Just returned from a fantastic fortnight at Jolly Beach with 17 in our party. I was really worried about what we would find after reading previous reviews but believe me, we had nothing to complain about.
Right from when we arrived we were warmly welcomed with fruit/rum punches. No problems at check-in for us as there were more than enough staff available.
We had a standard room which was perfect for two people with a great view. The supersaver room is tiny and ok for a single person. A couple in our group upgraded to a standard from this with no problem. Superior rooms are nice but probably only worth it if there are more than two of you sharing.
No complaints about the food. Breakfast was a buffet with all types of cooked eggs, cereals, pastries, yogurt, american bacon, sausage, toast, fruits, pancakes, eggy bread. Just watch out for low flying birds!!
Lunch available was either the buffet with a vast array of foods from burgers, grilled fish, chicken, toasted sandwiches, pasta dishes, salads or the poolside grill which did quick burgers/chicken and fries.
A nice touch in the lunch buffet was the ice cold flannels which were brought out to you by the waiting staff - definitely cooled you down.
For dinner we mainly ate in the buffet which again had more than enough variety of foods available for all tastes.
The Italian restuarant is definitely recommeded by us (yes you do have to dress up but that made a change) Five courses with good wine flowing all the time, and fantastic service from Julien and Ruth, wished we'd found it early in the holiday but managed to book it twice. Tried Lydia's seafood restaurant which had a lovely setting directly on the beach, again service and food couldn't be faulted. Yes, the service is slower than in England and the USA but don't forget you are in the Caribbean and are also on holiday!!
Entertainment department worked really hard to include all holidaymakers in activities and the evening entertainment was on the whole enjoyable.
One of the best things about Jolly Beach is the Beach - it is perfect!!- vast white sandy beach - warm clear blue sea (what are people talking about cloudy in previous reviews!!)
Beach vendors don't bother you, just say no thanks!! but we do recommend Alex the massage guy on the beach. Great at back massage and reflexology, don't forget to haggle the price.
Sorry to go on with this review (and could go on more!) but it was the most enjoyable holiday resort we had been to and we have been to a lot.
The only drawback which the hotel has no control over is the amount of mosquitos and sand flies. Most of us were bit even though we had repellent on. Someone suggested taking Vitamin B1 tablets before holiday (or eating a teaspoon of marmite day and night for two weeks before holiday - don't know if this works though!!). Take anti itch cream with you. If you have mozzies in your room ask housekeeping to spray your room.
Recommed the following trips:- Adventure Antigua (great snorkelling but also a chance to appreciate Antigua's eco-system, without hoards of people), Stingray City - what an experience!, and also classic jeep safari which was a great day out experiencing the whole of Antigua.
Please don't be worried like I was about other bad reviews as we would have no hesitation in going back there. Great value for money.

me and my boyfriend (late twenties) have just come back from Jolly Beach resort after a 9 night stay and here is a brief recap of our holiday .

I am a travel agent back in the uk and have travelled fairly well .

I do like my luxuries but also know value for money and this resort is defintley value for money


Flights : with Virgin Atlantic in premium economy excellent cabin if you can afford to upgrade as you are seated in the bubble upstairs with the pilot and only about 20-25 passengers in total so nice and quiet along with the usual extras like leg room champagne and attentive service .

As I had booked the trip elements seperatley we just jumped in a cab at vc bird intl apt cost of $20 us to the hotel


Hotel: As soon as we pulled up I thought mmm nice resort nothing fancy but looked very welcoming with an open plan lobby lots of foliage and welcome rum punches on arrival .

I will break down the elements of the stay as follows

Check In : this is the only part of the stay that I would have done slightly better if I could

As large numbers of people are checking in at a time it would be beneficial to have more staff on duty during this period as we spent ages checking in
and it was a very hot and slow process ,
However the very courteous female (sorry cant remember her name )
who checked us in made up for this !


Room:we were allocated a standard room on the second floor ,
When we got the room I was initially disapointed as very basic but as soon as I walked onto the balcony and looked at the beautiful beach and sea I was completley blown away .

To be fair the rooms were clean big enough for 2 and you also had excellent tv channels
yes I know you dont come on holiday to watch tv but it was nice to be able to relax and watch films , music channels etc.. in the evening as entertainment was fairly low key .

they had cable so could watch BET HBO SUPER CHANNEL ETC....
AS previous reviewers have stated the Air condtioning could do with a kick but we found if you turned it off and turned back on again it blew out colder air!


Entertainment: as me and my boyfriend just wanted to relax we didnt really participate in any of the entertainent it seemed a bit cheesy but good fun !

Staff : in general staff were good but some a bit miserable .
however as you can imagine how high would your morale be if you worked such long hours and got paid pittance !

Food: excellent choice at the Buffett the usual omelettes made to order bacon suasage pancakes fruit yoghurts etc....

Restaurants : Ustav Indian not impressed limited menu and surly staff
Lydias Seafood : excellent brilliant staff lovley food although portions a bit small great sparkling wine !!

Bocciolos : Italian Didnt visit as have to dress up and told by several other guests food terrible !

Beach : breathtaking miles of sand gorgeous no problem getting a bed but we were there in low season

Excursions: we only did one which was the Wadadli curcumnavigation

expensive at $95.00 us per person approx £ 57.00 per person but well worth it as whole day with unlimited drinks and a chance to snorkel with lunch .

We went to Shirley heights on the sunday and both of us thought what a waste of time this is very overated completley geared at ripping of tourists and not an authentic experience at all sorry!

Also taxis on the island are expensive and confusing to calculate from sterling into US then to ec dollars !


Overall I would rate this trip as the following

Hotel grounds and staff 4*
rooms 3*
food 4*
service 3*
beach 5*
pools 5*
drinks very strong ! 5*

I would go back again if I could get the right deal and would not hesitate in recommending this hotel to my clients as caters for everybody
families , oldies ! youngies ! singles etc....


Nicola
london

My husband and I went for our honeymoon Aug 24-31 The resort was beautiful, We took the catamaran around the island and got to see all the other resorts beaches and decided Jolly Beach had the best beach by far.

The food was delicious!!!!!!!!!!! Never any repeats except breakfast but you can only do so much for breakfast. The staff was friendly and met any needs we had. We had a supersaver room and upon check in we asked if there was any way we could have an ocean front view and they gave us one BEAUTIFUL! For the two of us the room was just the right size, we only slept in there and took showers so we saved some money that way.

Jolly Beach is a great resort and Antigua is Absolutly beautiful.

Terrible vacation for me, my wife and my kids!
Rude people working at the resort, they make you feel they are doing a favour to you while taking vantage of people like us that are alwayes thanking and very cordial.
Dirty and rude people aired as staff at Jolly Beach Resort
in "the rooms" you will find cockroaches.
Cleaning ladies are not cleaning.very dirty and tired rooms.
Water is not transparent like brochures!!!
Food is not proper for a family.
Bartenders they half wash cups and , cleaning and customer service lower than poor. Alchol you have to pay for it.
kids club dirty don't send your kids there , Not SAFE!!!!!
Not air conditioning in the kids club.
Is at the end of the resort with not toilet service.
(there is the toilet but they have to transport the water).
Only one person for 15 kids!!!!!
Vendors on the beach are not passing by all day
they do live there all day. They will not let you relax.
Staff is offensive and ostile.
Food is mediocre, Managers and staff have the same level of education (elementary school level, but most of all aggressive faces ) no experience no manners.
They don't have the culture to be Managers or to be part of the staff, they are all from the same Island and their only experience is Antigua.
The reviews of 5 4 3 stars are not credible who is writing those review???
Jolly Beach Hotel ??????
we have been in other 3 stars,
this Jolly Beach in Antigua is definately a rip off.
We would never return To any Jolly beach in the world, althought the Island needs to be more educated and will require lots of training in the tourism sector.
If you go, You will not get what you pay for.
We don't want you will get rip off too from those Liars,
go somewhere else!!!!

John and Eve, Canada