I have exactly the same problem. I cannot generate my schema anymore because it doesn't detect @ElementCollection and therefore cannot map collections.
Is there any alternative to hibernate tools out there for this purpose? (generating the schema)
EDIT: After further tests, it turns out that it DOES work with latest version of Hibernate Tools. If you use Maven, make sure you include the dependence
Code:
<dependency>
<groupId>org.hibernate</groupId>
<artifactId>hibernate-tools</artifactId>
<version>3.2.4.GA</version>
<type>jar</type>
<scope>runtime</scope>
</dependency>
And If you want to generate the schema using Maven... forget about it, if anything, use antrun:run and from there call the hibernatetool task.