More Traveller Reviews of Jolly Beach Resort
...Can't Get Over It.
from dogwriter
"..Can't Get Over It."Trip Report: Antigua and Jolly Beach ResortWhen someone says,"Caribbean Vacation," what images come to mind? White sandy beaches? Breathtaking views? Warm and friendly locals? Music? Tiny streets shared by people and livestock? Antigua is all this and much more. We arrived without trouble on AA through San Juan. After we found some blank Immigration forms, we breezed right through the lines. If more planes had arrived at the same time however, it could have been a longer wait. Our prepaid shuttle took the four of us directly to JBR. The drive was just long enough for us to get a good look at Antigua and to realize we were far from Connecticut. Rum punch was waiting at check-in and we were driven to the Hispaniola building on the far right side facing the sea. We were assigned to 222. There was a bottle of JBR rum waiting, along with a freshly sliced pineapple. A noisy fan in the A/C got our friends moved down one room to 220. Both rooms were clean and spacious, with vaulted ceilings, coffee makers, irons, refrigerators and tons of storage space. The view was excellent. It took us a day to figure out the shortest routes around the immaculate grounds. The landscaping is well done and diverse. The wedding Chapel is set above the fantasy pool and is stunning. The aesthetics of the resort are equal to or better than most Caribbean properties. We enjoyed the food at all three ala carte restaurants and especially enjoyed the brunch on Sunday at Lydia's. Breakfast was fine, with an egg station and either a pancake or french toast station along with bacon, sausage, beans, potato and scrambled eggs. Lunch at the pool grille and the buffet was good as well. Dinner buffets were not as extensive as at some Caribbean all-inclusives, but was always good and varied.Service was generally excellent, more like ala carte than self-service. Bartenders were the friendliest I have ever met and the drinks were good at all bars. Entertainment was fun each evening. There was a mix of local and popular styles with some good natured games thrown in. The casino nearby was open if you needed more to do after the nightly show. There was never a problem with biting insects. There were crabs of all shapes and sizes, along with green lizards and a few mongooses. Shirley Heights is breathtaking and worth a trip. Safari 4x4 Adventures was the most fun we ever had on a tour. Gareth was an incredible guide. Vendors were friendly and nonintrusive. See Claudia, near the pool and talk a while. Walk all the way to the Crab Hole and find the Massage Hut and Bernice. You will be glad you did. Try to catch a sunset. Talk to folks from all over the world. We are as alike as we are different. When someone says, "Caribbean Vacation," to me from now on, I will have a mental picture of Antigua, the wonderful people and Jolly Beach Resort. Walt
Much enjoyed
from A TripAdvisor Member
Yes the bedside tables, the dressing table, and the wardrobe are concrete, and painted a Caribbean green, but heck this is the Caribbean, and it makes sense. Had the same "furniture" and colour scheme in Barbados. Once that shock was over the hotel was excellent. Good food, lots of choice and lots of it; excellent staff; very clean; enormous tropical garden grounds; excellent pool; fantastic beach in a pleasant green hilled bay with islands off shore, and very good value for money. We were there part a conference and part holiday. International 150+ delegates conference arrangements and facilities were superb. Antigua is a great island. Our favourite of the 9 we have visited in the last 18 months.
Welcome to the concrete Carribbean
from A TripAdvisor Member
We stayed at the Jolly beach in September after previously staying in both Barbados and Jamaica. On arrival at the hotel our rooms werent ready and we had to wait some time without an apology, this was the start of a continuing lack of courtesy and general rudeness of 99% of the staff at this resort.We booked a standard room and were really pleased that we didnt book a supersaver, our room was like a concrete prison cell, a supersaver must have been like solitary confinement.The beach at the resort if out of this world, however jellyfish were present so swimming in the sea wasnt a good idea. The food at all of the restaurants was pretty good, however the general ambience was poor, this was perhaps emphasised by the bad attitude of the staff. The majority of the resort needed a good lick of paint.The island as a whole was ok, but we wouldnt return to Antigua or Jolly Beach, there are too may far nicer places in this world to visit
Fabulous Time
from A TripAdvisor Member
Just got back from a 1 week vacation. Resort was wonderful. The Jolly Beach Resort is just below the mountain area. Very scenic. We thought it was the nicest side of the island. My husband and I were in a Standard room, a little small to what we are used to, but you are not in the Caribbean to stay in your room. Room was always very clean. Matter of fact the whole resort was clean. Entertainment staff do a wonderful time of entertaining you. Lots of fun. All the staff were pleasant and very helpful when needed. Pools were great, specially the fantasy pool with the swim-up bar. Water sports equipment was also good. The beach was great. Very long with beautiful white sand. No shells to cut your feet on in the designated swim area. We thought it was one of the nicest beaches we saw in Antigua. Only problem, the water was a little milky so you couldn't snorkle. Food was very good. Olives was closed, but some of the Greek meals were incorporated into the other restaurants. Lydia's has good seafood. The Lobster was delicious. Out favourite lunch was at the Coconut Grill. Great burgers/fries and the Jerk Chicken was to die for. Hemispheres always had a couple of different main entre's everynight. Never any problems. Bocciolo's was very nice, but we thought the dress code was a little strict. Who wants to put dress sock and dress shoes on(for the men) when it's 90° out. Of course the bars were enjoyable. Plenty of Rum Punch. We wouldn't hesitate staying there again.
fantastic holiday
from A TripAdvisor Member
Jolly beach is a truly fantastic resort. We were first timers to the carribean and the whole all-inclusive thing but it was the best holiday that we have ever had. The resort is beautiful, the food is delicious, and plentiful in choice and the service was fantastic. We paid extra for an ocean view room and the view was breathtaking. The resort is very clean and everything functioned as it should. The entertainment is great and there are plenty of trips to do if just lazing by the beautiful clear waters becomes to much for you. We could not fault anything about the holiday and would recommend it strongly. We really did have a great holiday.
Loved The Jolly Beach
from A TripAdvisor Member
We just returned from Jolly Beach Hotel, and thought it was brilliant. Having read some pretty bad reviews,we were a little bit worried, but no need. The Hotel and Complex were spotlessly clean, the Staff from Bar staff through to the cleaners were friendly and always helpful. The food was what you would expect from a 3 star hotel, but plentiful and perfectly adequate. Yes the supersaver rooms are very small, so upgrade to a standard unless you are on your own. We would go again definitely.Bob and Chris Lee
Management response from customerinfo
06 Nov 2003
Thank you for your kind words about Jolly Beach Resort. Yes, the Caribbean is quite different from US/Canada. We would be overjoyed to be a most gracious host to you, your family and/or friends in the future. We are especially glad to know that you enjoyed your stay and have experienced a "little piece of paradise" while at JBR.
Loved Jolly Beach Resort !
from A TripAdvisor Member
We stayed last year at Jolly Beach in October. We are returning again this October as we enjoyed it so much.The resort is very quiet as October is low season. The beach was practically deserted most days - the busiest spot seemed to be the main fantasy pool.We never had a problem with food quality or quantity. Always plenty of choices.Our room was small but clean - never saw bugs or ants. The air conditioner was quiet and worked very well. The view from the room was gorgeous.We found the staff to be fun and friendly.I think a lot of people go and expect the islands to be just like the US/Canada. Of course they're not - that's why most people go - to experience something different.If you want a american standards....why are you travelling?The beauty of the islands is that they ARE different - the pace is slower, the lifestyle completely different.I find the atmosphere wonderful - a welcome change from our day to day existence here. And no, contrary to the above posting, I do not live in a trailer park nor was I brought up on campbell's soup (not that there's anything wrong with that as the other poster implies).I say go with an open mind and experience the beauty of the island - Antiguans are incredibly friendly and warm.
Mixed Views
from A TripAdvisor Member
My partner and I decided to get married at the Jolly Beach in July 2003. This was after much deliberation on where to go, (country). I must say that first impression was pretty good. We had already been infformed that building work will have commenced by the time we got there, the building was happening next door to the resort where they are building yet another load of timeshares. We discovered that we had been automatically upgraded, we ended up in a superior room although we didn't realise at first, not until our parents arrived expecting the same type of room, as they had booked the same type of room. Much to our surprise they all got rooms that didn't even have any chest of draws or coffee/tea making facilities. Needless to say one set of parents had to upgrade their room at a rather high price just for a week. We thought that the food was of a resonable standard except at the "international restaurant" Hemispheres, which quite frankly was dreadful. It was also the only restaurant that you could have breakfast, and at least one ingredient to breakfast was cold, potatoes,eggetc.. My now Wife and Father in Law also go terrribly runny pancakes at breakfast, and i myself got a pink beefburger for lunch, when we complained the manger of the restaurant just smiled. As i have already said the other restaurants were good especially the Italian which also had great service. As for getting married there it was very good, don't expect anything on time there though as we found that as lovable as the Antiguans are they don't rush round for anybody. We recommend going on Waddadli Cats tours as they were by far the best very professional and they even look after you when your sea sick. Don't forget that we went during there quiet season so this is probably why they didn't seem to happy around the camp. There are however a resonable amount of happy workers. We have graded this a three star, if we hadnt have got married there we would have given it two.
Best 3 weeks of my life!
from A TripAdvisor Member
We spent 3 weeks at JBR in July last year (only just got the computer up and running again!), and I can honestly say it was the best holiday ever! We decided to 'splash out' and go all inclusive in the carribean, as it was our honeymoon, and seriously considered Sandals, butthen found we could have 3 weeks, upgraded, in JBR for the price of 1 week standard in Sandals! Needless to say, JBR won. I read many reviews on various sites on the net, and they seemed to go from one end of the scale to the other. I actually got quite worried at one point, as there seemed to a lot of negative comments, however i decided to go with an open mind, and i advise anyone else to do the same. It isnt 5 star, but it's a fantastic hotel with fantastic food, fantastic staff and set in a beautiful location on one of the most beautiful islands in the world. Relax and enjoy it!Rooms: we had a standard. Quite small, but huge bed, and enough for what we needed! Clean and nicely decorated, with champagne, flowers and fruit onour arrival. Food: Fantastic! We especially loved Olives, the greek restaurant. Make sure you book early in the week to avoid disappointment.Grounds: Lush! 2 great pools, lots of trees, flowers etc. lovely wedding gazebo. Entertainment: Plenty! Played loads of water sports in the bigger pool - polo, volleyball, basketball, aerobics, etc. Watersports lessons on the beach -dont miss it! Live entertainment each night-watch out for the fantastic Revo Band. Word of warning - everything runson Antigua time - ie when they want to! dont expect things to be punctual -but relax- its part of the culture!Trips: We went to St. Johns which was agreat shopping day. The Wadadli Cat circumnavigation was a blast- greatcrew, great food - fantastic! We also did a jeep safari around the mainlandwhich was excellent -make sure you go in an air conditioned jeep and not anopen top.Well, I think you've heard enough from me. I could go on all day, but I wont!Relax, enjoy and soak it up. It's a holiday of a lifetime and you''ll never want to go anywhere else!
Great place to stay
from A TripAdvisor Member
Our stay at the Jolly Beach was absolutely great, so much so we went back again, the staff are fantastic, extremely friendly and helpful, nothing is a problem for them. Our rooms were always immaculate and the linen changed regularly. The food is very good, it has an Italian Restaurant where men have to dress in long trousers and collared shirts with no open toed sandals, a fish restaurant, turkish restaurant dress code more relaxed and the usual buffet which serves a wide range of food. The beach is fantastic and is a long stretch of white sand, always very clean.The entertainment was ok, but then we went there for a chill out holiday so that didn't bother us.You can get the local bus just outside the resort to take you into St John's where there are some fabulous shops including Columbian Emeralds.All in all a great place to go. We are going to Grenada this year but shall be returning to Antigua and the Jolly Beach.
More hotel photos
I think the Resort Needed a little paint and fixing up. Overall, the staff were pleasant,food was normal, rooms not large but were clean and neat, activities were pleasantly delightful. We had a great week and was really economical.