Guest reviews St James's Club & Villas

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.

by wmcgonigle85

Beautiful relaxing resort

We ( 2 70+seniors and one 40ish adult) spent 6 days at the Saint James the beginning of March and enjoyed ourselves. It is approximately a 35-40 minute drive from the airport. The location is somewhat hilly but carts are available to transport you from one location to another. Nothing is further than a five minute walk. The Atlantic side is windy, especially in the afternoon. The water sports are located on the Mamora Bay side. There is a coffee shop which is open 24 hours and serves good coffee and delicious desserts. JoeAnn always greeted us with a smile and made a great latte. Two restaurants offered breakfast, Coco, a sit down restaurant and The Rainbow Garden, buffet style. Both served delicious food. Lunch was served at either Eleven Eleven(sit down) ,Rainbow Garden(buffet), or the beach hut for burgers and hot dogs on the bayside. For dinner there was a choice of reservations at Coco or Rainbow Garden. The Dockside offers the only buffet option. We enjoyed all the food and there was a good selection. Our daughter was able to select options from a vegan menu which can be obtained from guest relations by ordering a day ahead. Drinks were top shelf offering Johnnie Walker Black Scotch , Grey Goose Vodka and Bombay Sapphire Gin as well as other brands. They were not watered down. As with any resort there are pros and cons. The pros are numerous:, mostly friendly and helpful staff, neither towel cards nor resort ID is required, beach chairs are available all day long (hotel was at 70% capacity), variety of water sports, laid back vibe, pleasant background music, good food quality, well equipped gym with AC and a water dispenser to fill your water bottles with filtered water, non pushy staff at tour desk and no beach staff to annoy you with requests to join activities. Cons: Our room wasn't ready until 2 hours past check-in time. There were no chairside tables on the beach to put your drinks, drink cart on beach comes only occasionally, there aren't any evening theatre performances, free wifi only in main areas unless you want to pay a lot for it in your room even if you are all inclusive. There is no drying rack for wet swimsuits on the balcony. The safe is located on the floor of the closet and may be difficult for some to bend that low. A key and lock mechanism needs to be obtained at check-in to operate the safe and is very inconvenient. There is no free room service. Building maintenance needs to be improved. Our room was facing the beach on the Atlantic side on the second floor in the Pineapple section. It was large and provided plenty of closet space and drawers. There was both AC and a ceiling fan as well as a small refrigerator and coffee pot. Our refrigerator needed to be replaced. Diana at the reception desk made sure the replacement came quickly. Plenty of hot water was available in the very large shower. The balcony was good size with a table and two chairs. When leaving your room, make sure the door lock is in the UP position. If not, your room key will not work. In addition to Diana and Joe Ann, kudos also to Hyacinth at the Rainbow Grill, JUAnn at the bar, Vincent who drove us in one of the carts and taxi driver, Franklin, who drove us to Shirley Heights and English Harbour. We would return to the resort but want to explore some of the other Caribbean islands.

by kevinoutandabout Wigston, United Kingdom

Relaxing and spacious resort

Stayed here for 2 weeks in March in a Club Garden Room. The resort is spread over a large area so there was plenty of room to relax and enjoy the surroundings - it never felt crowded even in the main areas. Our room was well serviced, spacious and had most items we needed. A comfortable chair in the room would be preferred but not a major issue. Fridge provided but no drinks other than the initial supply of bottled water. WiFi is restricted to main public areas (not the beach areas) only but you could pay extra for WiFi in your room. Getting away from social media etc for a few hours is no hardship though! The resort is set on two beaches - Coco on a wilder side and the quieter Mamora Bay, where water sports and the boat dock are set. Personally we preferred Mamora Bay. Always plenty of space and no hassle getting sun loungers on the beach. Both beaches are served throughout the day by Alfred. in a buggy carrying a good range of cold drinks. Always a welcome sight, he is so happy, friendly and smiley. Of course there are also bars a short walk away if you need them. Five restaurants on the resort, including one that you pay extra for its fine dining experience. In the evening the Docksider provides themed buffet evenings with the others an a la carte service. You have to book for a la carte, apart from Eleven-11 (fusion grill) for which we never had to wait for a table for more than a few minutes (but we are late diners). Food quality and service to a high standard. Most staff were friendly and extremely helpful. The entertainment programme, especially in the evening, would benefit from a central focal point. It tended to be set in different locations (bars/restaurant and outside areas) and it was easy to miss what was going on. From our observation the evening entertainment was poorly supported as a result. Taking account of the negatives not a 5 star rating but more than a 4! We enjoyed our stay here and would certainly return.