Joly Beach Antigua

The beach and grounds of this resort are beautiful as are the two pools and two raised gazebos. Enjoyed the burger/hot dog/chicken grill on the beach and the bar. The hotel staff were mostly sad or not accomodating and often lied to you when you asked them for something. I was told that "all of the phones are under water" when I told them that my phone was broken so I couldn't contact my friend who was in a different area of the hotel. The 3rd floor room was very small with a narrow concrete [... read more] bench and concrete end tables. After being moved to the first floor (after multiple trips back to the desk and being told that the manager was not in) , I was given a first floor room where the phone didn't work, the sliding screen door didn't slide and there was a large animal hole right outside the small patio. This room had an old dresser and night tables. There was a pipe in the ceiling that was not covered with a screen. Every night I cleared crickets and other bugs from my floor. I am not sure if they came in the pipe or under the door. The covered front desk/ waiting area is small and the only other outdoor covered area near the hotel was a coffee area. Breakfast and supper meals were fine; the lunch buffet was insufficient and birds were constantly in the fruit bowls which had no covers. Not sanitary or appetizing to have bird poop on your fruit. There was only one sit down restaurant - an Italian one and you needed to book it at 7.30 am.for that day. This hotel was rated a 3 star. I would rate the grounds and beach a 5 star, the staff a 1 star and the interior rooms a 1 star. For the money, stay somewhere else.

Get what u pay for

The resort is aging for sure. Restrooms around the resort are in need of some major upkeep/renos. Bedrooms very small, but we only slept there so not a big deal. Rooms are never cleaned unless u book a maid 24 hours in advance at $10 a clean. This was not communicated very well. Our king bed room had no fridge/coffee maker etc, but heard the 2 double bed rooms did. We never saw a groundskeeper in the 7 days we were there, I almost got taken out from a large bush branch sticking out (I wasn’ [... read more]t paying attention), it was gone 2 days later but the other 6 smaller branches were still protruding all week. The food was fantastic! Pizza factory (only a la carte) was great (not just pizza), but reservations are required and you can not book 2 days in a row. Unfortunately food is not 24hours as there is no sports bar or area for later in the evening, just breakfast, lunch and supper. No late night eats. Could put something in the coffee cafe from 10-1:00 am (fridge with wraps/subs from lunch). Playing cards til midnight requires some snacks lol. Beach was beautiful, excursions were nice- jeep ride, catamaran cruise, and a local taking us by taxi to the city and across the island was fantastic. Weather wasn’t the best, rained several days and the resort has very limited indoor areas to stay dry. No daytime entertainment and limited night time entertainment (which was fine with us). definitely an older clientele. Staff was hit or miss for friendliness but it seems like they could use more staff which may be relevant, especially in the bars. More training needed for the bartenders, we left many a drink behind because we literally couldn’t drink them. Small market huts on the beach, people very nice and not pushy. Enjoyed ourselves but would not return.

Tired but wonderful!

Had a great time at this resort. The pros were the amazing beach, friendly staff and good food. We met more people on this trip than any we have ever been on. Friendly atmosphere! Would highly recommend paying the extra to get the king room. The super saver room is literally a jail cell (almost had to store our luggage in the balcony) with only a double bed. Not keen on the daily line up for the a la carte but the buffet was good!

Just no.

Fast answer: we wouldn’t go back. The beach: beautiful powdered sand always cool to the feet. The water was calm every day. Really easy to find a seat no matter time of day. Pools: no one used them. At all. Everyone’s at the beach, pools are small and rather boring. Rooms: this was the biggest mistake. The rooms are tiny. And we paid an enormous amount for a “super saver room” and there wasn’t even a spot to put one luggage and no closet space. Washroom was tiny but ok, stand up show [... read more]er with a weird column running through it and peeled off broken tiles up top. You get a physically key for in room safe at check in. No mini fridge. Two outlets to plug in Canadian stuff. Decent free wifi connection in the room. No room cleaning or changing of towels unless you call it in ($10USD). Ask for towels or toiletries for free anytime you like. Food: lacks flavour and anything that does have flavour has curry. Desserts are also bland. I’d compare it to what people usually say about Cuba, though I e had better food in cuba. Service: there were no specific arguments but you can just tell the reception staff are generally rude. The hotel has an archaic check in system and room keys on bracelets. Staff is super nice everywhere but front desk. Entertainment: they had something every night except Sunday. None of it caught anyone’s attention and people just ignored it. One night was a karaoke night. Another was a one man show who sang and played a keyboard. Another was a one woman show with a DJ that felt like a boring wedding with songs like YMCA. Everyone just hung out at Long Bar and chatted. Amazing bartenders who impressively kept up. 60% of people were from Canada (mostly Toronto and area or Windsor), 30% from UK and 10% from the US.

Nice week away at Jolly Beach Resort

- Food was very good. Many options at all sittings. No complaints there. (4.2/5.0) - Rooms were dated but I new that going into this adventure. Paulette at Reception was great as she accommodated us with a new room as the first room had a few deficiencies that we advised her about (Best to voice your finding at the beginning) (3.5/5.0) - Grounds were clean all around.(4.0 / 5.0) - Beach was very good although semi murky blue waters. (4.2/5.0) - Drinks were fine as I'm primarily a beer drink [... read more]er. That said, cocktails were fine as well. (4.0/5.0) - The one (1) Restaurant' was acceptable but then I'm of Italian decent and am picky with my food from an Italian based format. (4.0/5.0).

Horrible Resort! Don’t waste your money

While the main pool and beach is amazing and most of the staff is friendly and we were aware that it was a 3 star, but it was very run down, the food was below mediocre (I’ve had better in Cuba) 4 out of 7 days there was no running water on resort and management didn’t do anything to ensure we were taken care of. Travel companion and I were sick during this time and with not having the basic necessities of water… it was absolute hell! The resort advertises no children under 12 at the resort an [... read more]d 4 days during our stay we had seen small children. Staff were picking bugs out of food with their bare hands in the buffet and nothing was covered as there was an astronomical amount of small bugs and they had the buffet lights off so you couldn’t see what you were getting or eating. The infrastructure of the resort is crumbling before your eyes, and it needs a lot of TLC, better yet it should be closed and demolished. This resort is definitely not for the elderly or anyone with breathing conditions as there is only air conditioning in rooms (if they work as some guests were complaining theirs didn’t) there is no where for them to get out of the heat if need be, especially the buffet. The fact that there is a daily cleaning fee for an “all inclusive” resort is ridiculous especially after coming out of a pandemic, cleaning should be automatic! This place is a health and safety risk! Spend the extra and go elsewhere!

Jolly Beach Antigua

One of the best vacations I had taken in a long time! The rooms are small! Oh well! Just sleeping! The beach is to die for! The food at the buffet was good! The beach grill was amazing. I loved that the A La Cart switched up their menus every other day! Would I be back! For Sure!

A sorry disappointment

The hotel was quite shoddy. I was quite disturbed at the fact of no electrical outlet in the bathroom to plug in a hairdryer or curler. We had to eventually move some furniture in the bedroom to allow us to look in the mirror instead of the TV screen to do our hair. I had taken "treats" for the maids but they came home with me as we never saw a roomservice person the entire time we were there. The food was hit and miss, some days quite good and other days not so much. I was also dis [... read more]appointed there was no wifi in the room and the only access was near the lobby and bar area. On a number of ocassions the staff were not very friendly and acted like they were being "put out" if you asked a question, other times they were lovely. It was not what I would call a service forward resort. The room had a nice view of the ocean, but had definitely seen better days and was a long way from the main part of the hotel. At night the entertainment was lacking. The one singer/entertainer they had near the lobby was excellent. People sat around drinking or playing cards, etc. The saving grace for this resort was the beach and the ocean! Would I recommend it, no.

Great hotel for the price!!!

The beach is beautiful and there is enough food to keep you fed. It's a basic hotel that has everything you need to enjoy a reasonably priced holiday in Antigua. I am thankful for all the negative reviews, because I was relieved and pleasantly surprised to see that each room appears to overlook the ocean. What else could you ask for. If you want better service and more activities, pay the extra money and stay at the Sandals.

Hotel needs some love

Area and beach are great. Hotel has not been updated in years and very much needs updates and attention. Room was tired and grungy at best. Things are broken or missing, closet door won’t slide open, patio door very difficult to open, no plug ins in the bathroom. Anything reported to the hotel staff or WestJet rep was never acted open at all. Staff is not engaged or friendly. Until work is done to the property, I would not recommend staying there.

What an island!!

Jolly beach resort is a very outdated hotel What makes this hotel very good are the people that work there and the people who live there When we got there were were created with open hands an lots of cannabis,so font worry about scoring there..( don't buy weed from the resort it's no good there are so many better places to get some.. The food at the resorts was very good. The pool was beautiful and the ocean was to die for.. if possible try to take a day trip to Barbuda and see the most bea [... read more]utiful pink sand beach.. . It's very safe to go off the resorts they have lots of things to do and see..

Love Jolly Beach

The beach is magnificent! You can see Monserrat, St Kitts and Nevis from the beach. There are mountains and the sunset is to die for. The resort food is good. The rooms indicate you get what for you pay for as they are very outdated. Wifi sucks! The location is nice because there is a marina, restaurants/bars in walking distance. In all, a wonderful trip. I feel safe. 6th time back!!

Great vacation

The hotel is exactly like described. It is a 3 star resort missing some basics amenities like bottled water and housekeeping. Food and service was good and beach is amazing. We had a great time because we knew what to expect. I would recommend for a budget vacation. We went for the beach and it was amazing with beautiful sunsets. You can see they are working on improving everything.

3* at best

Being processed at the airport was fairly fast and the same with the airport shuttle. Upon check-in, we were quickly processed and driven to our room. Pros: - our bed was very comfortable - fabulous beach (5/5) - loungers were very plentiful everywhere - staff were very friendly - entertainment was ok Cons: - our bathroom floor was always wet due to leaking toilet - shower water came out deep yellow but that only happened once - lots of hot water; very little cold - no fridge to [... read more] keep meds cool - no bottled water - housekeeping on 7th day only; otherwise $10/day - had to proactively seek towels and toilet paper - TV reception awful - WIFI mostly available in lobby; signal is weak - 1 buffet/1 à la carte-food was just ok…2/5. Outdoor grill good - barely any outdoor maintenance taking place. Many walkways were crumbly - part of resort closed due to maintenance so this could be a bonus if they renovate the whole place - we noticed 3 groups asking for upgrades and being turned down. So, didn’t even bother - sometimes they’d run out of key alcohol (vodka, gin) - We’re not pool people but pools need full overhaul (2/5). That’s the only reason we rate “beach/pool below as a 3. They should be rated individually - seemed more like a 2* resort at best

2.5 Star resort

Quiet spot and not overcrowded. Rooms did not have coffee machine or kettle or bottled water and no cleaning or fresh towels over 7 days. Some bartending staff could be friendlier to tourists as country depends on tourists.More training needed. Beer was average and only one choice. The beach was very nice and the sunsets were beautiful. Restaurant staff were quite good. The food was adequate for this hotel with ample choices.

Amazing beach and Carribean water

Beautiful grounds amazing beach. Very attentive staff. However it needs upgrades to its facilities and needs to provide organized activities & evening entertainment mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmm

Jolly Beach our review 12/03/23

After noticing our room did not have a refrigerator we asked our agent to arrange for one for medical reason. She confirmed that there would be one for us. This did NOT HAPPEN and the front desk staff at the hotel did not not seem to care. There was no follow up by our travel agent to ensure our needs were met during our stay. Poor customer care!!!!! Travel with West Jet met our assisted boarding needs. There should be a posted policy on tipping these assistants or not. I have flo [... read more]wn some airlines and been advised by they assisting person they can't take tips. Others allow tipping. Airlines should make the policy clear. Food was for the most part very good. Our favorites were NOT the Indian or Mexican buffets. Great Breakfasts with a wide selection. There was no pop/soda in cans available at the bars to take back to our rooms. Ice for rooms had to be obtained at a Bar. There should be ice machines in each building of rooms. Rooms were small but acceptable. Sheets should changed every other day in an all inclusive without having to pay extra. The hotel should have internet available for the whole property not just lobby area. This hotel is more semi inclusive then all inclusive in my opinion. I know 3 Star but could a 4 with some mall changes.

Beautiful beach

Beautiful beach. Wonderful staff. Good food. Good drinks. Not too much fruits though as you expect in exotic country. Hotel is old, I think built in 1970s, all is old and a bit run down. They are trying to keep it up but it requires complete renovation or just tear down and build something beautiful on this amazing beach. Old but clean. Walls are painted. Beds are comfortable. We did not have any problems with AC or warm water or anything else. They don’t clean rooms for the first 7 days  [... read more]unless you pay $10. We closed eyes for everything because the beach was just exceptional and resort not crazy expensive. Hotel itself is really 3 stars like reflected by the price. We would recommend especially for older adults who don’t care about luxury and entertainment but quiet and on a beautiful beach vacation.

Jolly Beach Resort, Antigua

The grounds, public areas and dining were fantastic but the rooms were not up to standard. The bathroom sliding door was missing a handle from the inside the bathroom. The closet doors were old and were not sliding properly, we complained and they were fixed. We were given an old safe lock that did not work and had to get a replacement. The staff was friendly and always willing to help.

A Home away from Home

The hotel grounds is wonderfully landscaped and the public areas is great, well equipped with drinks and the staff was super friendly. Always available to the needs of guests. One negative point is that the rooms could be upgraded to modern standards, pay more attention to small details such as bathroom fixtures and doors closing properly. The staff did respond promply and efficiently when necessary. Great hotel and great food!! Would repeat the trip.