Hermitage Bay - All Inclusive

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!

I have been coming back year after year and the hotel just keeps getting better. This year is a big improvement which was difficult to imagine as I thought it was already perfect as it was. The new sushi bar on the beach is amazing having Nobu or Zuma quality sushi included and 10 feet from the ocean while having a cocktail is something you need to see to believe. The staff are make you feel like family from the second you arrive. Only comment I would make is the road to get here is a bit of a bumpy ride but it’s part of the experience I guess! Any they where finishing some last minute upgrades to the resort for the season. Other than that I can’t think of anything. Nothing on the island comes close.

***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.

We just returned from celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary at Hermitage Bay and our time there was absolutely perfect! It was an ideal place to unwind and reconnect! We have traveled to some beautiful places but this place is incredible and will be hard to beat. The gorgeous tranquil grounds and views, delicious food and drinks, and amazing staff are what makes this place so special. Rachel, the longtime General Manager, knows what she’s doing and is so kind and personable. The front desk staff are so welcoming and happy to help, especially Jaquan and Solange. The restaurant staff are fun and prompt and make every meal special. Especially Sheree, Jilyan, Annis, Nikita and Shemar. All the bar staff is great but we loved our time with and drinks from Anthony and Simone and our beach service from Kyle. The spa, daily yoga and water sports were fabulous. We enjoyed the nightly live music with some dancing and singing and were so thankful for our rides back up to our gorgeous hillside suite from the fun golf cart drivers. This vacation was truly a dream and we are looking forward to our next visit.

My experience at Hermitage Bay was most memorable. A hidden oasis of tranquility, beauty, exquisite gastronomy and the best of Antiguan Hospitality. Surrounded by lush nature my bungalow overlooked the prestine sea from my plunge pool I had a magnificent view over the white beach were we would do our morning swims and water sports activities. We also hired the boat tour excursion one afternoon for sunset it was magical cruising around the coast of the island we even had the luck of seeing dolphins and turtles. Our meals were fenomenal, for vegetarians/vegans thier is an ample array of healthy options the chef explained to us that the fresh vegetables are picked from the hotel garden, my favorites were the okra/artichoke starter with a coliflower pure and the eggplant dip, my partner enjoyed the fresh fish of the day and the lobster special! The daily fresh juices were also our morning highlight! The staff at Hermitage Bay make the stay all the more special, thier warmth, joyfully spirit and eagerness to please us was most flattering. We Highly recommend a visit to Hermitage Bay, a layed back gem in the carribean!

Beautiful small resort with lovely beach, cabins, pool and staff. We loved our beachfront cabin and although didn’t try/see the higher up (more expensive…) cabins we thought being on the beach and a short walk to reception/mainbar/pool/dining area/lunch bar and restaurant much better for us - you have the sea as your plunge pool and it’s all very quiet and relaxing. Would be a score of 5 except for one water sports member of staff who we found unfriendly/unhelpful on our first morning (rest of staff lovely so this water sports experience really stood out) and disappointing late check out procedures - on the 2 days before we left we asked if we could keep our room a bit later on our day of departure as had evening flight - we were told to check on departure date which we did. A back office conversation then took place between receptionist and manager (felt similar to asking and waiting for a discount at a car dealership! A nice note under our door first thing would have been much better as we had asked previously and our request supposedly noted) for us to be told the resort was full and so we could have a shower in the spa instead. We quite understood that a guest room was not available (although interestingly throughout the day one could be booked through the hotel website for the whole of our departure date/night) but the spa shower was really disappointing- hot room, no towels ready, hairdryer didn’t work, no mirror/dressing table with electric socket to sit at once showered. And no umbrellas (it started to rain). Small things like this I think slightly let down what is otherwise a fabulous place.