Jolly Beach Resort

1 reader found this review helpful

Having just arrived back from a wonderful holiday I feel that there are things I would like to share with prospective holidaymakers who plan to visit this location.
We took our 17 year old granddaughter with us timed to include her 18th birthday, we opted for the suites and self catering to provide more space and privacy for us all.
The flight although long was OK and we were welcomed at the airport with fruit punches. Transfer to the resort was typical Antiguan, driving on a smooth bit of the road rather than on the left. Another fruit punch greeted us on arrival at the resort.
The standard suites were far better than we had expected 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, lounge area, utility room and a huge balcony. All of the appliances were already in place including, coffee maker, grill, hotplate, microwave, fridge freezer, blender, hairdryers etc. Daily service for the rooms was included as was full air conditioning and ceiling fans.
The resort was very well maintained and the staff were all welcoming and polite, all will chat to you given the chance, free internet access is available at the reception area and the self catering option includes use of all of the facilities at the resort apart from food and drinks.
As we were self catering we ate mostly at Jolly Harbour which is a very leisurely 10 minute stroll from the resort. At the harbour is a selection of good restaurants, our favourite was Peters BBQ and Grill. All of the food was delicious; I can recommend the Tenderloin Steak but work up an appetite first.
Next some tips:
The beach is split into the resort beach and the public beach. The public beach is over a wooden bridge to the right of the resort if facing the sea. On this beach are a restaurant and various traders’ stalls. You will find sun beds in various colours, at the time of our visit the free beds are coloured with white and blue plastic straps. You may be told that these beds are reserved and that they can hire beds and umbrellas for between 15 – 20 US Dollars per day. Stick to your guns and use the free beds if you choose to. To be fair they did not look too comfortable but could be a big saving over a period for a large party.
Trips: if going to St Johns (almost obligatory) there is a bus stop right outside the resort with buses every 10 minutes or so (Caribbean time) and will cost around 3 cents per person, the shuttle from the resort will cost 40 US Dollars.
If you fancy a thrill, hire a jet ski, these are fun and usually very safe. Don’t bother haggling over the price. Unless you are an American tourist the cost will be 40 US Dollars for 30 minutes. If you manage to reduce the price they will bring you in after 25 minutes, so if you want the full 30 minutes, pay the full amount.
My only gripe with the resort is that because we were self catering we were unable to purchase snacks or drinks from any of the resort catering establishments as we would have needed to purchase a food pass. These seem to have been either for breakfast and lunch plus all drinks, or lunch and evening meal plus all drinks. Neither of these options suited our needs so we had to take drinks to the beach, only after a few days did we realise that the beach bar on the public beach was not in fact part of the resort so were able to purchase refreshments there.
To conclude, a brilliant holiday, this was our second time in Antigua and am very much looking forward to the third. I would definitely book the Jolly Beach Suites again.

The hotel is very well organised with a number of bars and restaurants. There is entertainment every night. The food is excellent and all drinks are free too on the all inclusive, this is definitely value for money.
The beach is clean and well protected. I was a little disappointed with the 1st room I was allocated but with very little fuss was relocated to a superior room with sea view.
You are a little confined to the resort; if you want to wander further you would need to get an organised trip (which there are plenty of) at approximately £10 - £20.
There are traders on the beach selling gifts etc but be aware they will try to rip you off.
Haggle and stick to your guns! There are plenty of market stalls etc in the town which is a bus trip away.

The Jolly Beach Resort is quite basic in its appearance but we chose to upgrade to a superior room and it was well worth it.
The 3 restaurants (fish, Indian and Italian) are absolutely fabulous. My husband and I both agreed that to dine in the same standard in the UK we would pay at least £35.00 per head.
The beach was superb and very clean and the sea was lovely and calm. We would recommend this resort to anyone wanting a very pleasant holiday with fantastic people....the Antiguans are always smiling and who can blame them living on such a beautiful island!

Went to Jolly Beach for our wedding for 2 weeks with a party of 19!
I cannot pick up on anything I would give negative comments on. The staff are very friendly.
The rooms are big enough and very clean. Everything in the room worked! The food was lovely with a nice choice of restaurants so we didn’t keep eating the same meals.
The beach was lovely and quiet, the locals who sell didn’t pressure us and left us alone at our polite requests.
The only thing we missed was the sea was very murky in this area (due to the new harbour being built) therefore it’s not a great spot for snorkelling. The evening entertainment became a bit samey, but you can make your own entertainment!
The wedding day went perfect with Beverly, the wedding co-ordinator, sorting everything out and making sure it was perfect.
Would definitely love to go back and will definitely go to Jolly Beach again!

1 reader found this review helpful

My partner and I went to the Jolly Beach Resort in Antigua. The flight went perfectly on the way, but the way home we had to stop off at Dominican Republic for almost 2 hours. This wouldn’t have been a problem if we had been told beforehand, but a shock when we only found out on the plane.
The hotel itself was wonderful. The main pool was very nice, clean and in excellent condition, the smaller 'adult' pool was clean, but had a lot of flying ants in it in the afternoon (not the hotels fault, but quite a 'put off').
The beach was golden and went out very gently into the sea. The sea was also clear blue, not rocky or pebbly and clean. The only concern was that if you swam out a bit (about 50 meters +) then you could find yourself surrounded by small jellyfish.
There was people on the beach force selling anything, if they ask and you said no, then they would be friendly and accept it. They even sat and had a nice friendly chat if you wanted, again no force or sneaky selling.
The hotel room was, however, terrible. it was very very tiny, a bit run down and just not that nice in general. It was meant to be a 4* hotel, the room was NOT this. It was at best 2*. We could have had an upgrade to a better room (It didn’t look much better, just bigger) but they wanted nearly £300 per week for the room (we stayed for 3 weeks) so it was out of the question.
The rest of the hotel grounds, restaurant etc... were all excellent, tidy, and very nice. It was just the hotel room and as we didn’t spend much time in it, it wasn’t really a problem.
The trips they offer were great; we went on a full day boat trip and had loads of fun.

1 reader found this review helpful

Quite an expensive holiday so did expect a lot I guess!
Down side: rooms were very basic (but clean) and the power supplied wasn't good enough for our hair dryers and straighteners, so all our photos show 'bad hair days'. However, I heard that the newer apartments did not have this problem. We felt very let down by the evening entertainment and often felt bored, especially when everything closed down at 11pm.
Plus points: Food was fantastic (I didn't eat the same dish twice during my 2 weeks stay) - there was a huge variety of food and it tasted great! The view from our room was wonderful, as was the sunset. Most of the staff were extremely friendly (especially the bar staff).

We went to the Jolly Beach Hotel in Antigua last year - not only did we stay there but we got married there, in beautiful sunshine.
The hotel is great, very clean, and modern. We stayed in a standard room which although was fairly compact there was plenty of room - after all we only used it to sleep in.
The grounds are just as you would expect in the Caribbean. The staff were very friendly. I would recommend the wedding package. Beautiful.

Very disappointed when we arrived. For the amount of money it cost, rooms were very worn.
We had a superior room but were not impressed. Facilities around the hotel were good.
Food was very limited choice but overall we had a good time.
My opinion is this hotel needs a good refurbishment. Having got married in Antigua in another hotel 5 years ago, I much preferred the hotel we stayed at then.

My wife and I visited Antigua for 8 nights then St Lucia for 8 nights. We stayed at the Jolly Beach first and had an absolutely wonderful stay.
The check in was quick and efficient - also a glass of rum punch as soon as we arrived, not bad for settling in to the Antiguan "spirit". We were transferred to the room which was fine; quite basic but comfortable, clean and tidy plus good air conditioning and a fan on the ceiling. The poor porter insisted on carrying all of our cases to the room and would not hear of any help - although with the heat (arriving from the UK) we were probably happy to let him do the hard work. The view from the room was of well managed gardens, palm trees and the Caribbean Sea.
The daytime consisted of relaxing on the beach, (the beach must have been 1/2 a mile in length and very wide and flat; perfect) having a few drinks at the poolside bar, snacks at the poolside grill, swimming in the sea -perfect sea conditions, very safe with no strong currents or big waves, hobby sailing, kayaking and occasionally joining in with the organised entertainment -aqua aerobics, Latin dancing lessons, bingo, beach volleyball, beach cricket. All very well organised and great fun. The entertainments staff at the resort were great; very enthusiastic, look out for Sendy Anne and Terry - you are in for a treat.
The evening started at about 4.30 - 5.00 pm when it was time to relax at the outside bar which was the location of the evening entertainment. We usually sat and relaxed over a few Antiguan kisses, Antiguan smiles, Tequila sunrises and simple rum and coke drinks of course - very good. The entertainment staff often practised their routines and dancing at this time and although not particularly designed as entertainment, it was brilliant fun.
The night time entertainment (which was every night) was in our opinion excellent; steel bands, reggae bands, karaoke, fire eaters and limbo dancers. The bar staff at this bar also provided also as much entertainment as the "entertainers". They were always dancing up and down the length of the bar and singing, and always smiling and friendly. Some moaners may say that the service was very bad – nonsense, these people were brilliant, providing entertainment and enjoyment. It is the Caribbean after all - things move slowly and relaxed.
There were 4 restaurants; the Hemispheres buffet, Lydia’s Fish restaurant, Bocciolas Italian and Ustavs Indian all excellent although we would particularly recommend Lydia’s (booking required).

My boyfriend and I went to the Jolly Beach Resort for a wedding in January, and we really enjoyed ourselves. This has been my only all-inclusive vacation so far, so I have nothing else to compare it to, but I found it relaxing, enjoyable, and the island to be very beautiful.
I felt like we were happily drunk all the time, with the always-available booze (including make-your-own frozen rum drinks!), and basically without a care in the world, lying on the lounge chairs on the stunning beach. We also swam every day in the beautiful ocean.
The food was quite good, but not outstanding, although there was plenty of selection, especially at the buffet-style restaurant.
It is definitely worth exploring the rest of the island, including Shirley Heights for their music-and-barbecue celebration (weekly), and to see the wonderful natural surroundings, including banana trees and pineapple groves.
As for the facilities at the resort, the room was perfectly fine, basic, clean, with a balcony, although there is a completely open 'window' in the bathroom wall, which allows the lovely Tradewinds to pass through, and also allows for you to hear anyone in the hall, and them, presumably, to hear you!
My boyfriend and I enjoyed using the very fun hobbie cats (mini catamarans) that the resort offers, and taking them quite far out, a couple of times. We also took an independently chartered catamaran for snorkeling, which was lots of fun!
Antigua is a beautiful island and I highly recommend this resort.