We booked through Virgin Holidays & I thought their hotel rating was a bit on the generous side, they had the Jolly Beach Resort down as 3.5 stars.. I would give it a 3 maximum. OK, so it sounds like I'm splitting hairs, but anything more than 3 sounds like the resort is above average, which it's not.

We love Antigua, the missus & me stayed at the St. James's Club last year which was a 4 star hotel, the only thing we didn't like was the beach there.. so when we discovered the beach at Jolly (which is superb) we decided that's where we'll stay next time!...Unfortunately the hotel wasn't up to our expectations.

On day one much queueing at the reception, also could not believe they charge rental for the safety deposit box that's in your room! All other hotels we've stayed at take a deposit for the key but had never charged for its use!..

When we first entered our room we were horrified at the amount of mosquitoes trapped inside, we spent the first hour hunting them down. The wife was close to tears as she expected a higher level of quality especially as we paid extra for a standard room as opposed to the supersaver. The shower cubicle was manky.. grout mould & a mixer valve that had a mind of its own.

ALSO INSIST ON HAVING A ROOM THAT'S NOT ON THE GROUND FLOOR.

This is a must if you want to get to sleep or stay asleep.. We were on the ground floor & from the front we heard every single person walking past, & everyone had to walk past as the rooms were all along the main towpath. Everynight we had scores of loud mouthed drunks flowing past. From the back the patio doors opened onto a garden that again had a towpath running along it so everyone walking past could look directly into our room! No privacy.

Gardeners would start mowing the lawn or using a pressure washer on the path at 8am, so we are forced out coz of the noise. I was seriously concerned about the air conditioning unit.. from my own experiences I know units need to be maintained & serviced regularly, our one looked dirty & rusty.. It worked but I only allowed the missus to switch it on whilst we went for breakfast or dinner then switched it off when we returned. It dripped & looked dangerous. Room service was good, the maid was always polite & friendly, we knew none of the problems were her fault & we tipped our maid at the end.

FOOD & DINNING

Average.. Breakfasts consisted of a small selection of cereals, a hot cereal either porridge/oatmeal or cream of wheat (like semolina). There's also a decent savoury selection, scrambled eggs, bacon, potatoes with onions etc... plenty of fruits, yogurts & breads..
The main restaurant (or should say canteen) is 'Hemispheres' which is the buffet style restaurant. It looks a little on the tired side, & watch out for the pesky birds especially if sitting out on the patio! They appear sweet & cute to start off with but the moment you turn your back they're there, right in your plate! Service is good & thank you is always followed by 'You're Welcome'. To be honest the only other restaurant we tried was Lydia's (Seafood Restaurant), we thought to ourselves there's no way we're gonna travel to the Caribbean to eat at an Indian or Italian!

FACILITIES & BEACH

Beach is 5 Star, crystal clear waters, lovely powder white sand. Paradise. Only downside are the hustlers trying to sell you Aloe Vera. The locals depend on tourism to make a living so I can understand their need to be persistant. There are about 3 women that walk up & down in the hot sun selling jewelry made from shells or crystals.. we decided to buy one small item from each of them & asked if they could leave us alone for the duration of our holiday, they did! The other hustlers will try & sell you Jet Ski hire, Horse Back riding, Jeep Safari or Catamaran cruises. If you politely say No they will go away, they are never rude & will always respect your refusal.

Hotel leisure facilies are OK, kids are entertained by the pool or the games room which consists of 2 pool tables & a table tennis table. Adult evening entertainment is lacking.. We were served up with endless cover versions of Bob Marley tunes, Night after night. One night there was a beach bonfire where a local amateur dramatics club put on a show. It was quite good actually.

MONEY

For some bizarre reason they choose to price everything in U.S. Dollars even when 60% of their guests appear to come from the UK. The yankee dollar is preferred over their own currency which to me is unfair coz they tend to mentally round up the conversion from e.c (eastern caribbean) dollars to u.s. dollars. & if you ask them for the price in e.c. dollars they get totally confused & then make up a price that's totally outrageous! I refused to use u.s dollars strictly on principle & bought e.c. dollars which are much better if using in local shops or in town.

GUESTS & STAFF
(from my observations)

Guests appear to be made up of around 60% British (mainly english)
around 20-25% Italian The other 15-20% are American & other nations.

Quite a few families, the resort was not lacking children. If you wanted a more romantic, couple orientated experience then this will be a minor disappointment.

Staff appear to be totally made up of local Antiguans, including lower level management & team supervisors.

TOP TIPS

1. Insist on having a room that's NOT on the ground floor.
As a last resort offer to pay to be upgraded! You will not be sorry.
2. On overcast nights or when rain is forecast opt to sit inside to dine. When it rains it really rains!
3. Collect or exchange your beach towels for the next day at the end of the previous day. If you show up in the morning chances are there are no towels left.
4. Buy from beach locals on day one & politely ask to be left alone afterwards. They will remember your face & will not pester you again.
5. Avoid buying anything from the resort store, the prices are outrageous compared to the local supermarket which is only a 5 minute walk outside.
6. Make sure you pack proper insect repellant, one which contains deet. The amount of guests I see at breakfast with their legs covered with bites is amazing. In the caribbean biting insects are active 24/7 not just in the evening!
7. At some point you will be invited along to a Timeshare tour which takes around an hour of your time. At the initial invitation they give you a bottle of rum as a gift then after the tour a further gift of hotel discount vouchers that can be used on another holiday.. My advice is don't sign anything until you've had time to think things over, taken independant financial advice & considered the implications! You are not compelled to buy their Timeshare.
8. Hotel Reps are there to make your stay more comfortable.. USE THEM! If you have issues bring it to their attention & make them act, don't suffer or put up with slack standards, you've worked hard for this holiday you're supposed to enjoy it.
9. If you're going ALL INCLUSIVE you don't need much money. There really isn't much need for it other than some local trinkets & of course the departure tax which is $50 e.c each ($20 u.s.).

FINAL WORD

Would I stay at the Jolly Beach Resort again?

Given its short comings (& there were many) I probably would.
Reason is Jolly Beach Hotel doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is.. An average resort, with average food & facilities.. But the one thing it has got going for it is the beach which is its saving grace, one of Antigua's finest. Yes the beach wins it for me, especially coz it's west facing so you get the most stunning sunsets!

We spent a week at Jolly Beach from July 22 through July 29, 2006. After reading a lot of the reviews I was a little leary of the place. People were commenting on the rooms, the staff and the food. Well I was actually in for a treat. The staff was very friendly and accomadating and remembered our names from the first day. Ann Marie, the entertainment coordiantor was an absolute gem, always out there and full of energy. As far as the rooms, they could use a little renovating especially the air conditioning, but the view was sweet. We opened our curtains to a view of the ocean each morning, awesome. The food everywhere was very good except the Italin restaurant- Bocciolo- here we had to get dressed up with strict rules and the food was absolutely horrible. My only other complaint about the food has to be the additional charges for certain items at the restaurants, but it was bearable. All inclusive should mean just that, all inclusive. The bar staff was entertaining and funny, many a evenings spent at the bars. The beach was beautiful and the waer sports were abundent. All in all it was a great vacation and I would stay here agian. By the way this is my third trip to Antigua, but first at this resort and this is now my number on place to stay for the the price. L. Daniel Charlotte, NC

My wife and I booked to stay at the Jolly Beach from the 29th July for 2 weeks. We stayed for only 22 hours and wanted to leave after only 2 hours. We booked our holiday with Virgin direct and were massively dissapointed. When we arrived our rooms were not ready which was not a major deal but the reception staff were incredibly rude and the reception area was completely unorganised. We were directed to wait at the pool bar and have a drink, when we arrived we could not find a clean table or clean chairs to sit at to wait so we ended up hunting around the pool area to find some. We did eventually find some and sat down to enjoy a drink and a snack (not). The bar staff were again rude and served us drinks in cheap plastic beakers and the food was served in polystyrene trays, not even plates. Things were now getting worse and we had only been on site for 1 hour. We waited patiently for another 30 minutes and still no staff came to clean the dirty tables that surrounded us. We eventually went back to the reception and were given our room keys after 2 hours of waiting. We had booked a super saver room but had been upgraded unknown to us to a standard room. Oh my god, it was awfull. All the fittings in the room and bathroom were rusty, we had electrical cables runningh through our shower cubicle, the room felt and looked dirty. It reminded me of a really bad 70's Butlins in Antigua. We did not unpack and went staright back to reception to talk to the manager, he was called Mighty and he really was a Mighty waste of space. All they could do was offer us a room upgrade at a cost of course. I had also spoken to the Virgin rep who informed me she had finished work for the day and could not help me until the morning. Due to the time difference when I tried to call Virgin UK the office was closed. Also be aware that the Virgin reps are local Antiguan's and do not really understand what level of service the British expect. I could go on but to cut my story short, we ended up moving hotels and stayed at the Grand Pinapple beach for the remainder of the holiday, fantastic hotel. (Same star rating as Jolly Beach by Virgin) If you are thinking of staying at the Jolly Beach or know anyone who is thinking of staying there, please DO NOT as it is a massive dissapointment and not worth the money. I can reccomend the Grand Pineapple.

My girlfriend and I stayed at Jolly Beach for 6 nights. There were many things that bothered us about the resort and the way it was ran but we still had a great time.

The resort is very rural which wouldn't be so bad if they updated a little bit. We booked a supersaver room. The room was SMALL, but in all reality we didn't need that much space. We didn't spend a lot of time in the room so size wasnt an issue. It would have been nice to have drawers to keep our clothes in though. Doors, sheets and maid service were another story. The bathroom door was a sliding door which left no privacy b/c it barely worked. The sheets did not fit in the bed and we had to call for towels and toilet paper twice because they werent left by a maid. But the room was very clean and the balcony was amazing.

As far as food went... Hemispheres (buffet) wasn't impressive. The selection was small so if your a picky eater your gonna have issues with it.
The three resturants... Bocciolo's, lydia's and utsav were great! The portions were good, the atmosphere was nice and the staff was friendly. So overall the food wasnt a problem.

The vendors on the beach got annoying. At first it was kind of funny but they dont stop. By the 6th day on the beach it was annoying. They are very polite, but they have no problem waking you up if your sleeping on the beach. One guy even tickeled my foot to wake me up (NOT COOL) just to offer me something. Say no thanks and they'll leave you alone though. theres just a lot of them!

The beach itself was breath taking. The water was incredible. It rivals any beach you'll see in the caribean. The pool was also extremely nice. By far the highlight of the trip. Watersports were also great! I recommend the jet skies!

The entertainment staff wasnt bad, but the entertainment staff wasnt bad. There wasnt much of a night life. the themes they had at night barely got people involved and it wasnt until the night we left that they had a "disco" night. It also could have been the crowd that was there also. Not too many party animals.

Overall I would recommend this resort for families. NOT couples or honeymooners.