diff --git a/spring-data-mongodb/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/Hint.java b/spring-data-mongodb/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/Hint.java
index 480b8085e..969d28ef2 100644
--- a/spring-data-mongodb/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/Hint.java
+++ b/spring-data-mongodb/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/Hint.java
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ import org.springframework.core.annotation.AliasFor;
 /**
  * Annotation to declare index hints for repository query, update and aggregate operations. The index is specified by
  * its name.
- * 
+ *
  * @author Christoph Strobl
  * @since 4.1
  */
@@ -35,12 +35,18 @@ import org.springframework.core.annotation.AliasFor;
 @Documented
 public @interface Hint {
 
+	/**
+	 * The name of the index to use. In case of an {@literal aggregation} the index is evaluated against the initial
+	 * collection or view.
+	 *
+	 * @return the index name.
+	 */
 	String value() default "";
 
 	/**
 	 * The name of the index to use. In case of an {@literal aggregation} the index is evaluated against the initial
-	 * collection or view. Specify the index either by the index name.
-	 * 
+	 * collection or view.
+	 *
 	 * @return the index name.
 	 */
 	@AliasFor("value")
diff --git a/spring-data-mongodb/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/query/AbstractMongoQuery.java b/spring-data-mongodb/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/query/AbstractMongoQuery.java
index e4a533b7d..151a3a2e6 100644
--- a/spring-data-mongodb/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/query/AbstractMongoQuery.java
+++ b/spring-data-mongodb/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/query/AbstractMongoQuery.java
@@ -235,9 +235,10 @@ public abstract class AbstractMongoQuery implements RepositoryQuery {
 	 */
 	Query applyHintIfPresent(Query query) {
 
-		if(!method.hasAnnotatedHint()) {
+		if (!method.hasAnnotatedHint()) {
 			return query;
 		}
+
 		return query.withHint(method.getAnnotatedHint());
 	}
 
diff --git a/spring-data-mongodb/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/query/AbstractReactiveMongoQuery.java b/spring-data-mongodb/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/query/AbstractReactiveMongoQuery.java
index 85f92d918..fb430a151 100644
--- a/spring-data-mongodb/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/query/AbstractReactiveMongoQuery.java
+++ b/spring-data-mongodb/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/query/AbstractReactiveMongoQuery.java
@@ -279,9 +279,10 @@ public abstract class AbstractReactiveMongoQuery implements RepositoryQuery {
 	 */
 	Query applyHintIfPresent(Query query) {
 
-		if(!method.hasAnnotatedHint()) {
+		if (!method.hasAnnotatedHint()) {
 			return query;
 		}
+
 		return query.withHint(method.getAnnotatedHint());
 	}
 
diff --git a/spring-data-mongodb/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/query/AggregationUtils.java b/spring-data-mongodb/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/query/AggregationUtils.java
index d88655887..444be1351 100644
--- a/spring-data-mongodb/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/query/AggregationUtils.java
+++ b/spring-data-mongodb/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/query/AggregationUtils.java
@@ -111,9 +111,10 @@ abstract class AggregationUtils {
 	 */
 	static AggregationOptions.Builder applyHint(AggregationOptions.Builder builder, MongoQueryMethod queryMethod) {
 
-		if(!queryMethod.hasAnnotatedHint()) {
+		if (!queryMethod.hasAnnotatedHint()) {
 			return builder;
 		}
+
 		return builder.hint(queryMethod.getAnnotatedHint());
 	}
 
diff --git a/spring-data-mongodb/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/query/MongoQueryMethod.java b/spring-data-mongodb/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/query/MongoQueryMethod.java
index 8db045881..2f8ac7639 100644
--- a/spring-data-mongodb/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/query/MongoQueryMethod.java
+++ b/spring-data-mongodb/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/mongodb/repository/query/MongoQueryMethod.java
@@ -368,20 +368,19 @@ public class MongoQueryMethod extends QueryMethod {
 	 * @since 4.1
 	 */
 	public boolean hasAnnotatedHint() {
-		return StringUtils.hasText(getAnnotatedHint());
+		return doFindAnnotation(Hint.class).map(Hint::indexName).filter(StringUtils::hasText).isPresent();
 	}
 
 	/**
 	 * Returns the aggregation pipeline declared via a {@link Hint} annotation.
 	 *
-	 * @return the index name (might be empty) or {@literal null} if not present.
+	 * @return the index name (might be empty).
+	 * @throws IllegalStateException if the method is not annotated with {@link Hint}
 	 * @since 4.1
 	 */
-	@Nullable
 	public String getAnnotatedHint() {
-
-		Optional<Hint> hint = doFindAnnotation(Hint.class);
-		return hint.map(Hint::indexName).orElse(null);
+		return doFindAnnotation(Hint.class).map(Hint::indexName).orElseThrow(() -> new IllegalStateException(
+				"Expected to find @Hint annotation but did not; Make sure to check hasAnnotatedHint() before."));
 	}
 
 	private Optional<String[]> findAnnotatedAggregation() {
diff --git a/src/main/asciidoc/reference/mongo-repositories.adoc b/src/main/asciidoc/reference/mongo-repositories.adoc
index 4090c8b8b..0cc0160bd 100644
--- a/src/main/asciidoc/reference/mongo-repositories.adoc
+++ b/src/main/asciidoc/reference/mongo-repositories.adoc
@@ -306,14 +306,15 @@ The `@Hint` annotation allows to override MongoDB's default index selection and
 ====
 [source,java]
 ----
-@Hint("lastname-idx") <1>
+@Hint("lastname-idx")                                          <1>
 List<Person> findByLastname(String lastname);
 
-@Query(value = "{ 'firstname' : ?0 }", hint="firstname-idx") <2>
+@Query(value = "{ 'firstname' : ?0 }", hint = "firstname-idx") <2>
 List<Person> findByFirstname(String firstname);
 ----
+
 <1> Use the index with name `lastname-idx`.
-<2> The `@Query` annotation defines the `hint` alias which is equivalent to explicitly adding the `@Hint` annotation.
+<2> The `@Query` annotation defines the `hint` alias which is equivalent to adding the `@Hint` annotation.
 ====
 
 [[mongodb.repositories.queries.update]]