Revamped resort makes a splash

By Doug Wallace

Imagine the Atlantic Ocean at sunrise and the Gulf of Mexico at sunset. Sixty acre Hawks Cay on Duck Key has the best of these two worlds. The resort also boasts the largest meeting and conference space in the Florida Keys—20,000 square feet of it—recently spruced up by a multi-million-dollar renovation.

The makeover included the creation of an adults-only section and tran-quility pool, an update to the 7,000-sq.-ft. spa, two new luxury penthouses and 16 family suites. All together, that’s 177 guestrooms and 250 two- to four-bedroom privately owned guest villas for rent.

The beauty of this AAA Four Diamond-rated spot is that once your group is on the property, you are together for the duration of your conference, unlike places like Las Vegas, where people tend to scatter.

“People travel for the experience,” says Andrew Rosuck, Hawks Cay’s regional vice-president of sales and marketing. “We have an 85-slip marina for everything from backwater fishing to deep-sea sport fishing. You can kayak, go stand-up paddle boarding, SCUBA diving, or for a jet-ski ride to the mangroves.” The resort is also one of the few places in the US to offer SNUBA, where you can dive without the need for certification, connected by a hose to your air supply on a floating raft.

One of Hawks Cay’s taglines positions it as “the Caribbean you can drive to” and they’re not that far off. The two-hour drive from Miami on the iconic Overseas Highway is a bucket-list highlight. “Driving to the Keys is so much fun,” says Rosuck. “There’s so much to see and do along the way.”

A Marina Walk overlooking the yachts and fishing boats is set to open early next year. It will feature a 250-seat restaurant, a market and cultural area, even better access to watersports—and more of that incredible panoramic sea view. hawkscay.com