I rented villa 419E directly from the owner. I got a spacious 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath unit for just over $1000 for Xmas week. I was very happy with it. It had a nice patio overlooking the water, and it was very close to North Beach. It had a full kitchen, which we didn't really use, although having the fridge was great. There was a BBQ and a washing machine. It had everything we needed, including a great internet connection.

When my husband and I visit the Caribbean, we always rent a car to do some exploring. We aren't looking for Ritz Carlton type luxury or service, just a clean functional home base, that is located in an area with some restaurants. This fit the bill perfectly. It is a residential complex, so the villas aren't all uniform looking. The grounds are fine, but not perfectly manicured like you would find at a resort. This didn't bother us, but may concern others that are more particular.

The complex had a great grocery store. We didn't eat any meals in, but went there often to buy beer, water and snacks. Also, they had some excellent prices on alcohol, Mount Gay rum, in particular.

We ate at Al Porto 3 times, and had pizza every time. It was great. We just had a drink at Castaways at sunset which was fun. We had dinner at Mellini's & the Crow's Nest. Both were good. Dinner at the Dog Patch was OK. We ate at Carmichaels at Sugar Ridge. It was good. We discovered Dennis Restaurant at Ffrye's Beach on our second to last day. His food and views were excellent. We went back again on our last day. We wish we had found his restaurant sooner.

I liked Jolly Harbour because it had enough restaurants/shops/beaches that you didn't have to leave if you didn't want to. We would drive around and visit different beaches during the day and return at night to shower and then eat in or around Jolly Harbour, so we didn't have to worry about having a few beers and then driving on the wrong side of the road after dark. Also, there are a number good beaches around Jolly Harbour. We liked Valley Church Beach and Ffrye's Beach. Also, South Beach in Jolly Harbour is beautiful. We liked the beaches around Jolly Harbour better than the ones around Dickenson Bay, where there are some higher end resorts.

We loved Antigua. The water is more turquoise than at any other island we have been to and almost everyone we met was very friendly. Overall, I was very happy with both Jolly Harbour and villa 419E and I would recommend both.

Can you imagine you have to ask for towel change!!!!! Our flight was a late night flight, we explained that to them, at 2:00 pm we're getting a phone call to leave the villa now....... how unprofessional is that!!!!!!!!!! Bathrooms can't even fit an adult!!! It's uncomfortable to shower!!!

Fortunately we were only booked into HBK villas for one night before we could move into our main villa on the Hamilton Estate. The first villa we were given was filthy with cockroaches in all the rooms and the outside furniture dumped in the middle of the lounge which was also filthy and the smell was dreadful. The second villa was better but nothing like the images on their website.
The Jolly Harbour supermarket staff were very unfriendly and did not make us feel welcome at all. They have at least 6 security guards in the store which is a high proportion considering the size of the store and they 'tailed' us up and down the aisles. Surely the dont expect visitors to travel 4000 miles to carry out petty shoplifting!
The island itself is absolutely beautiful with fabulous beaches but we were disappointed that many of the locals lack that happy and carefree caribbean personality you find on other islands.

We spent a couple weeks on Antigua, the first week we stayed with a local family & the second we stayed @ Jolly Harbor. We stopped by during our first week to check out the location & the staff was extremely helpful & friendly everytime they saw us. The condo itself was a bit outdated, but it was clean, spacious, and right on the water. We don't travel to the tropics to stay inside, so the decor didn't bother us a bit. There are quite a few spots to grab food in & around the marina. Our favorite was the sports bar. My husband loved talking to the bartender about local music & we both enjoyed the live music they had on weekends. We also tried a lot of local food in town. King Roti is worth the journey into town, the pharmacy near the cruiship terminal has some great local food, & of course the street vendors are amazing.

The day trip to Barbuda is incredible. Beautiful island, incredible beaches, & the crew totally rocks!


There were many excursions that left from the marina property, too: SCUBA, zip line tours (A MUST!), fishing, sailing, & the list goes on. This was one of our favorite vacations. We loved meeting so many friendly people, trying new foods, and just taking it easy.

That being said... if you like to be waited on hand & foot in a setting that is so sterile that you can't tell whether you're in Antigua or Florida or Mazatlan - if you are not able to relax & move at island time - this isn't the place for you.