Guest reviews St James's Club & Villas

by 873dicke

Very poor response and no assistance from St James Club re refunds

Four of us had been saving for the last couple years to celebrate a friends 60th Birthday at The St James Club Antiqua and we booked a 2 week all inclusive holiday. This was not our first visit to the complex, as we celebrated another Birthday there 10 years previously and had a wonderful time. Thus the repeat booking. We paid our Virgin flights for the trip in September 2019 and paid the St James Club deposit in November 2019. Of Course, due to Covid 19, Virgin Cancelled our flights and the Antiquan Government closed the Island to tourists. Due to the ongoing financial problems and uncertainty with Richard Branson and Virgin Atlantic, we refused Virgin Vouchers and requested full refund. To date we are still awaiting a Virgin refund, almost 12 months after paying the full amount for Air Fares. We realised in April 2020 that lockdown was not going to be lifted and therefore requested a full refund from St James Club via ALINA at Customer services. At first, the request was refused and we were told that we should re book in 2021. However, due to a close elderly relative of our group becoming unwell, we declined St James club offer and again requested a full refund. On top of this Virgin group were on the verge of bankruptcy and we didnt want to lose our hard earned money twice by rebooking a holiday Alina, thanked us " for reaching out to the St James Club"???? and promised us our refund within days. Emails have been sent back to the Hotel and again promises have been made that that the group would receive a full St James refund. It is now August and our group are still awaiting payment. The St James Club are not doing themselves any favours, by hanging onto our money ( hard earned savings) and we are getting very angry and frustrated by St James club attitude and intransigence. We reluctantly feel that this has left us with no other option but to go public on this site. Further travellers please beware of this!!!!! Ian Bradbury.Sue Davolls, Richard Evan's & Debbie Evan's.(UK)

by TedF200 Lowell, Indiana

Look no further

Came hear as an alternative to México and am so glad I did. Although it’s a sprawling resort, it’s not hard to hitch a ride with a passing golf cart. The pools are great and beach is awesome, didn’t get to try out the tennis courts, though. Food was pretty good for an all-inclusive and drinks were plentiful. The rooms are amazing, I upgraded to a suite was most wise.

by Fbord Montreal, Canada

Memorable trip

In times like these I was debating to write or not, but overall I think that when all this horrific situation is past, people could certainly consider the St James Club for a destination. We were fortunate to be there the 1st week of March, just before the wall fell down of everyone. We booked through Sunwing. The flight and services were first class. We also booked an excursion on the plane. C/i was smooth, Club wonderful, Service excellent. Our room on the 3rd floor overlook the pacific side, breath taking views, no obstruction. The grounds were impeccable and well maintain early each morning. Our chambermaids were fantastic. One had been working there for over 10 years (I am so sorry I forgot her name). Everything was great from the time we woke up till bedtime. Restaurant choices were good. The two beach option worked well for us. Started on the bay side, quite waters, clean beaches, great service to end our day on the pacific side. It was fantastic. We had booked a day on the Excellence yacht, which brings you around the island, snorkeling and lunch. Is was very nice and the staff were extremely attentive. The only disappointment we had was on the following day of our arrival, Sunwing representative never showed. We waited for over 2 hours for her and she never came. This was disappointing since the rep is normally the person to give all the information on what you need to know about the Resort and of course, give us our voucher for the day excursion. It was the wonderful Front desk staff that assisted us for this tour. Someone from Sunwing, finally gave a call but just that. Quite disappointing and I intend to let them know. As for the St James Club we would highly recommend it and I certainly considering a return to Antigua and the St. James Club. Thank you so much for a wonderful vacation.

by J4ckiboy Greater London, United Kingdom

Cannot go wrong!!

I had the pleasure of visiting the St. James’s Club back in June 2019. We arrived late afternoon after a long, but comfortable flight from London. Upon arriving we were offered a glass of champagne whilst checking in. The reception staff are friendly and provided us with some information we needed for our 14 day trip there. All rooms on the resort are in separate buildings and not connect to the reception are, so a golf cart took us to our room. We stayed in a beachside room with fantastic views of the Atlantic. Our room was located on the second floor, unfortunately there was no lift to my knowledge, so anyone with mobility issues, may find it hard to access. However, the room was spacious with a large comfortable bed and storage space with a rack for the suitcase to go on. On resort there are a few different restaurants to choose from. During our stay we dined at all of them and found the food delicious. When we stayed the resort was not at high capacity, so not all the restaurants were open every evening although I am told this is different during the peak season. Only one restaurant requires you to pay extra to dine there. Anyway carrying on, once a week they hold a managers cocktail evening in the bar located by reception. As you enter make sure to give your room number as you can enter a prize draw, where the prizes on offer were surprisingly good. (We actually won the number one prize which was a trip to Emerald Island however, due to the wind we were unable to go on. The hotel kindly substituted the trip for a dinner at Piccolo Mondo). Also, throughout the week different evening events are held at the bar which is create fun so those who are slightly older. Moving onto staff! All the managers and staff onsite are friendly and smile at you when walking by. One particular member of staff, Alfred went out of his way everyday to ensure we had a good time. He came around the beach in his cart, making several trips a day, pouring cold, refreshing drinks. What made him stand out was that he remembered our names, and was just always polite. Now how did I almost forget about this, the St. James’s Club has two beaches, two! The Atlantic side beach is excellent for those very humid, hot days when the refreshing Atlantic breeze can just cool you down. The other side, Mamora Bay, is lovely and warm with access to excellent INCLUDED water sports. There are a whole different range of sports you can do there. I personally preferred this side as it was warmer and there was no noisy from the wind. If I could just suggest one thing to change about the resort is the addition of electric carts instead of the petrol/diesel, as they often leave a smell behind, especially on the beach delivering food. Thank goodness Alfred’s fab service made up for this. I highly recommend this resort to all types of people, they are incredibly accommodating and for the price, you cannot go wrong!

by brendanb520 Greater London, United Kingdom

Beautiful surroundings

Beautiful beaches, beautiful grounds, a lovely setting for a holiday. The Atlantic side beach was a bit windier the the Bay side but still as nice. It’s a shame that we had to visit the St James resort just as the corona virus hit because as the resort was slowly shutting down we missed the scheduled entertainment and cocktail parties, some restaurants were closed at first and at the end only one per night was open, this was understandable due to the lack of guests at the hotel. That being said I want to praise the attitude of the staff, from the breakfast service in the morning to the restaurant staff in the evening, and in between all of the bar staff and leisure staff especially the water sport guys (and Ashley) these people never let the virus situation affect their enthusiasm or take away their smiles despite knowing that any day the resort would be closing down and they would be possibly laced off for an unknown period. Thank you all for making us feel welcome and looking after us.