Jolly Beach, Antigua

A long awaited review, but hey it's life, my stay here was a good one, property grounds nicely kept, beach though I've not used is one of the best I've seen, food is as good as I've remembered, as it's not my first time staying here...one thing that has always been a disappointment though is the rooms, which I think could do with some major updating as I've been visiting since '06, the staff has always made up for its shortcomings Read less

This was our 3rd time here, second year in a row. Booked the king superior which is the same as the queen superior, it included a fridge, a kettle, a full bathroom. The room was clean, the bed and pillows were comfy. Every year we have been in the St John block close to the beach next to the spa. We had no trouble getting a palapa at 7:30-8:00am as it was not that busy. Beach was great the first few days and then it got rough and lots of seaweed. We were quite happy with all the staff other than the reception staff. Stand outs were Karlos and Patrick at the long bar, Judith who always brought a smile, Kanisha at the pool bar, and Zauda and Inezsteen round out those we can remember. We thought the buffet was better last year but still always found something we could eat. Breakfast was always good and some of the themed dinner buffets were better than others. Coconut Grill on the beach had great jerk chicken wraps, burgers, hotdogs and the best coleslaw. Pizza Factory was very good, food and service were excellent. Drinks, were all good, never had to wait too long to be served at any of the bars. We would have liked the beach bar to stay open a little later than 4:00. They listed it to close at 4:45 but if not busy they closed, that is not right, serve the customers that are still on the beach. As prices rise we are not sure that JB will be good value, there is still much to be done as far as improvements go, another a la carte would be nice and a bit more nightly entertainment. We had two nights of live entertainment and then one night karaoke and the rest was a DJ. Many islands are starting to charge the resort fees so Antigua is not alone there but it is something to consider. We loved the beach during the day and the long bar at night. We would love to return if the opportunity arises and the prices stay reasonable. Read less

I visited jolly beach with my husband for 7 days and it was absolutely amazing! After reading some of the negative reviews I was very hesitent to visit but let me tell you, I was completely caught off guard of how amazing this place is. We stayed in a standard king room and it was just perfect for us. The room was clean and spacious enough! The food was great especially the pizza factory. The staff is very friendly and always smiling. Waldadi aka Antigua is very safe even with the street hustlers around which are not breathing down your neck. This is a 3 star resort with a 5 star beach. We will definitely visit again! Safe travels! Read less

We read a some reviews just before our holiday. Not sure how wise that was. This was our main (and at GBP£3k) most expensive holiday this year. My review is thorough and detailed but it is my honest opinion. If it were not such a long journey, I would visit this hotel again. After a long 9hr flight from the UK and 90 minutes immigration queues at the airport we were exhausted when we arrived at the hotel. We walked in to a totally crowded and chaotic reception. There was no organisation. A young lad. (turns out he was the hotel manager) was handing out wrist bands to all and sundry. The reception staff were the rudest and most unprofessional I have ever encountered. I am a retired Director of Customer Services so there manners and rudeness stuck out like sore thumb. After an hour of waiting in the crowd at the front desk it was our finally turn to check in. We were told our room would not be ready for at least another hour! They offered no apologies so perhaps this is the norm? I noted they have outdated, un-automated checking-in systems. Everything seems to be done manually. They are forever filling the paper tray in their printers. Perhaps this could be why they are so rude and grumpy? They were so bossy and totally unhelpful. They reminded me of prison wardens. I asked to see the manager. They were not iat all Informative. He (yep, the young man handing out the wrist bands), Mr Clinton, was very apologetic and decided to take us to a room that was ready (2214 - not the room we were supposed to have apparently ..one of the receptionists called our room at 10pm to remind me we were in a better room than we had booked - useful) ...it was ok - just. A very large and super comfy bed with an efficient ceiling fan and an a/c unit. (thank God)... Lovely fluffy towels - more of which were provided on request as were extra pillows. Ask if you need more. The shower was hot and functional and the toilet worked. There was no stopper for the sink. The sliding door to the bathroom kept falling off. The extraction unit was so noisy but hey, ..it worked. There was no fridge or drinking water in the room. We were told cleaning was only done after 7 days. Luckily (?) we were staying for 2 weeks. They did take a $200 resort tax which we felt was a total rip off. Clinton explained to us that the hotel was going through changes. He accepted that there were a lot of things to be put right and he and his team were in the midst of addressing it all. There is huge potential at this place but it needs a big injection of money to bring it all up to scratch. There were guests there that had been coming for 30 years and had even got married there. Covid has hit the hospitality industry terribly and its obvious there is work to be done. There is a huge selection of very good food in the Palms buffet restaurant which despite what other reviewers say, was really good. (and I am a fussy eater)! We had beautiful roast beef, roast pork, roast turkey as well as a number of freshly cooked Chinese and Indian dishes too. Desserts were delicious - amazing banana bread and pumpkin cake and home-made cookies. Fresh apples were only available a couple of times and bananas ran out as well. It is not obvious that ice cream is available. We noted Ice cream is on the menu at the à la carte restaurant but not at the buffet. We asked the F & B manager, Lorenzzo who told us we only had to ask. He said they planned in future to have a notice saying "Ice cream available on Request" Well Done Lorenzzo! Breakfasts were freshly cooked and very good too. Although all the interesting bread was served in the evening but only plain toasting breads were served in the morning. Catering staff obviously work tremendously hard here. Their efforts are fantastic! At the beach there is a Burger bar and its menu includes the most outstanding Jerk caesar chicken wraps with salad , coleslaw and fries. Well done to those beach chefs! The beach bar staff were worked off their feet - it would definitely be an improvement to have more bar staff at the beach bar. (if only to go and collect all the glassware that guests leave on the beach (we always brought ours back) It seemed to be the busiest bar. The plastic glassware never seemed completely clean. I know its necessary to have plasticware in pool and beach areas but it would be good if it was thoroughly cleaned instead of being just casually rinsed out. They did their best. Whilst at the Palms buffet restaurant, there are loads of staff escorting guests to their tables, then pouring water, then poring wine or tea and coffee etc, Which certainly seems a waste of resources. Guests can simply seat themselves and help themselves to tea, coffee and water. However these staff members were never rude and always polite and courteous. Judith will sing to guests and make them feel totally welcome. The bar opposite the reception courtyard is small and popular so expect queues. However, staff here are also brilliant. Hats off to Vanroy - he makes the best classic Caipirinha cocktails in the world! Thank you Vanroy! à la carte - The Pizza Factory. Pity about the name :( Something like "The Courtyard Ritz" would be more appropriate). It is beautiful! Crisp white table linen, comfy formal dining chairs and silver service. Glass glasses. You have to book this each morning and you can only eat there every other evening. The atmosphere is lovely - soft easy-listening music (although there does need to be a bigger choice of music). Despite the name, we never had pizza. The other dishes on the menu were totally outstanding. The staff here are totally brilliant - especially Masika and Nikhiya - they attended to our every need! They were so friendly, so polite and so professional. They made the evening feel like we were dining in a top London restaurant! Thank you to all the PF staff! The Beach is Outstanding! Warm turquoise waters, hot white sand, plenty of shades, reasonably comfy sunbeds (although they were grubby and some very old) lovely atmosphere and you can go to the far end to escape the beat music from the pool bar if you want to peacefully read your book and snooze in the sun. It is gorgeous! The large pool did not look particularly inviting - a bit on the grubby side to be honest. The smaller (quiet pool) was lovely but has limited shade and to be honest - it is a bit of a thoroughfare for folk going back and forth to the restaurant, reception areas etc. We booked a catamaran trip with Wadadli Cats. We took the snorkelling trip to Cades Reefe. These guys offered a fantastic service. They were totally on board with health and safety and provided snorkels, flippers and float belts. They were attentive at all times. After the reefe, they offered to most fantastic Rum punch and GnTs and a delicious bbg lunch before finding another white sandy beach to chill and drink more punch. Very party like and a great atmosphere! Well worth it to break up our time. As for the resort, there is a supermarket (Waitrose) within walking distance of the hotel. We bought apples and proper tonic water here. There is not a lot to do in Jolly harbour itself. We caught the bus into St Johns town (only ECD$3 each) so don't waste your money on a taxi - it was entertaining to be on the bus. Everyone is so friendly and certainly helpful. The market is interesting. Loud loud happy reggae music everywhere. There is a duty free area near where the big cruise ships dock - some lovely restaurants and bars there too but not cheap. 2 x diet cokes: US$ 12 !! On another day we took 2 buses and went to English Harbour - Its an hour's bus ride and there is nothing there but Nelson's dockyard - and, wait for it, US$15 each to enter. Total rip off. There is a museum there but I don't go on beach holidays to visit museums. There is a bar there so at least you can get a drink but not much else to see at all. On the Island, there just aren't coffee shops where you can sit and watch the world go by. If you are going on holiday here, its the place to totally relax and read some of the books you've been meaning to start for ages. The best bit was that half way through, they moved us to an outstanding room with a bath and a fridge! This was due to technical issues in the adjacent rooms. We were over the moon. We had a really lovely holiday in the end and if there flight were not so long we would return. If you come here, don't go for the budget room. Enjoy the delicious cocktails relaxing on the beach. Its a great place. Big thanks to Clinton, Lorenzo and all the staff at Jolly Beach! Read less

I read a number of reviews before we left so was a bit concerned before we travelled. However, my fears were unfounded. Yes the resort is a bit tired and yes the rooms are not cleaned on a daily basis, but for a budget-option hotel this was excellent. The resort is clean and well maintained and the staff are helpful and pleasant. The beach is fabulous. Food is OK and the range of drinks are good. We don't need our room cleaned daily as we don't make a mess - and making the bed wasn't exactly a chore. For the price of the holiday we were delighted - if you want a 5* experience then you need to pay 5* prices, but if you go wanting a tropical escape in the sun in a comfortable clean resort you will get exactly that. Read less