is one of the main reasons why we plan on returning. SERVICE: The service here is incredible. Everyone here knew your name within the first day. Something like that is special and l've never seen it at any experience l've ever been to. You felt seen and welcomed. Partly because the GM Rachael runs such a tight ship, you could tell how well everyone is treated by her and the expectations the entire staff has for their guests. Alicia and Jaquan at the front desk were there whenever we needed them. The bar staff including Simone, Jamoll, Lian, Sandy, Patricia, & Jesse made our entire stay even better. However 2 young individuals really cared for our stay. Shemar, a young server, took care of us several times including our romantic private beach dinner. He was attentive, polite, and was a really incredible guy. And Kyle, the young man attending the bars and the beach was by far our favorite. He was the kindest person we met, and everyone was extremely kind. He was a hard worker; always brought us our towels and drinks and made sure we had whatever we needed. These 2 young guys really made our stay worthwhile. Please consider keeping them for a long time. We would LOVE to see them again. WATER SPORTS: The water sports team is also incredible. We were able to take complimentary boat tours around the island, snorkel tours as well. We also were able to sail whenever we wanted and for however long we wanted. The water was crystal clear blue, and featured perfect conditions for just about anything. I do want to say that Galloway was the best. Aside from Ismael at Sushi, Galloway was the other key for our desire to return. He took us on two boat tours both to the north and south parts of the island. He gave us the history of certain areas and the importance of them as well. He was beyond funny, welcoming and made us feel like we were on our own private excursion. He was incredible to be with, and we would be devastated if he was not there when we returned. MISC/ROOMS/CLEANLINESS: The resort has turndown service every night. Everything was spotless when we would come back from dinner. The house keeping was awesome. Most of the units have their own pools, we loved being able to relax in them privately after our day at the beach. The beach was spotless, with crews out daily to rake any seaweed. The only annoying aspect was that there were a lot of mosquitos. Nothing really in the restaurant or the units, but they're there. Bring bug spray. You are LITERALLY in the jungle. TIPPING: Tipping is included in your stay, however we still tipped out the staff. We have been to many all inclusive resorts and we always tipped. These people work very hard for their money. They deserve a little extra. They really go the extra mile for you, and I just believe it's right to reward 24/7 care; even if it's just a small amount. OVERALL: If you are considering staying here, we highly recommend it. This experience was flawless. The food, the drinks, the care, the atmosphere and the service was incredible and worth every ounce of our time. It really was fantastic and we were devastated to leave. The resort offers a very personable environment which is something 99% of resorts cannot offer due to its commercialism & large size. Please consider booking for the future, as you will not be disappointed. If you're management or the owners, please continue to bless the resort with this amazing staff. Without these individuals, we would be less likely to return. And to the entire management team & staff, thank you very much for everything you all have done. This experience was amazing because of all of you, and we loved every second of it. We hope to see you soon. Ryan & Tara Read less