August04

We traveled to Jumby Bay for our honeymoon August 24-31, 2004. We chose Jumby after reading reviews and doing online research, so thank you to all those posters out there who helped us decide!

I'll warn you this is a pretty lengthy report (but I wanted to be thorough)...

Day 1-Tuesday, August 24th
After a long day of travel (Delta flights to San Juan, American to Antigua) we arrived in Antigua and were greeted very warmly. The Jumby Bay rep, Conroy, greeted us in the baggage claim area. About 80% of passengers' luggage did not arrive (ours included), and Conroy got us to the front of the claim line and filled out all of our paperwork for us (talk about VIP service!) and then arranged a taxi for us. Next, we were greeted by Amanda, who waited with us 5-10 minutes at the dock where we waited for a private boat to the island. It was only a 7-8 minute boat ride to Jumby. We were then greeted by Uriah, who gave us a brief tour of the island by golf cart and showed us around our AMAZING room. We walked into our room where this relaxing music was already playing with candles. We absolutely LOVED our room (thanks for the advice Penny!). We stayed in a courtyard suite (#22) near the beach, and I can't say enough about it. The bathroom was fabulous (loved the soaking tub/courtyard). Tall louvered and screened doors were all along one wall, facing the ocean--we felt outside, but inside this beautiful room all at the same time...we thought it really blended well with nature (we often would wake up to birds singing) it was all very relaxing!

Day 2-Wednesday, August 25th
We had breakfast delivered to the room while we wanted on our luggage (which arrived just before lunch time). Once we were able to venture out, I found that Jumby Bay exceeded my expectations. I thought the beach was much more beautiful than I expected, and the island wasn't quite as dry as I expected either. The grounds crew does a great job with landscaping. We loved using the bicycles--though I was a little rusty at biking, so I ran into a few bushes on the first day! During our stay we found the island to be very private and quiet (it seemed there was hardly anyone around, though we heard there were 40-50 guests).
The evening meal was an experience...about 4 different people waiting on us. (They did act oddly to my southern husband's request for "sweet" tea...they only knew of hot and ice tea).

August04

Day 3-Thursday, August 26th
This morning we bicycled around the 300 acre island...it was a little much for me and I about got heat exhaustion...it was VERY hot! (But, it was August, so this was no surprise--just take lots of water with you if you bike.) There were several beautiful homes, mansions really scattered around the island. Later in the day we had a couples massage...I had a great therapist, but my husband's was a bit dry in the personality department, but it was fun and relaxing nonetheless.

Day 4-Friday, August 27th
This morning we woke to cloudy skies that eventually turned to a downpour...which was very relaxing and turned into a prime opportunity for reading our books and just listening to the rain off of our porch. I had reflexology with a Chinese physician here (it's like a really great foot massage)...which was fantastic.
The weather cleared and we went on the sunset cruise with other guests. We met a delightful couple from Houston, but other than that we didn't interact much with other guests during our stay. That is one thing I really like about Jumby--you could be as social or as private as you wanted to be. Tom Arnold was there with his wife during our stay and it appeared that people really respected their privacy and left them alone for the most part.

Day 5 and 6-Saturday and Sunday, August 28-29th
The days were starting to blend together and we realized we were definitely going to leave heavier than when we arrived. We were spending most afternoons on the beach relaxing and reading, with some occasional kayaking and water skiing. The meals were definitely the "events" of the day for us. All three were delicious...fresh fruits, breads, pasta, salads, seafood, meats, etc.
After breakfast and dinner, we would return to a "new" room--after breakfast it was clean, and when we came in from dinner everything would be straightened and picked up. Even the make up I had used and left on the counter was arranged in rows by size one night when we returned!! The turndown service was great...very relaxing to always come back to a room with tranquil music and candles.
Sometime over the weekend I got bitten by something on the beach (we suspect an ant), which caused my toe and foot to swell greatly. Just to be on the safe side we checked with Jumby staff about it and they put me in touch with a physician on the mainland who told me to get some Benadryl and just elevate my foot. This worked, but bring some medicines with you because the Benadryl cost $20 in the gift shop! (A bottle of 8 oz. sunscreen was $34.)

Overall, by this time we were finding that we liked certain staff better than others...some were not as friendly so some service throughout the week was a bit spotty at times, but overall we continued to be thrilled with the paradise we found. There were several staff members (i.e. Maureen and Neil) who we especially enjoyed.

August04

Day 7 and 8-Monday and Tuesday, August 30-31st
On our last full day there boats were being tied up and staff were preparing for Hurricane Frances which was out in sea...it ended up changing courses in the night so we were able to leave the next morning and everything was fine. Check-out was smooth and we were sad to leave, but determined to return one day!

OVERALL
-I loved the food! All meals were delicious. I especially enjoyed the fresh Antiguan pineapple and the Belgian waffle at breakfast with raspberries...and all the desserts at dinner!
-Our overall service was excellent.
-Recommendation to any brides/grooms that might be reading: we took two days in between the wedding and leaving for Jumby. I highly recommend that. It gave us time to finish all those thank you notes before we left, do some laundry, and get somewhat settled in our new place (even if it was still full of boxes!).
-We did not have pleasant experiences with the American (American Eagle) connecting flights from San Juan to Antigua (coming or going). We plan to try to fly direct in the future without the stopover there.
-If you have any sky miles you can use for an airline flight, it will help keep your costs down (that's what we did).

Overall we definitely loved it! Jumby was the perfect place for us, and a true paradise (it is quiet though...not much nightlife). We loved the staff and service and felt like we were treated like royalty there!

Best wishes with your own travel plans!
Cindy

August04

P.S.
I had a poster on another message board email me with some questions. I thought others might be interested in the questions and answers, so I?d post them below:

Q: Do you know if they organized scuba diving trips?
A: Yes, I think they go on Mondays and Wednesdays (but you might want to check with Rosewood on that for sure). I have heard the ocean life is fair for snorkeling (mostly starfish)?we didn?t go on any of the trips for me to be able to report accurately.

Q: Did you get any deals? How did you book it?
A: To start, we traveled during off-season when rates are there lowest. Then, I just did a lot of Internet surfing. Rosewood (who manages Jumby Bay) periodically offers "Escape to Luxury" rates (again, I think in the summer). We waited until the Escape to Luxury rates were advertised, and then I contacted some travel agents who can book through travel wholesalers (i.e. Island Destinations). The first two I spoke with couldn't get any better deals that we could book ourselves through Rosewood. I continued to surf the web and found in small print somewhere on the Virtuoso website where they were offering a pay 6 nights, stay 7 nights special. Combining the two specials we saved about $1800 off the rack rates for a 7-night stay in an ocean view courtyard suite.


Q: It doesn?t look like the rooms have AC, was that a problem?
A: The rooms do have AC, but there have been some posts about it in the past. I did a lot of research though before we went (www.theknot.com and www.fodors.com Caribbean message boards), and I really felt like we knew what we wanted and found that in Jumby. There was one couple there during our stay who were not happy...I think they just had different expectations. One thing they were unhappy about was the AC. I had read from numerous travelers that the AC in the rooms (there are units in the rooms by the way) didn't fully cool the rooms. This is true in the room we stayed in (ocean view courtyard suite). But, I felt like we knew that going in, and it really didn't bother us. We wanted a tropical, bungalow type feel. I didn't want to feel like I was in an ice cold hotel room (just a personal preference). The unit in the room we were in was near the bed, so we slept fine with it and the ceiling fans. We did turn other room categories during our visit (more on that in your next question), and when we stepped in the Rondavels, we noticed immediately how much cooler they were. One of the members of the staff we spoke with did mention that they are working to put more AC units in the rooms (there was only one unit in ours). The restaurants do not have AC (but do have ceiling fans) and are open on at least one side for breezes, and we were always comfortable (even with my husband wearing pants in the evenings).

Q: What room type did you get? Did they do any upgrades b/c it was your honeymoon? Were you happy with your room type or would have been content with a lower one/wish you got a higher one?
A: We LOVED our room, but again we had researched and planned for it. We stayed in one of the ocean view courtyard suites (which was kind of like a duplex, though we never heard much from the other couple next door). It felt very private and we loved the view from our patio. It was such a beautiful room. We particularly went with it because of the bathroom (the outdoor soaking tub, etc.). I didn't want to upgrade to anything so I didn't even ask (since we booked with a Virtuoso agent our paperwork said "upgrade based on availability"...but we already were where we wanted to be). To me, Jumby is such a special place, I would stay in any of the rooms to be there (and each has its own pros/cons), but I was glad we were where we were for our honeymoon. The Rondavels were further removed from the main path so were very private, and as I mentioned before they were very cool. I found them to be somewhat dark though (not a lot of windows where the bed is). The ocean view (pond bay) rooms had a good view, and I would consider them for a future trip (but I would miss our old bathroom!).

Q: When they say beverages by the glass included, does that mean all your drinks except that you couldn?t order an entire bottle of wine or something like that?
A: You are exactly right. My understanding was that you can get as much as you like by the glass, but if you want an entire bottle of anything they bill it to your room.

Dianebridle

Thanks for your wonderful, complete trip report. I will be traveling to Jumby the tenth of November and am very much looking forward to my stay.
Since I love swimming with the fish, from what I have read, off the beach snorkeling does not offer much of that, I plan to do their day snorkeling trip and possibly a scuba trip. The rest of my time I plan to enjoy the beauty and the relaxation that the resort has to offer. Since I will be traveling from Caneel, where I plan to enjoy their excellent from their beaches, I don't feel that I will miss it at Jumby.
Thanks again for your most interesting report.

penny

Cindy, I loved reading your report! It was not long at all! We are going back in late November, we skipped it this May, so now I am "homesick". BTW room 22 was the first room we stayed in too.

I have often wondered how hot it is in August, sounds like it was fine.

Now, about riding the bikes, it even gets very hot in January, so we tend
to do it around sunset. The homes are amazing-quite a few new ones, since our first trip.

Did you enjoy the beautiful estate house! I love the bar area! Dining under the stars-lovely!

I love the rooms at Jumby, they have an elegant West Indian ambience! Also the Lady Prarie bath gel, Blue Topaz smells
wonderful in the tropical air! I am hooked on the outdoor shower!

Diane, I will be looking forward to your report! I know you will enjoy your stay!

ejcrowe

Thanks for your thorough and entertaining trip report. I've not yet vacationed on Jumby, but if we ever decide to go for it, I'll be sure to reference your review.

TedTurner

Excellent report, August04.
A very nice addition to the growing body of info about Jumby Bay here at Fodors. There's something very special about that island, and it's hard for me to reduce it to a few words.

Your comment about biking would make my wife smile. She finds the bike ride around the island relatively taxing (we always go in May-July time period). I try to take full advantage of the bikes to supplement my training program (usually limited to running and gym workouts), and began timing myself a couple years ago. My fastest full circle trip around the outermost bike path was 7 minutes 32 seconds. I'm sure others think I'm nuts zipping around huffing and puffing....but it's also the best way to make room for extra dessert at dinner!

brenkj

Cindy: Thank you for such a thorough trip report. I am considering Jumby for a trip next year and your report was very helpful. One question: Did you do any hiking while at Jumby? I want to go somewhere that has pretty interesting hiking (lush hills, rain forests, etc.). Is the island even big enough for a 2 or 3 hour hike?

Thanks again.

August04

Thanks for all the feedback!

Penny: Yes, we loved the Estate House! Such a great way to end the day while there. You are also so right about the Blue Topaz bath salts and toiletries...I miss the relaxing scents! Have a great time in Nov.!

Ted Turner: Wow...I am impressed with your bike time...and feeling motivated to go to the gym after reading about it! Your comments along with Penny's really helped when we were planning our trip. Thanks so much for all the helpful info...we feel we have found such a special place for future trips at Jumby Bay.

Brenkj: Penny or Ted will probably be able to answer your question better if there are places to hike on the mainland of Antiqua, but I don't think there are any opportunities for true "hiking" at Jumby (walking yes, but the island is pretty flat with some mild hills that I remember on the bike/golf cart paths).

penny

Jumby as Cindy mentioned has lots of walking-bike paths, as no cars are allowed on the island. They have great vistas, really a joggers etc delite. The island is very small something like 300 acres.
Mainland Antigua is a short 7 minute ferry ride away. There is a rainforest
on the opposite side away from the airport. As far as hiking goes, someone else will help you out. That side of the island is more lush, it did remind me a bit of St. Lucia, although not as dramatic as the Petons. Two outstanding hotels in that are the new Carlisle Bay, and the classic Curtain Bluff.

brenkj

If I'm planning a week-long vacation that combines 2 different islands (for variety), would it be a good idea to go with Little Dix and Jumby, or are they too similar to each other?

Desalad

Hi All, my wife and I spent 8 amazing days at Jumby bay during the first week of June earlier this year. It was our honeymoon, and I have to concur with Cindy, Jumby is something quite amazing. The food was outstanding at every meal, with dinner being completely amazing. Service was excellent every night, and even the house wines, included in the stay, were very good. Snorkeling off the beaches did not prove to be very successful - Pasture Beach was a little choppy for good snorkeling and Jumby Bay beach was all starfish and needle fish.

They have snorkeling trips to Bird Island, which is supposed to be good.

We stayed in a Rondavel, #7 - and it was very private. Private garden rain shower (not quite a soaking tub, but still awesome) and yes, the A/C worked very well at cooling the room. It was a dark room as others mentioned, but I liked that. If you opened the shades of the windows and doors, the room would not stay cool - no windows, just screens. The bed was comfortable, the room had a bose wave radio w/ CD the bath products were nice. The housekeeping was great, they would refill the ice bucket in the room daily, and each evening light candles as was already mentioned. I can't wait to return. I find myself thinking about it often - hearing music that we listened to while there makes me think about it.

Don't miss the replica stonehenge garden at the entrance to one of the private homes!

Jumby Bay is paradise!

travleis

Shhhhhhh!!!!
I imagine all the good word of mouth translating into constantly sold out rooms and higher rates!

Desalad

Well it's always relatively expensive. Best time to go is off season for better rates. And there is no such thing as crowded there, theres only 39 rooms/suites and 11 villas. Just book early and you shouldn't have a problem.