Travel Guide | Hawk’s Cay Resort, Florida Keys

Hi there and thanks for stopping by! Today I’m sharing a Travel Guide for our recent trip to Hawk’s Cay Resort in the Florida Keys. It’s actually located on Duck Key which is about halfway between Islamorada and Marathon. We flew into Miami International Airport and rented a car. It’s about a 2.5 hour drive but with traffic it ended up being more like 3 hours. Keep that in mind for return flights because we ran into traffic everywhere in Miami later in our stay and there are a lot of delays.

In this post I’m sharing information about the resort, where we ate and what we did. If you’d like to see other places we’ve been and recommendations, check out those here.

Where We Stayed

Hawk’s Cay Resort has the actual resort itself (hotel rooms) and Villas of varying sizes. There were private homes and condos on the island but not associated with the resort. We had a King Resort View room. Most of the time we choose a water view but in this case didn’t want anything over the main pool for fear of noise. Our room was on the 3rd floor overlooking the main entrance which made it nice and quiet but still good for people watching on the balcony in the mornings. The room itself was large as was the bathroom. My only complaint with the bathroom was it only had one sink for the size. Kind of surprising considering the other similar Preferred Hotels we’ve stayed at have a double vanity. There are also lanai rooms with walk outs to the main pool and adult only pool. If you are not already a member of the Preferred Hotel Group, you can sign up here.

King Room courtesy of Hawk’s Cay

 

Most of the Villas looked like they were on the canal from what we saw while walking around. They looked nice but not too much privacy. There are two units attached so the patios are not very private. Some had see through privacy screenings up and some did not. These would be great for families or larger groups, especially if you wanted a kitchen. We don’t typically need or want that while on vacation. I do think they looked nice and I wonder if we would have liked staying in one. You could bring your boat and have it docked right out the back door. You have access to all of the resort amenities whether staying in a Villa or hotel room.

 

The Resort/Activities

There are three pools: the main resort pool, pirate splash pad/family pool and the adult only (21 and up) pool. The adult pool totally made it for us since we were a couple without kids. It’s around the corner from the main pool area, decent size and quiet. The main pool is very busy and full of families. We were there during spring break in March but it looks like a family style resort all of the time. There is also a Saltwater Lagoon. Since the property is not on the actual beach, this is the closest thing to the beach. There’s sand, swimming, paddle boarding, etc.

Adult Pool

Putting Course: we did this one afternoon and it was fun. Good for kids and adults. It’s right next to the pirate ship pool area and basketball court.

Spa, Tennis Courts, Boat Ramp, Dolphin Connection, Marina. You can swim with the Dolphins, paddle board, kayak, scuba dive, charter a boat for fishing or take a sunset cruise. There are quite a lot of things to do on property or do nothing at all but relax like we did. We looked into an inshore fishing charter but thought it was over-priced. Plus the day we had available turned out to be very windy and would have been miserable paying that in those conditions.

Getting around the resort: there are free shuttles and golf carts that will take you to any of the drop off points, including the restaurant at the marina. We found it easy to walk everywhere except to Angler and Ale at the Marina. You can also check out the free bicycles.

Main Pool

Lagoon

Where to Eat

There are two actual restaurants and a few other places to get food. I’d recommend making reservations at the restaurants but we did witness others walking in. You just may have to wait for a table longer than you wish.

Angler and Ale: we had reservations here the first night and the last night. Busy place on the marina, good food. We sat outside overlooking the boats in the marina the first night and it was perfect. Get the fried pickles as an appetizer. I had the fish tacos because I try them everywhere. Good but not as good as Island Fish Company (see below). The second time it was windy and cool and we sat inside. Great service both times. We used the shuttle service both times. Easy to walk out front 10-15 minutes before our reservation and grab the next one coming by or have the staff call for one. If you’d like to see what I wore on this trip, check out that video here.

Sixty-One Prime: this is the steakhouse off the main lobby in the resort. They have indoor and outdoor dining. We didn’t end up dining here only because the menu seemed very limited to us. We did sit at the bar one evening for happy hour and I had an amazing $20 pomegranate martini, lol. Yes, overpriced drinks are the thing there but the atmosphere was just what we were looking for and service was great.

Tiki Grill: this is near the resort pool serving lunch and dinner. This looked like a popular place all the time for those looking for a casual meal.

Coral Grill: located near the pirate ship.

Oasis Cay: located near the Oasis Cay adult pool serving drinks and lunch. This is where we ordered lunch from while at the pool both days. Good food but need a few more light options.

Hawk’s Cay Marketplace: located near the resort pool serving breakfast, grab and go pizza. They also have some grocery items like bags of chips, bottles of wine, sunscreen, etc.

Off Property Dining: You can travel 15-20 minutes north to Islamorada to restaurants there. I recommend Lorelei’s. Head south 10-15 minutes into Marathon and find restaurants there. We drove to Island Fish Company in Marathon the second night. Worth the wait and short drive. It’s very popular though so get there early and put your name in, especially if you have a large party.

Fish Tacos Angler and Ale

Have you been to the Florida Keys lately? It had been many years since we lived there and traveled to the Keys. Key West is another good area for a day trip. If you’re staying, I recommend flying into Key West. Thank you for stopping by and checking out the travel guide!