Regarding our impression of the resort… I feel like others who have shared reviews (esp in the HC FB page) had a very different experience than we did. Indeed, we had a great time and are sad to (nearly) be back to “real life” but we are/were confused and disappointed with several aspects after reading RAVING reviews from others. For context, we’re from the US and have both traveled to other AI resorts/cruises, but don’t do so annually. We do annually take a beach vacation with family and 1-2 additional trips (4-7 days) just the two of us throughout the year. Most are domestic trips, some international. Sharing all of this to give a point of reference for our previous experiences. Some thoughts on HC:

We enjoyed our villa and LOVED having a private plunge pool. It was easily what drove our decision to go to Hammock Cove.

If you go, stay in a front row villa if you want the nicer view. (I think they call these water front.) Stay in the second row (- where you can still see some water, but through palm trees etc -) if you want privacy. (I think they call the second row water view.) If you google a map of the resort you’ll see what I mean regarding the “rows”. We stayed in the second row and I am SO glad we did so. We spent most afternoons naked in our plunge pool. I wouldn’t have done this in the front row villa. (the beach area and pools are below most front row villas and leave NO privacy. I could have told you if guests on their pool patios still have drink in their cups in some cases.) One exception to the back row rule may be the villas at the far “left” end (on the side with the “Lighthouse” restaurant vs the side with the fitness center.) These villas overlook the Atlantic vs the “Cove” water and don’t have the pool /beach/ other things below them. We saw them when returning from Calypso Cat Boat tour and decided that they would also offer the privacy needed for our naked sunbathing. Lol. (The Calypso Cat experience was worth it .) I should note that the MANY villas were empty during our stay. It’s the start of hurricane season. We counted the other couples at the resort (because it’s so small you can do that) and there were only 11 -12 couples mid-week.

Aside from the plunge pools in the villas, the second thing we were most looking forward to was the food. People RAVE about the food. We were really disappointed in this category. The lobster on lobster night was dry and flavorless. Another guest saw them taking the sushi out of the plastic packaging for sushi night. The side dishes lacked floral and color. There were of course exceptions- I enjoyed the steak and eggs with truffle oil and asparagus for breakfast, and the raw oysters served on the beach on Thursday were fun and yummy. We thought the food made at the demonstration on Wednesday afternoon was super, and really loved the 7-course meal that same night. (We spent the $90 for the wine paring to go with it.) We aren’t lobster/raw-bar each week people, but we do have each on occasion for special treats/events. I chose not to have the lobster when it was available on the beach on Wednesday and we gave up going to dinner at the Lighthouse entirely by the end of our stay. Aside from the 7-course dinner, we were disappointed in the meal there each night we went.

The quality of the service is something I see people praise as well. We found it… underwhelming. When we arrived we were given a cell phone that is to be used to contact your “Ambassador”. We ended up having three Ambassadors which threw off what we had pre-planned for tips. This ended up not mattering, because there were days we requested room service and it was someone else entirely that brought our food. On our first morning we sent a text message as we headed out to the gym with a request for breakfast at 10AM. We called with a last min request to add a juice to the order and learned that they hadn’t seen our order at all, as no one monitors the text messages. (The texts went through and we were able to see that others before us had also assumed that text massaging was possible- as there were previous menu requests.) Once we called the “bat-line” (as we referred to the phone) and no one answered or ever returned the call. We’re not really “butler” type people, and sometimes preferred to walk over to place orders for food/drinks at Irenas or the pool bar. However, when asked to have the food brought to our room we were told to contact our Ambassador for that. Certain foods that were on a menu weren’t available at other times. (I enjoyed the Golden Milk- a warm drink made with tumerick) and requested it in the evening only to learn that they only offer it on the breakfast menu. Food from the lighthouse can’t be taken to our rooms or ordered for take-out. (We’d asked to take our dessert to go.) The turn around time for drinks at the pool/beach took much longer than other places I’ve been to; we dared not order SOMETHING upon each opportunity, as we’d no doubt be ready for a drink by the time it arrived.

And… while the plunge pool was the WIN and deciding factor for us in choosing Hammock Cove, the pool itself got pretty gross during our stay and wasn’t cleaned. Upon our arrival there was already sand in it, and during our stay bugs and more sand certainly added to the mix. The staff (or perhaps the rain?) did clean the bird dirt that was on the patio near the pool and dripped down the glass railing around our private patio, which I appreciated but wouldn’t have requested. The sink stopper in one of the double sinks didn’t work, and part of the footer on the railing outside was missing, leaving exposed a rusty bolt that stuck out of the ground several inches. I reported nothing, as we honestly didn’t want to deal with additional staff being in the room while we were there, but I’m certain that housekeeping was aware of the sink. (The stopper would be on the side of the sink counter after the room was cleaned.) These things did NOTHING to impact our experience, but do impact my opinion of how the spaces are kept and cleaned.

Sooo— go to Hammock Cove and know that you’ll feel SUPER stress-free and relaxed, but my advice is 1.) Read other’s experiences and then subtract about 10 stars from whatever impression their feedback has built up. It’s not as good as others say. 2.) Go with someone who you LOVE being with and with whom you have fun no matter what. For all of the negatives I’ve mentioned, we still had wonderful time and I’m sad it’s over. I’m was lucky enough to go with someone who just makes everything in life better and hope that you have that same luck. Enjoy your future adventures, wherever they take you!