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Corn Alley & Nevis Street PO Box 136, St. John's Antigua
Joe Mike's Hotel Plaza
2.5 reviews
Getting there
Great for walkers
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
Joe Mike's is a small (12 rooms) family owned hotel/restaurant/casino in downtown St. John's, Antigua. My first impression of the hotel was that i was staying in downtown New Orleans. The architecture and feel of the place is identical to some older hotels I have stayed in there.
Housekeeping and front desk staff are wonderful, and happy to give directions or help with anything at all. Hotel has 24 hour security, and if you come back to the hotel after midnight, expect the door to be locked, and a security guard to let you in.
It is within walking distance to everything except the beach. For a beach trip, take a cab about 10-15 minutes to Dickenson's Bay (about $11-$13 US), or 40-45 minutes to Jolly/English Harbour/half Moon Bay.
The hotel is located at the corner of two main streets, Nevis and Corn Alley. As a result, you get the pluses and minuses. It can get quite loud at night if you are in one of the rooms that faces the street. I did use ear plugs to sleep most nights. On the plus side, this is truly the way to experience Antiguan culture and day to day life.
Due to the location, the hotel is especially popular during the Carnival season. they have a balcony that wraps around the building and provides great views of the parades down Corn alley. If you plan on staying during Carnival, make reservations very early. With only 12 rooms, they sell out quickly.
The rooms are older and very small (closet small), but have a bed, bathroom, aircon, and small TV with a ton of cable channels. There is no counter space in the bathroom, but there is a vanity with a chair for makeup, etc. I didn't mind the size of the room, as I had no intention of spending much time there anyway. As an older hotel, it has the typical wear and tear throughout the property.
There are no in-room coffee makers, but there is a very large common area that has coffee, tea, and bottled water available in the mornings, and bottled water and ice the rest of the day. The common area has a large TV as well as free wi-fi (ask the front desk for the password), couches, comfy chairs, etc
It is very safe to walk around downtown during the day. If you are walking at night, it is best not to do so alone (as in any major downtown area).
There is a restaurant downstairs open from 7am to 11pm each day except Sunday, and they serve a wide variety of local Antiguan dishes, cafeteria style. Prices are extremely reasonable, and food is great (never thought I would like curried goat!). If you plan on going for lunch, be prepared to wait a while, as the line of locals is usually about 10-15 deep between 11.30 and 1.30 for lunch.
Also attached to the hotel is a small casino with slots, table games, a bar, and a sports book. The clientèle is predominately local.
The local produce/meat/crafts market is about 4-5 blocks away, as is the cruise ship port with a variety of shops and restaurants.
Overall, I would stay here again.
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Date of stay: September 2009
Value
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Trip type: Travelled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
If your looking somewhere thats clean and you don't mind the noise for a reasonable rate this is the place to be. It's right in the middle for all the carnival events and you need not worry about transportation staying here, everything is at arms length. Rooms are cleaned every morning. I had a good stay here and the restaurant is just right downstairs. One problem I had that was such a big deal cuz that's what carnival is all about and that was coming in tired at nights and waking up to the loud parade noises passing by. 😁. So I had to wake up and go join in.
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Date of stay: August 2016Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I spent two weeks and will Always return whenever I can because of the wonderful service. It is located downtown, St.John's. It is only 20 minutes away from the International Airport. It is run by a family who owns it. There is a wonderful Restaurant which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.You have a special choice especially for the local foods of the island. It has a Bar and a full Casino which stays open very late. You are located right in the heart of St.John's where you can walk around town to all the shops for all your needs. If you are a beach person they can make arrangements to take you the the beaches which might be only 30-40 minutes away to the best beaches; which have all kinds of different activities. The Mangement will Always assist you in whatever needs you have and the complete staff is wonderful. It is like home away from home and the weather is very sunny all the time. This was my third trip in two years and hoping to return next year for vacation. Sometimes they are all booked up so you have to mak resevations early. It only has twelve rooms with bathroom and also cable television. Try it you will like it!!!
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Date of stay: February 2002
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This 'hotel' has been marketed as one but is more of a motel than hotel. The place has a casino downstairs and no security guards so if someone gets aggressive or drunk downstairs they have free access to bang down your room door, which is what happened to us and was a frightening experience in a new country on your first night.
The rooms are bog standard, has no fire door or windows. The lounge area has a fire extinguisher that was discoloured and had faded writing so testing equipment as part of health and safety does not occur. The shower had about 5 holes of water spurting out, out of 15 and did not seem clean. The rooms were also shadowy and had a dark and depressing colour scheme. The only good thing is that Joe Mike's supplies a cable box in each room.
Apart from that one 'quality' the location of the motel is within the capital which seemed quite ghetto and unsafe, especially at night. After one night we checked out first thing in the morning and found somewhere much to our taste and standard. We later found out that Joe Mike's is known as a 'knocking shop' and not somewhere where tourists frequent. I think the 'hotel' needs to think about renovating and changing its negative image so it caters for everyone and makes some profit.
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Date of stay: September 2010
Value
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
"First the hotel is in a terrible area. The tiny dirty office also sends and recieves money orders so all kinds of vagrant people are hanging around hoping for money. When I walked in I was hassled by a vagrant because I had not said "excuse me" when his outstretched leg brushed my leg. Believe he was trying to start something. Noisy and dirty. We ended up in a hotel 3 blocks down and could hear the noise from Joe Mikes till 4am for the 3 nights. It seems that no one actualy lives in the town but goes off to the suburbs so consequently no noise restrictions. Stay away at night from St Johns. In the day it is charming. In addtion though the hotel sent me a receipt on my email I never got a reply. If Joe Mkes is all you can afford in Antigua better to stay home.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I think that Joe Mikes is a cost efficient place to stay if that is all that a person/family can afford. I would recommend this place to frineds/others as a real experience of the REAL night life of Antigua. At night, the music is VERY loud. I stayed in room 31. Do me a favor, DON'T take room 31. It faces the main street and you can hear ALL of the LOUD noises of the night. The night life is VERY ACTIVE. It's like a low budget New York City, South Bronx experience. It is a place that one has quick access to any place in St. Johns. The police station is right up the block, the library is right across the street, the staff/assistance were very helping, the room size was roomy enough, the ports for the ships are down the block, the vendors are around the corner, the restaurants are up the street. As I stated, It is an O.K. place to stay if it is all about you and that one you want to be with if you don't mind the noise. I will rate the place and service a 61/2 - 7 out of 10 to be honest.
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Date of stay: November 2010
Value
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Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We had flown from barbados to antigua to get the ferry from st johns to monserrat.. the ferry did not leave so someone directed us here... all I can say is oh my God... was a dirty dull hole in the ghetto... this *hotel*does not portray the best of St John's at all... after one night if the worst place I have ever stayed and being eaten alive by mosquitos we left and booked in to the heritage near the harbour... stunning. . Please even if you are on a budget don't go there it is both in disrepair and dangerous.. we had random people knock on our door at 2am... never again... we havnt let this one experience stop us loving antigua as reread is so much to see and the people are lovely ....
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Date of stay: February 2017Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I would not recommend any to stay there no microwave are Frigidaire if you have young baby that's not good place to stay and if there are to people saying in one room thay only give you one key which I think is dum..
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Date of stay: July 2016Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the St. John's area.
LOCATION
CaribbeanAntigua and BarbudaAntiguaSaint John ParishSt. John's
NUMBER OF ROOMS
12
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