Excellent Staff

charles

Every one who works at this hotel is extermely attentive, courteous and friendly. The bartenders, waitstaff, housekeeping and nightly entertainment were all top shelf. Even the fellow who was instructing us on our first time out with a hobie cat had amazing patience. They all helped make it a great vacation!

My review of Jolly Beach Resort - All Inclusive

Barbara, New York, NY, 2007-03-10

Take the Catamaran trip. It is from 8:30am to 4PM and they pick you up right on the beach. You can snorkel and swim at two beaches. Also serve drinks and lunch on board. It was fantastic

The resort was absolutely beautiful but the rooms left a lot to be desired. They were very old but kept clean. The beach was beautiful and the pools kept very clean. The staff was very friendly which always makes your stay great. The buffet was one of the best all inclusive I ever had. Overall I would go back

Beautiful beachfront hotel

Anonymous, Boston, MA, 2007-03-09

grocery store over at Jolly Harbour

We enjoyed our stay at the Jolly Beach Resort Antigua. It was our first stay at an all inclusive and we really enjoyed it. The food at the Lydia's was excellent. The buffets offered a variety of foods. There was entertainment each night. The beach was lovely, although locals actively seeks out tourists to purchase tours and goods on the beach. The watersports staff were great. We took sailing lessons and got to sail 3 times during our stay and it was all included. The rooms were small but had spacious balconies overlooking the ocean. We only left the property once to take a kayaking/ snorkle trip which was great. There were families, young, old and honeymooners. We will go back.

Fun in the sun

Gary, Minneapolis, MN, 2007-02-21

Not he best but not bad either. There is something every night from about 9:30 to 11:00.

Let me cut to the chase and start with some ratings. 1-5 1=Bad...5=Great. A) The Beach : 5 B) The Room : 3 C) The Food : 3-4 D) The Pools : 5 E) The Drinks: 2-3 F) Location : 4 G) The staff : 3-4 A) The beach is long and lovely. It's wide and long and looks out over a brilliant blue ocean. The sun is out most of the time. If it rains it's not for long. There are a few vendors but they don't bother you too much. There is a roped off area for swimming. One person in our group was bitten a few times by sand flies. B) The buildings are older. The rooms are ok but not great. Everything worked except the clock and TV remote. C) The Hemisphere restaurant is the main dining area and serves buffet meals 3 times a day. If you like buffet food you will like this. There is a fair amount of diversity. You can eat indoors or out. If you eat outside there are a few birds buzzing around. You can make reservations at 3 other restaurants. Two require long pants. Bocciolo is an Italian restaurant and probably is the nicest of the 3. Utsav is an Indian place and is slightly less format but nice. Lydia's is casual and outdoors under a roof. They have good sea food there. There is also a hamburger place near the pool. Be prepared to wait a little there. D) The large pool near the beach is very nice. There is an area to swim up and sit and have drinks. There is also a volleyball net across one side. There is also a smaller pool near the Hemisphere restaurant which is also very nice. E) The drinks don't taste the same as they do in the states. The liquor is cheaper and the mix is not the best. The fruity drinks aren't bad though and there are pino colada machines for self service. F) JBR is just a few miles from St. John. A taxi ride to town is only $2. There is a nice golf course only about 3/4 mile away. There is a grocery store a 1/4 mile away. G) The staff is never in much of a hurry. Maybe that's a good thing. Treat them with respect and things work out fine. All in all, we had a great week and a lot of fun. If you are used to 5 star accommodations this may not be the place for you. If you like fun in the sun and are willing to put up with a few minor things you can't go wrong here.

Good Deal

Anonymous, Washington, DC, 2007-02-21

The restaurant at the resort, Lydia's is ok, but not necessarily worth it. Hemingway's restaurant in St. John's was fabulous. Coco's restaurant (next door to the resort) also looked great- very picturesque.

A friend and I (both 24) spent five days at the JBR this past week. We had a great time- the beach was gorgeous and the resort offers you great value for your money. The resort also offers great activities on the beach, such as kayaking and sailing. The staff are very friendly and helpful and the bartenders offer some great drinks. The buffet is ok-- it's definitely possible to find something you like. Each room faces the ocean and we had a wonderful view from our room. Now for the bad. The rooms need serious updating; we stayed in a supersaver room which was fine for us but was quite intimate with no privacy. If you want to eat between 2pm and 6pm, the beach bar is your only choice and the buffet closes at 10pm. Beware of the sand fleas: I have dozens of bites on my legs and even used bug spray. If I were older (and made a bit more money) I would definitely choose a nicer resort. There is not much to do at night and the hotel entertainment is lacking. The casino next door is very small but does have a good bar with drinks at reasonable prices. Overall, this is a great deal for the price.

Great value, great weather!

Abby, Newark, NJ, 2007-02-18

If you like gambling, the largest casino on the island is a short walk away!

I've stayed at many all inclusives throughout the Caribbean ans was very impressed by this hotel. The staff was friendly, the resort was lovely and the food was delicious - better than any other all inclusive I've been to.

Beautiful hotel with friendly workers

Anonymous, Newark, NJ, 2007-02-04

All excursions were booked directly at the hotel. Pick/up drop off was either at the resort itself via the beach (sailing) or a short walk to the pick up station. There were many different trips to choose from as well.

The Jolly Beach Resort in Antigua is a beautiful resort. The location is superb with a very long beach. There is so much room that you can enjoy sitting on the beach without other guests being too close. I really enjoyed my 'space'. The hotel workers are very friendly and accommodating. They always smile and make you feel welcome. They are never rude as I find at other island resorts. They really made the stay enjoyable and relaxing. I am thinking about taking the entire family back to this resort in the future.

No Pampered Guests

Steven, Indianapolis, IN, 2006-08-25

There is a Casino nearby. The locals say you'll be lucky to walk out with the shirt you came in, but, it is a diversion

The property and grounds were beautiful and clean. It appears that all rooms have an Ocean view due to the design of the buildings. Our room was VERY tiny but adequate. Our room was on the 4th level. Since there is no elevator, the stair climbing could become an issue for some. The staff was a mixed bag. Some were friendly and couteous, but many we encountered were aloof. In particular, the lines were slow and long at the bar and burger restaurant at the pool. This was due to three staff members preparing only one order at a time. It seemed to take an hour to get a hamburger there. However, at the bar near the pool there was a 'Marguarita' machine set up as 'Help Yourself' which was very nice. One note though, the glasses the drinks are served in are about 6 ounce, which is annoying. I would suggest bringing a large cup for your drinks. Also, the pool was only open 10am to 6pm, which dampered the romantic aspect of taking an early morning or late evening swim. The beach area was really immense. We used the complimentary Hobies, Pedal Boats and Aqua fin. The staff at the beach was very friendly and gave us tips to increase our pleasure using the equipment. The buffet breakfast and lunch was very good, having custom made omelets at breakfast and special meats like roast beef or pork at dinner. One dissapointment was the games area. It was only open from 9:15 am to 11:00 pm. There were two pool tables but they were constantly occupied by children. There were some children at the resort, but they were well behaved and mostly inconspicuous. All in all, I was happy with the experience and might go back one day. I would say though that 3 or 4 days there would be enough as most extras such as swimming with the stingrays require extensive bus or cab rides.

Very family friendly

Ann, Philadelphia, PA, 2006-06-05

While on the beach, take a break and enjoy the food being grilled right on the beach.

The Jolly beach resort was the best. The hotel staff was very friendly. The hotel was clean,food was excellent. We are going back again.

Beautiful beach and with a lot to do

Anonymous, Washington, DC, 2005-08-01

We did a lot of sight seeing and loved it. You must leave the resort to appreciate everything Antigua has to offer. We swam with the stingrays which is a must, took a snorkeling trip with the Wadadli Cats which would have been wonderful but it rained almost the whole day, we went horseback riding from Dickenson Bay to Fort James which was a very nice time and last but certainly not least, we we

We stayed at Jolly Beach Resort for 8 days. Overall we really enjoyed this trip. The beach was a great size with plenty of chairs and space. We only ate at Hemisphere, Coconut Grill and Utsav but all of these were wonderful. The landscaping and scenary on this resort was amazing. The room was small but it was efficient for as much time as we spent in it. The only problem we had was a leaky toilet and a leaky air conditioner when we first arrived and it took longer than we had hoped to have the issue resolved. They eventually moved us to another room.