Good and Bad

This hotel was first looked at due to the price. We don't require 5 star polish and glitz so this place which has been given a white paint overhaul was quite acceptable. The beach is excellent and was good swimming. Was it raked every day? No butit was more natural because of it. Antigua is a friendly and safe place and hotel staff were very good. Food varied between excellent and good with lots of options but a buffet is not fine dining so don't expect it. The downside included an air condit [... read more]ioner that dripped water even though it was turned off and a bathroom door that often fell off its runners although it was easily remounted. The biggest downside to the resort is the very arbitrary room surcharge added to the bill at the hotel. Carol, our travel agent warned us that they charge $17 per night. Apparently this charge is taxed up to $22 us. Mostly really aggravating and not enough to ruin the holiday but.... Overall it was a nice experience and the scuba was much better than expected!

Jolly Beach Resort

The price is good. Foods and drinks are plenty. The employees are polite and helpful. The beach is clean and has lots of shaded stands. The waves are calm like a lake. Pools are kept in excellent condition with bars nearby. Not too many activities. Tennis courts are there, but not a single player was seen. I wonder if they have tennis pros to give you some lessons. The mosquitoes are too friendly. You need bugs repellents. But you can’t buy there. Guards are everywhere. Safe place f [... read more]or tourists. I would visit this resort again if my health permits. ( I am over 87 already)

Antigua on a budget

The grounds and rooms need work , but the beach was great . People are very friendly . Food was good but not a big variety at all . Overall had a good time and enjoyed our stay . Great way to Antigua on a budget !

Ok resort.

Room was tiny. Given 1 bed for 2 people when couples got 2 beds. Pool was green and shut it down 2 days before we left to fix it. Food was good and staff were great. Beach is incredible. May go back after they finish the renovation

Beautiful spot

Beautiful spot the beach was amazing the food was good pools were great our room was very small one double bed overall it was a wonderful holiday there was a market nearby within walking distance the staff were very helpful and friendly

Diamond in the Rough

This hotel is located on a beautiful stretch of beach. Considering it has not been open very long, it is continually improving so some patience is necessary. The potential is there and hopefully soon it will be the diamond it should be! Our room had a King bed ( not the Superior) with a super comfy mattress and good pillows. Water pressure was good, always hot water as well. The air conditioner wasn’t the best, however we didn’t find it too hot at night, The screen door on the balco [... read more]ny was broken and no one came to fix all week. It’s a basic 3 star, dated room with a coat of fresh paint. One issue was the fact that there wasn’t much sound proofing since our door was a shutter type and the bathroom had a screen window overlooking the hallway so everything was heard when people walked by the room. If noise bothers you, I’d suggest getting a Supreme room near the Palms restaurant where it was quieter due to solid doors. We didn’t pay for a cleaning but did request new towels a few times and had no issues. The food was good. The selection was smaller than usual but always something we liked. The Pizza Factory had great pizza and the beach grill had great wraps, burgers, jerk chicken, and fries. You don’t go hungry! There is no food after 10 pm so keep that in mind, One thing missing was good coffee like cappuccinos or lattes. The pools were not too popular. The large main pool had an algae issue it seemed since it was green, The smaller pool was clear. Not much evening entertainment… mostly piped in music, one night a duo playing/singing and another night was fun Karaoke. Drinks, cocktails were good, wine was ok. Grounds are still rough, and lots of cracks in sidewalks needing repair. Always watch where you’re walking esp at night since it’s dimly lit. Staff are nice, trying very hard! It seems like it’s still a learning curve for some but they always did their best to be kind and helpful. The beach is the jewel of this place! So if you keep in mind that you are getting a 3 star room for a 3 star price on one of the best beaches on the island, all is well! We kept an open mind, we appreciated what we received and fully understood that this resort has growing pains but will one day be as amazing as the others.

SUNWING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Jolly Beach Resort

NO WATER in the refrigerator! Meals were tasty. SUNWING Rep was not TRAINED to book out return seats! All he kept repeating is the flight is FULL. I enquired:"Do we have a seat?" His answer was you will have to check AT THE AIRPORT by arriving EARLIER!!!! We did not have a cellphone to book with!!!!! We booked with Susan at TRIP CENTRAL. Some seats were DOUBLE BOOKED!!! WHY????? Two Sunwing Captains got prefered seats was a CLIENT OR TWO BUMPED ? The hotel was OK. Empty fridges with [... read more] NO water!!! Not acceptable. It would have been nice to have a little more choice in the a la carte restaurant. THE LARGE GREEN POOL was UNSAFE TO USE!! The OCEAN and the BEACH were beautiful. Paying for certain beach chairs was confusing.

Jolly Beach

this resort is dated but was expected, the quiet pool was nicely refurbished, the main pool still needed a paint job which i expect will come in due time. The pool bar was good and the lobby bar was also good ,food was alright .people here at this resort were very nice and trying very hard to accommodate ,breakfast was very good and the food at the pool snackbar was also good, beach was fantastic for three days then the sea weed showed up .a real shout out to Keith and the crew on the waldili ca [... read more]tamaran they were fantastic!!!

Value for money all inclusive

Very good basic all inclusive. Clean, good food and drinks. Very friendly and competent staff. Felt safe and not crowded. Limited waterside activities. Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Exceeded Expectation

No complaints the food was great no bad meal the whole wk. Beach was great. Service and staff great. Would like more local entertainment at night. Rms are small but clean and updated.Paulette at the front desk was great. Coconut grill on the beach was great for lunch.

New beginning

Was a good resort for the money. Newly reopened and has some growing pains. But the rooms are clean and the dinning area was very good. The staff were very helpful and friendly. Overall my wife and I enjoyed our stay. Could not ask for a more beautiful beach.

Very dissapointing, not a pleasant experience at all

Rooms: outdated, no air conditioning - the unit just generates noise but no air cooling at all, dirty towels, no screens at the balcony/patio doors; often no hot water . in general - the rooms and the hotel needs a very major renovations and upgrades. Lobby: it takes 2-3 hours to check in/out. the lobby admins are friendly but they do not do anything for you Food: very questionable. there are only 2 places to get breakfast/lunch or diner. no variety at all. you can either go to the buffet or t [... read more]he restoration (as they call it) with the same limited menu every day. Overall - not a nice place to be for vacation

Love the Layout of the whole resort.

The layout of the buildings to the beach is Amazing. I Love how you could either see while at any of the restaurants, or the pools, or the front lobby and for that matter looks like every room had a view (even partial) of the ocean. There appeared to be some abandoned buildings, and we heard they are in the process of getting them all up and running, but that didn't hinder the rest of the resort. The Pizza Factory food was very delicious, with great presentation. And if you didn't have a reserva [... read more]tion for the Pizza Factory, there was always something yummy you could find to eat at the buffet as well. The proximity from all the bars to either the pool or beach is incredibly close. I/we truly loved our time at the Jolly Beach Resort and would go back for sure.

Not so jolly!!

Old run down resort. Empty fridge not even a bottle of water. Room service $10 per day Absolutely no night entertainment just music playing in main lobby. Food was terrible and very limited No fruit or veggies at lunch so if you are a vegetarian there would be absolutely nothing to eat It was the worst place that we stayed in and we travel a lot. Positive side was the climate and the beautiful beach. The main pool was extremely dirty. I had a white float and after two hour [... read more]s in this pool the float had a dark dirty ring Plz don’t book this resort! we paid almost $2,000.00 per person. For that amount of $ this resort is not worth it. Very disappointed!!! There is also a $12 a day tax.

Needs more time to get organized

The hotel was clean but flexibility for eating wasn't really available. They need more staff and also modernized the hotel with north American electrical outlets. I think in 6 months to a year from now they would be probably in a better place. They had a consultant on site to see how things are going since November and hopefully they are working on a plan. They do not clean your room daily...unless you pay extra. You can ask for extra towels. The pool was in need of a deeper cleaning bu [... read more]t the beach was wonderful. Lots more to be done before i would recommend someone to visit this resort....they need more time.

Jolly Beach

The hotel is working hard to rebuild we had some hiccups on arrival but soon got sorted out the updated rooms are nice but only about 1/3 of the hotel is operating the food has little choice but is really good for the most part the beach is amazing as always and the staff are really kind the owner has a rep on site and he is serious about customer satisfaction over all good for the price

Cheap Antigua

Beach amazing!! Staff amazing!!! Nice new pool area. The hotel rooms are very tired, old fixtures, windows. Maid service for a fee. Meals ok. Bar ok closed early for us at 1030pm. Lobby and grounds are looking better by the end of our week but still in need of lot's of work.

Beautiful people of Antigua

I can only say thank-you again! The hospitality and smiles can only make you have a beautiful holiday! Our third year! We will be back! Although my luggage was lost for 4 days..people were amazing with their generosity from the resort! I enjoyed seeing the in land of cultures, lifestyle and scenery! Thank-you!

Good value. Has everything you need.

We had a superior king room with 2 balconies which we loved. Although the hotel is older, it is clean and has everything you need. The staff are amazing, very friendly and the beach is gorgeous. If you like long walks on the beach, Jolly Beach is perfect. We enjoyed the food at the a la cartes we visited (Mexican and Italian). We have no complaints.

Very disappointed with Starfish Jolly beach resort

Very old resort, not well maintained, beds were very uncomfortable and pipes in the bathroom as well as the shower leaked and we had to put towels down so we wouldn't fall on the tile floors. this is just a few of the issues with this resort. We had asked for second floor room, and ended up on the third floor and had to cart our luggage up and down 6 flights of stairs. Also had to pay for room safe key at $3u.s. per day and no wifi in rooms unless you paid $10us per day. I have sent a list of [... read more] issues to my rep at trip central. Many guests were unhappy with this resort. The flight with Sunwing was good and we have no complaints about the airlines other than this resort should be taken off their list. The only thing going for this resort was the beautiful beach, and the staff except for the main lobby were great.