Guest reviews St James's Club Morgan Bay Saint Lucia

by AliceBird0789061

Fantastic holiday destination!

This holiday was one of the best holidays my family and I have been on, we have travelled a lot to the Caribbean, but St. Lucia is our favourite. The staff was one of the best things about St. James Club, Shannon, Sam, Dexter, Bob, Biron, Sean, Craig, Ted, certainly made our trip a special one (and the pool parties of course). We will definitely be back. The food and facilities were amazing, not to mention the delicious cocktails. The resort allowed us to learn how to sail and paddle board which was a fantastic opportunity to have. Definitely recommend Joys cruise and the horse back riding in the sea, as memories where made and will not be forgotten. Highly recommend, from Chris, Sarah, Jess and Alice, the birds will always remember this holiday.

by LaurenMarie88

Family Vacation

We took a family vacation to St. Lucia in June 2022. We had 3 suite rooms with 6 adults and 1 toddler. The rooms and resort were outdated, but very clean. If you are looking for an upper scale resort/hotel, this is probably not it. If you are looking for a resort that is a clean place to stay with a nice beach and included water sports, this is a good option. Rooms: the furniture was outdated. The beds were very firm and not very comfortable in my opinion. The beds didn’t have top sheets, just a duvet with a cover. The towels were not soft. The TVs were small and old (poor picture). The mini fridge worked fine. They include a key for the safe (not the kind you pick a code). The view from the room was gorgeous! A big balcony too. The rooms were very clean. Right now they are only coming every other day to clean the rooms, but do a good job when they come. They sweep/vacuum each time which is very good because of the sand. They did have shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and bar soap but no other extras (like q-tips). Restaurants/Bars: June is considered the slow season and so even though they have a lot of restaurants and bars, they were open only on a rotation. The food was hit or miss for the most part. They do cook pretty much everything from scratch, which was nice. I think we would have enjoyed the food more if we had more options with the restaurants, but due to it being slow season (which we didn’t know when we booked) we were stuck at the buffet most nights. They canceled our reservations 2 nights due to rain and being short staffed because many staff called out. The coffee at the coffee bar was really good!! That is also open all day, which is nice. The bars also opened on a rotation throughout the day. We enjoyed all the island drinks. Staff: I think the staff were my favorite part of the resort. 98% of the staff were super friendly and helpful. They all loved my toddler and knew her name by the end of the first day. They would greet her every time we walked by and made it so fun for her. They were super hard workers and even though they were working hard they always had a smile on their face. Food Allergies: They have signs about cross contamination risk, but were very accommodating. My daughter is allergic to egg and dairy (and a few other things but those are the hard ones). Every time we were at the buffet a chef would walk it with me and tell me everything she could have. They even started cooking more with olive oil instead of butter so she could have more things on the buffet. The first night almost everything had butter so they made something special for her. When we were at the other restaurants they would also go through the menu line by line with me. We didn’t have any issues. The chef also said they don’t use peanuts at all. We did bring our own oat milk (got a shelf stable brand and checked it in our suitcase) but they did have almond milk there. We did go to the grocery store (Massy) once and I noticed they had some plant based milk options too. You do have to take a cab to the grocery. Beach/pools/water sports: The pools were fine, nothing super spectacular. I was disappointed that both of the main pools closed at 6pm. One of the adult pools stayed open later until 10pm. The beach was BEAUTIFUL. They have chairs and towels to use. They do not have buckets/beach toys, but they do sell some in their gift shop. The good thing about it being the off season was that we could do pretty much any water sport whenever we wanted. I would imagine during the busy season they would get booked up fairly quickly so you would want to go early to reserve for the day. We didn’t do any motor sports, but sailed, paddle boarded, and kayaked pretty much every day and really enjoyed it. The motor sports are closed on Sundays. Activities: My daughter was too young for the kids activities, so I can’t say anything about that. The resort did have planned activities throughout the day, but not everything listed on their website is actually offered all the time. So keep that in mind. Joy Cruise is the excision that leaves right from the resort (the resort doesn’t have a dock so booking other boats may be difficult unless you take a cab). Mr. Joy and his family are wonderful. Highly recommend their day tour.

by Mandi1021

Beautiful Vacation

The staff was so friendly and welcoming, especially Sam! She made sure everyone was having a good time and even taught me some new dance moves! The music was great everywhere. The water sports are included and we’re so much fun! Gavvy (aka Bob) taught us to sail. We went kayaking and paddle boarding too. Joy Cruise is a MUST! You get a boat tour of the island, a mud bath in a volcanic spring and then to a waterfall to rinse off! We got to see Mr. Joy’s home where the bottom floor is a restaurant where we had delicious authentic food and ended with snorkeling. Such a relaxing, beautiful vacation☀️ I CAN’T WAIT TO GO BACK!

by clevertravelers Newtown, Pennsylvania

Great Family Vacation

Pros and Cons to this resort but overall, we had a wonderful family vacation. We just returned from a 7-night stay with 6 adults (4 of whom were in their early twenties). We had a beachfront in the 500 block with a lovely water's edge view. Sunsets on this resort are to die for. Don't miss them! Bedding was new and comfortable. Room was clean, location was quiet and while not fancy, was not outdated. Our children had rooms in the 200 building which were definitely more dated but fine for them and backed to tennis/fitness center which we all enjoyed. You know when reserving that this type of resort is not a Ritz-Carlton and you shouldn't expect it to be. Only two restaurants open a night was disappointing, but they rotate through 5/6 restaurants throughout the week and provide the schedule in advance. The food was fresh (with the exception of a few desserts), well-prepared and there was good variety and something for everyone. We loved all of the traditional island cuisine! The new owner (Secrets) should keep this staff. Management was ever-present, staff mostly friendly, very hard-working and very attentive. Some even took the time to learn our names and greet us personally each day. We always try to do the same when traveling. There is plenty to do all day, every day and no one was ever bored. They provide a schedule of activities and off-resort tours at their recommended orientation. The water sports are ALL ALL-included which is rare for these types of resorts. The water sports staff was fantastic - good teachers, always upbeat and patient with people! Pros: Plenty of activities to do at this resort. Fun scheduled activities as well (yoga, mixology, volleyball - too many to list); Joy Cruise is a must. Mr. Joy, family and staff are very warm and capable and the trip refreshing (he even came up to our van to bid us farewell); Fresh, well-prepared meals - even vegetarian options; Piano (talent!) and meal at Le Jardin were perfect for a quieter, romantic evening; Currently not at capacity so easy to get loungers at beach/pool and get drinks at the bars (try the Red Door bar...); Grounds are well-maintained and clean; Some good DJ nights, karaoke and live guitar music. Cons: Some rooms are dated (ask for beach front 500 building); Drinks could most definitely be stronger so ask for a double or floaters (or go to the Jacaranda at night); Snack bar offerings were disappointing (but open early til late). Recommendations: Use only resort-sanctioned excursions. They tell you this at orientation, which you should attend anywhere you go! Be friendly and appreciative. If you are able to vacation, you are fortunate! Entitled people don't fare well anywhere.

by CornishJane Cadgwith, United Kingdom

Our Ninth Visit

This was our ninth visit to this resort and things have changed somewhat. It is still a lovely location, the beach is kept clean and the sun beds and umbrellas both around the pools and beach are plentiful (more on that later). There are some lovely restaurants, including Le Jardin which although has a supplement of $35 per person is a nice change and the pianist is superb. The staff, in the main, are lovely, helpful and smiley. The rooms, we were in blocks 900 and 1000 on the hill, are large and equipped with TV, wifi, fridge, tea and coffee making facilities, large double bed, bathroom with shower and bath, and either a patio or balcony with sea views. The rooms are clean and serviced every other day but are a little tired looking. For those that have read previous reviews you will see that the hotel has recently changed hands and renovation work is due to begin in September 2022 to bring it up to a five star standard. Because of this the new company “Secrets” are not actively marketing the resort and the old company “Elite” having another similar resort on Antigua are sending any prospective clients there. As a consequence there are very few tourists around which has its pros and cons. On the plus side, you don’t have to worry about getting a good spot on the beach or by the pools, you don’t need to book a tennis court, it’s quiet - apart from the birds and music from the restaurants and bars, you don’t wait long to be seen in reception or at the tour desk, if you want a buggy the wait is minimal and the fantastic water sports (canoes, hoby cats, water skiing, paddle boards, pedals, banana boats etc) are yours for the taking. On the negative side as there are so few people only one of two of the six advertised restaurants are open each night and the food, although usually very good, is often repetitive. One of the main reasons we like this resort is the diversity of food choices and it was disappointing that we hadn’t been advised of this before our visit. Clearly it’s the right thing to do if you have a low occupancy but potential visitors should be advised in advance. To make up for this we ate at Le Jardin more frequently than usual and left the resort on several occasions and went to Jambe De Bois on Pigeon Island to eat, which I can highly recommend. The food there is good and the views to die for. Unfortunately my son-in-law had an accident on the second day at the resort and ended up on crutches for the remainder of our trip, however, we can’t fault the care and attention he was afforded by the staff on duty at the time and thereafter. Oh and we didn’t go on the Joy excursion this time, due to the crutches, but it is truly fantastic. And do try and take the helicopter to and from the airport, the 90 minute trip by road is pretty gruesome after/before a long haul flight. So, in a nutshell, if you are looking for a quiet location, with a couple of restaurant choices each night, a nice beach, plentiful water sports, clean but tired rooms, this is for you. Will we go back? I’m not sure, we said we wouldn’t after our last trip six years ago. But never say never……..