Jolly Beach Resort and Spa - All Inclusive

Jolly beach resort and spa is a very popular place. The food was OK in the main restaurant hemisphere where you eat almost everyday if you take all inclusive. But there are three other restaurants in the resort and were really good. Lydia's sea food is wonderful in that you are sitting right at the beach, and the sunset is beautiful. The other two, the indian and the italian were very good. The two pools were very nice, and you had access to food throughout the day. The beach has a very nice location, and enjoyed that very much. Its a great place for a family vacation. we went there with our 8 month old and managed it very well. We did not rent a car, but booked cabs to go to the Rainforest, devil's bridge, nelson;s dockyard and shirley heights. Also, to go to st john's. Its just 15 min away. Jolly beach resort ha sthe jolly becah harbor close by at a walking distance and the shops are nice there and also there is a huge supermarket. The resort also had showtimes from 9:30-11pm and that was wonderful. They had put together nice shows every night, like the dances from the region, we had bonfire one night, and also an antiguan carnival experience. It all made it a nice vacation. The rooms were simple, nothing luxurious, but clean and served our purpose. we had a ground level room, looking into the garden and so it was nice to wake up and see our private garden. It was away form the bar and entertainment area so it was convenient for us with the baby. Overall we had a nice vacation holiday, much needed sunshine and we had a good escape from mid-winter.

I am writing this review to help provide you with a realistic viewpoint. I travel about every six weeks for pleasure.. and as I read through people's reviews I smile realizing that many people who write their opinions are not evaluating this property based on what it is (with consideration to the price of it's value), rather, maybe what they hoped it would be and then tear it up for not being what they hoped. I think that is naive on their part to expect more than what they paid for- so here is what I hope to be an honest review from a viewpoint that is more realistic to what has been paid for- and not shattered dreams of a Caribbean vacation where it is obvious some of these people must have never been to the Caribbean before and are expecting a Las Vegas resort . The rooms are meh. So if the room is important to you don't stay here. The beds are old. This is the worst thing I have to say about the hotel. The bathrooms are remodeled and clean. You get a great high powered shower, and it feels clean, you feel clean! This is very important to me, the room was as clean as you can hope for the Caribbean as it is really hard to keep fine sand of tile floors. I felt they did a good job in this regard. When you arrive to their funky room, there are garden flowers placed carefully around the mirrors and basically anywhere the maid could think to put a fresh flower which made me smile. The food is not a cruise ship style buffet. It has a lot of local style food and it was a fresh as island food could be.. The lettuce and vegies were local and I loved that.. The meat dishes were flavored with local flavors and there was a lot of local fish dishes/seasonings. I could get fresh fruit at any meal, and salad at lunch and dinner which is important to me. If you like fried food, then you will be in heaven. If you don't and I don't, you can easily avoid it but it's plentiful. The desserts are so home-made looking, I loved it. They are the typical local desserts you see anywhere from the Bahamas down to the Grenadines.. and if you realize you are not in the USA ..and expect it to look like home you will be disappointed. If you are happy like I am that it is made onsite, then you will be thrilled. They have great ice-cream-simple but great- You have to ask for it and everyday they have different flavors. We ate in Hemisphere's most days because I noticed the food in the other restaurants ends up as part of the same menu as the specialty restaurants (to a degree- but if you want variety-maybe try the specialty restaurants- we had no problems at all getting in as long as you follow their instructions.. people who had problems, I have to wonder why-perhaps they did not go to make reservations during specified reservation making hours?) We loved the casual fare of the basic restaurant. I am a food snob, as far as quality, but understand where you are and you will be happy. Expect Holland America and you will be just like one of these grumpy unrealistic reviewers. Most people who stay at this resort are not American. I noticed they seemed to innately understand where they were at and where they were eating, amenities and so on.. They seemed content as well. So I must consider when reading these gripey reviews that we might have a problem collectively "American" who think everything needs to look like home.. and to those people, I sense they should travel in the States or travel with a larger spending/expense budget. Yes, there is the matter of the birds flying around the food. I live on Catalina Island where we are criticized for the same problem. It is not the fault of the resort.. it is seagulls and pigeons and all scavenger birds of this nature.. IT's NATURE. Like I said, get out in the world a little more and you will find in remote islands with outdoor food, you will find birds can get excessive. If this is a problem for you, consider indoor dining... but since the indoor dining is sort of indoor/outdoor-the birds manage to sneak th...

We spent Spring Break here at Jolly Beach in Antigua. It was our first trip to Antigua. We took advantage of the pool and water activities. The water in Antigua is beautiful. The room was fine. We didn't stay at this resort to spend time in the hotel room. We Ziplined in the rain forest. We shopped in the duty free area where the cruise ships dock. I golfed both golf courses(take plenty of balls to Cedar Valley GC.). We rented a sailboat and snorkeled. We made the best of our stay. The hotel staff was not the friendliest. The front desk people were great, but the staff at the buffet and the pool grill were not very warm to patrons. The staff at the Italian restaurant were a breath of fresh air. It seems if you want the staff to be nice, you have to tip. I wish I had known that on day one, not day six. Probably won't visit Antigua again. Been there, done that.

Went on several tours. Do not waste your time on the snorkel boat, it is just a long ride and keeps stopping to pick up people at other hotels. The best is swimming with the sting rays awsome. Food could be better and there are extra charges in the restaurants. If you want a steak, $15 more, lobster $25 more the buffett is your best bet. Bathrooms could use an update for sure. Beach is great and pool is great. In general, not bad but not all inclusive.

My husband booked this for our 26h anniversay. We were both very disappointed. We arrived and were shown to a room that my husband had paid extra for! It was supposed to be an upgraded superior room...nothing superior; in fact it was very old and outdated and the bathroom we wouldn't have used! We went to the front desk and with much back & forth were given another room, a beach cottage. Very nice; but our phone never worked, the TV wasn't activated for several days. Food was poor. Staff & beach were the best of our whole stay; we would not return.

I must say, "Great beach"! Everything else, however, was just ok. We booked last minute for a spur of the moment weekend getaway. We did not spend much time in the room, which was very small. The pools did not open on time, and closed surprisingly early. Dining, and entertainment was just ok. However, you can't beat the price when you compare the Jolly to other all inclusive resorts in Antigua.

I have stayed at Jolly Beach Hotel before Thats my reason for returning there. The service is excellent ,the food is superb ,the location is within my family circle. I went to my best friend funeral.My stay was too short.

The hotel is a typical three star resort. The beach was very nice. Food at the resort was surprisingly good and varied. Service in the main restaurant was average, with some difficulty in getting coffee, drinks and refills. Specialty restaurants were good, especially Lydia's (seafood) and the Italian restaurant. The service in those restaurants was slightly better than in the main restaurant, but still spotty. Rooms are sparse and amenities minimal. Some difficulty getting sufficient number of towels. Gym is small with antiquated equipment, but it serves its purpose. Arrive early to get your preferred equipment. No room to stretch or do any exercises not involving machines. Overall this was a good experience in general with some expected bumps in the road for a 3-star resort.

Overall - a fine place. Been to better resorts; been to better beaches, but it was fine. AMAZING sunsets and amazing shells. Nice big beach, and good rum punches. Wait staff very nice and food was quite good. Annoyances: We tried to get an extra bath towel in our room. (We only had 1 towel for 2 people); it never arrived.. Resort seemed short on beach lounges (and beach towels). Beach not soft white sand; more grainy and "thin" as if a layer of sand had been dumped on top of a concrete surface. Lots of broken shells at the water line trying to get into the water (one almost needs water shoes). Last, our receipt said we had purchased an "ocean view room," but when we were given a room that faced a lawn and asked to be moved, the front desk said they had no ocean views, just "ocean facing." A perfectly fine place, but I wouldn't necessarily go back.

Spent three days, four nights at resort. Went on two full day excursions so not much time spent at hotel. Dinners were great, breakfast was average. The staff was great and very friendly. Great beach, from what I could tell after the excursions it is the best on the island compared to other resorts etc. I expected much more of a view from our room, King Superior Oceanview. This was the only disappointment.