Jolly Beach Resort

We met the representative of JBR in Trinidad at a Wedding Fair. Her birthday is also our anniversary - that was our sign. And most importantly she was very welcoming. We kept in contact through email when making our plans and we arrived and settled our bill. Simple. Our room, means, restaurants, pool, pool restaurant, beach was excellent. Service was great and we got treasured tokens for our anniversary from the resort - which was lovely and made us feel special. Thank you to JBR staff and our birthday girl - who are gems and lovely people. Close

We visited Jolly Beach for 2 weeks over the May half term school holiday, so at the end of the season. The hotel was pretty quiet, they had less guests than was usual for the time of year (global recession?). We weren't sure what to expect, given some of the reviews below, however we found an efficiently run hotel with VERY friendly staff that kept the place VERY clean and made our stay comfortable and enjoyable. We had one superior room and one standard room. They both had enough storage, they were clean and kept clean during our stay. The rooms were not up to US standard, however they were comfortable and what we expected. The hotel has 4 restaurants and a snack bar. We had no trouble booking into one of the specialty restaurants (on the morning of the meal), however that might have been because the hotel was so quiet. The food in Hemispheres (the restaurant you don't have to book) was brilliant, plenty of choice, good quality and presented well. The food in the other restaurants was better and then you have waiter service as well. In all restaurants you get water and your others drinks topped up by friendly waiters. Most of the food in the specialty restaurants was part of the all inclusive deal. There are two pools, one fun pool that has a maximum depth of about 4 feet, the other is a deeper pool with a shallow end (1 foot to about 8 feet depth). The beach is right on your doorstep. It looks fantastic, however it wasn't often very clear so it wasn't good for snorkeling. You can get trips to reefs where the snorkeling is good. We traveled with Virgin and our whole experience was great. The only negative thing I'd have to say is that the trips and taxis are expensive compared to other holidays I've taken. Swimming with Stingrays (1 hour) was 50 USD; a rain forest zip wire experience was 80 USD; taxis are charged per person and the fares are fixed by the government. We found the cheapest way to get around was to hire a jeep (the roads are very bumpy), that way you get to see the island at your own pace, stop where you want and stay as long as you want. Close

what a great holiday. Location was fantastic, staff were very friendly, we didn't have any problems with rudeness at all in fact they were very helpful and polite. The birds were great my kids loved them, but we did opt to eat inside after the first day. The resturant on the beach was something else, great food. Great choice of food in all the resturants and plenty of it. The rooms were basic but clean, the maid called everyday and cleaned. We went on a boat trip waldi cats to bird island, snorkeling and swimming, it was fantastic. If you just want to laze around in the sun all day at a great location and do nothing then this is the place to go. Close

We have been as a family of 4 to JBR for the past five years! Most of the staff are still the smae from our first visit and many of the guests we meet up with again and again(as we always go May half term) as do many others. The rooms are basic and quite small, but why do you need a huge room with fancy fittings? With all the activities or just if you want to sit on the wonderful beach to relax, you dont spend much time in your room. The hemispheres restaurant always has a huge choice of food, there is always something that anyone would eat, even on traditional caribbean themed night, which can be interesting with things like stewed goat! But as a fussy eater, I have never gone hungry while at JBR! And as someone has said before, ice cream is not out readily available, but if you ask a member of staff they will be back in a flash with some! And to comment on the fact that birds are flying around everywhere, yes they are, but they are at any resort in the caribbean and they are mainly tiny! They don't cause a problem and if they happen to come near, you shoo them away! What's so terrible about that?!!! We have always had a brilliant time and will be back again : ) If you want five star luxury accomodation dont come to JBR but if you want a fun taste of the caribbean and value for money I would completly recommed Jolly Beach! Close

Just got back from a week at the Jolly Beach - our friends were getting married there which is the only reason we stayed at the resort - after reading some of the reviews we didn't want to stay there - we were going to book Cocos. OK - so the beach is fantastic - water sports facilities are great - after a short training session you can take a boat out for a sail - or just sit on the fantastic beach (did I mention the fantastic beach!). Lots of reviews mentioned the staff being very rude - we didn't find that - although some of the other guests were very rude - hi to Carlton the bar man - wish we were there drinking rum and cokes! Food - always something to eat - agree the Italian service was slow (OK - I could complain it wasn't the best Italian I've had ...but then again the best Italian food I've ever had was in Italy !!) but every other eating experience was great ...the reasturant on the beach is great - food was amazing - have the lobster starter it's great - it's an extra 15 dollars but its great (maybe I could complain but I won't - it was great) yes there are birds - but there is netting around the resturant - I think the whole bird thing has gotten a little carried away in these reviews - it's a tropical island - it's like wanting a sandy beach but complaining that the sea spoils the view-too many coconut trees? Rooms - this isn't a 4 or 5 star hotel - if this bothers you then pay twice as much and go up a star rating (I nearly did - glad I didn't) - I do a lot of travelling - Europe/Far East/North America - this isn't the Vegas Venetian but then again the beach in Vegas ain't much to write home about either (I don't count the fake beach!)- if you want that in Antigua then dig deep. If like me you'd be happy sitting on the beach looking at the sea with a drink in your hand then just go with it. The wedding was amazing - they really did a great job - food at the pool was great - go for the jerk chicken with a salad. Hi to Terry on the entertainment and to Janice (hard on the outside but soft on the inside - she runs a tight ship). My advice - if you speak to the staff like people instead of servants it goes a long way - they wear name tags - it isn't for decoration - try using their names it works wonders - and it doesn't cost any extra either! Close