My wife and I just returned from a week at Jumby Bay. It was idyllic, uncrowded (even though the hotel was full), scenic and relaxing.

The downsides: Planes do take off over the resort at times, they had had a lot of rain and there were some mosquitos, this is not Four Seasons-type luxury if that's your bag, English school kids were off and there were several families but they were well behaved. The A/C in the rooms was so-so.

The positives: Beautiful, uncrowded beach; large rooms (even the cheapest); opening up the room with the ceiling fans going brought in great breezes; rooms are luxurious with great linens and toiletries; lots of salads and relatively healthy eating, if you want; it's all inclusive except for bottles of wine and port, cognac, etc.; the service was generally very good.

The bottom-line: This place isn't for everyone, but it was for us. Know what it is that you want and choose your place accordingly. For this price you should get what you want.

I have been reading trip advisor for the last year and made sure to remember many details so not to miss anything. We just got back from Jumby Bay. What a wonderful resort! The staff is so nice there...some of them made sure to even remember our names. We stayed in a one-bedroom suite(which they kindly upgraded us to). I liked the suites because they were closer to everything than the oceanview and rondavel rooms. Although, those are not to far of a walk(or bike ride). I promise, you will be glad to have the excercise after all the food you eat. The food at the Estate House was AMAZING! 5 star all the way..including their wonderful dessert bar they had every night. I was a little worried about going to an all inclusive, but I promise the food is wonderful. Also, I agree with what someone else wrote about the house wines..they were fantastic...we did not feel the need to order any wine off of their wine selection (which was marked up pretty good by the way). They had premium liquor and wonderful champagne as well (all included of course). They had free snorkeling and free tennis lessons on certain days and a sunset cruise with appetizers and cocktails on Fridays. There was also someone who would around noon everyday...walk up and down the beach and give you sorbet in waffle cones..we loved that. The beach was beautiful! The pool was nice and quiet. The rarely come by and take drink orders, but there is a beach bar in the middle of everything that is easy access. Also, there is another bar open all day in the main area. I was bummed to see there was not a spa at Jumby Bay, but you can get in room treatments, which was nice that they come to you. I wish I would have gotten the Chinnese massage instead of deep tissue though. The deep tissue was not hard pressure at all. Don't expect your knots to be worked on with the deep tissue. We talk to some other people there who got the Chineese massage and said that was wonderful. We will do that next time! As for tipping, we tipped the guys who helped us with our bags and our favorite bartender and thats about it. We tipped the massage therapists as well, but you would of course do that with anything extra you had to pay for. The cigars are over-priced at the Estate House. My husband got a Romeo and Juliette and it waas $30..I highly suggest going into town and buying some instead. We actually only got off the island once. That was what was so nice about it..you didn't really care to leave because everything was so wonderful there. We went to go play golf one day and go to town. The golf course was mediocre, but had a few really nice views. We enjoyed it for the most part...even though the club house was awful and paths for the golf carts were very rocky. The golf course was called Cedar Valley. Its the only one Jumby Bay recommends, so it must be the only "good" one is a near vicinity. Watch out for the price for the taxi cabs by the way. It cost us $50 to take a cab to the golf course, downtown Antigua and back to Jumby dock. You don't know this until you check out because they just add the price of the cab to your bill. It was probabaly 10 minutes to the golf course, 10 minutes to down town and 10 minutes to get back to Jumby just to give you an idea. You dont have to pay for the car that takes you too and from the airport though...which was nice that they arrange all that for you from when you get there to when you leave. Some friends we met on the trip took a cab to Shirley Heights (famous for live steel drums on Sundays) and it cost them $100. As for bugs, they bothered me a little, but from what I understand..that would be the case anywhere in the Carribean. They were nice enough to supply you with OFF and a citranella candle for outside. Once I got in the habit of using those, I did not get bit hardly at all. Rooms are airconditioned. They provide you with Lady Primrose Shampoo, Conditioner and Bath Gel.The beds were extremely comfortable..so were the towels and robes. They also had good hair dryers (one less thing you have to pack). Well, thats about it. We loved Jumby Bay. The really do a good job of taking care of you and catering to your needs. It did not feel crowded ever....very seclusive and relaxing while still being fun!

My husband and I visited Jumby Bay for our honeymoon. Words cannot describe how pleased we were! The resort, rooms, and beaches were more breathtaking than the photos. Our flight into Antiqua was delayed and arrived very late...to our surprise, the ferry waited for us to arrive, gave us a tour of the island, and had dinner and champaign waiting for us in our room. Service was excellent and everybody knew our name. You can call for golf cart rides or bike your way around the island. Room service was perfect. There are lots of mosquitos, but they give you complimentary cans of OFF, which help a lot.

Food was awesome, there just weren't many choices for you to choose from. They will prepare whatever you can think of. The only problem we had was not receiving wake up calls. It probably happened about 3 times, but we were so impressed with everything else we didn't even care. This will be the best money you've EVER spent!

My Wife and I went to Jumby Bay for our Honeymoon and it exceeded our expectations. My wife is in the hotel business and can be critical, but she also had no complaints. We went to Jumby Bay in the off season and were two of 40 total guests at the resort!
The staff is there when needed, but also does a good job of staying out of the way. I can see that the British may not like this style, but it was very refreshing for us as it granted us privacy.
We met another couple during our trip and the male was a trained chef. He was even complimenting the food. The Estate House bar is a very nice place to wind down.
The bugs are not bad and they provide plenty of bug spray, etc. The planes do fly over, yet it is only when they land in one direction and frankly was never really bad. Maybe one plane every 30 - 45 minutes, mostly prop planes anyway.
St, Johns is very poor and we did not see much reason to spend tons of time there. The open market is below average, cheap jewlery and duty free. We hear that Shirley's Heights and English Harbor are very nice. However, we hated leaving the island.
The rooms are just as pictured and the beaches are beyond belief. We had a Ocean Suite and it was probably 600 square feet with a huge bathroom. Very nice and an awesome view.
Have some $1.00 bills when you land! You will be met at the baggage belt by an airport employee that takes your bags to customs. Maybe $1.00 each bag. Then you are met by a Jumby Bay representative that takes you to the car, maybe another $2.00. Then, the driver ($2.00 - $5.00). and Finally, the person that drives you to your room on the island and the bellhop. A few bucks each. That is all the tipping for the rest of the vacation. We tipped a few extra bucks to people that had really been helpful during the week, but did not feel required.
The giftshop Very Expensive on the island - $7.00 for a pack of smokes and $50 for a simple Tee Shirt. Smokes and shirts and alcohol, etc are very cheap in town (Smokes = $1.50 per pack / Crown Royal = $15.00 bottle, etc) so be prepared unless you want to spend a ton.
We did not play golf, but heard that the course is not very good. We did snorkle and it is not the best, but a very small group and a very quick trip (11:00 am to 12:15 pm to Bird Island). It was actually pretty fun. We learned to sail right infront of Jumby Beach and really enjoyed that.
All in all, a great vacation and would recommend it!