Guest reviews St James's Club Morgan Bay Saint Lucia

by jenbrite1 nyack, ny

Really wanted to like this place

This resort seems locally owned and so I really wanted to give it a chance, but there were so many infuriating things, I left with a sour impression. 1. Our first impression was bad as they accidentally booked the plane tickets with the wrong name for my son (put his father's name twice) and we had a stressful time working that out at the airport. 2. We arrived on Valentine's Day and I had asked m husband many times whether we needed to book babysitting or a restaurant and he was sure no. Well we get there and it turns out the "nice" restaurants are all booked (or were they? I will write about this later) and because my son is just under 4 he can't stay at the kids club during dinner. If he were literally a month older, it would have been fine. I tried explaining this to the staff as we were really, really looking forward to a romantic night and their line was basically "those are the rules," which was a theme in this place. There was a half-hearted attempt to find a babysitter but that didn't work out so first night was a bust. I could have almost overlooked this but the kids club WAS ALWAYS empty and he was always playing with whatever age kid was there. So basically the rule is completely arbitrary and unneccessary but god forbid we break a rule to help a guest. 3. The kids club hours were bizarre. There was a 1.5 hour break in the middle of the day and another at dinner and the times were just strange (12:15-1:45). You couldn't get a sitter for less than 2 hours so if you wanted to do any off-site excursions you had to bring the kiddos or you were out of luck. 4. The restaurant reservation system was equally strange and needlessly bureaucratic. You had to book restaurants at a specific desk near reception between 8 and 4 (minus a lunch break which was taken whenever the staff felt like it). Then the most bizarre part is we were always told we only have resrvations for 8:30 but when we swung by the restaurant earlier, it was a ghost town! The maitre'd at both restaurants that took reservations basically admitted you could just show up whenever but you had to have a "reservation." It was maddening. 5. Overall, I felt like I was constantly stressed about when I was going to pick up my kid, whether we had a reservation at the restaurant, etc. etc. I actually on two occasions woke up from a nap on the beach panicked I had forgotten the time and was late. Just what you want on a vacation. 6. My husband thought the food was ok and I thought so too at the reservation restaurants, but the buffets were in my opinion terrible. There were a lot of "repats." For example, I saw the same little meatballs for all three meals (yes for breakfast too) and I want to believe they were made fresh each time, but somehow doubt that. Also as others have said, at breakfast you practically had to hunt down the waitress to get a coffee. 7. The place is small. Since we couldn't do excursions, if we had stayed any longer I would have gotten really stir crazy. The beach is literally I think 100 feet across (this is a guess). The only thing I did like was the live entertainment. There was a lot of dancing, which was fun. And the red door bar was cool. But overall, I would choose a different resort next time.

by willsf32 San Francisco, CA

Fantastic New Years Resort!

We stayed here from 12/29 - 1/5 to celebrate New Years. The resort was quite busy during this time but never felt overly crowded. The checkin process was very smooth with a nice drink offered upon arrival. Despite the crazy busy lobby the staff was very quick to get us all checked in. We stayed in the 1100 building which was up on the hill and had amazing views of the ocean and property. The walk to these buildings wasn't too bad for us (both relatively healthy) but I did some using the option of getting a ride in the golf cart. Our room felt modern, very clean, and with amazing air conditioning. The room attendant (Virginia) was also very friendly! We saw her just about every day. Overall, the restaurants were all very delish. The Wednesday night beach party might have been the best food that we had. Sitting outside with so many delicious options was great. Also, very enjoyable was the bbq station on the beach. We went just about every day to try something new. The brisket and ribs were my favorites! Le Jardin was definitely worth the charge but I really liked eating outdoors and Le Jardin is more formal and indoors (albeit with air conditioning). The waitstaff (Kishana was ours!) at Le Jardin is great and ready to meet any requests. The beach appears small in pictures but we never found it overly crowded even with the resort near full capacity. Very easy to find shade if you wanted it. The drinks were also flowing (our favorite waitress was Audrielle!!). Or if you wanted to get your own there's a nice Beach Bar always making something interesting. Overall, we really loved this place. New Years Eve was amazing with fireworks on the beach and an amazing assortment of food. We'd definitely go back!!

by DebbieLittlehampton Mortain, France

Fantastic

It was our first time to the Caribbean and also all inclusive, so we had no idea what to expect. We had a beachfront room which was clean and spacious with a very large comfy bed. Resort is spotlessly clean. All the food that we had was varied and very well prepared and presented. Most of the staff were very friendly and welcoming, although we did find some in the reception area that were not so. Make sure that you take the Joy boat trip we had the most amazing day with them. We also did the market in Castries which was ok. The only thing that we did find a bit annoying was the people that are reserving their sun beds. It does state that this is not allowed but unfortunately it is not policed so lots of beds with towels for hours with no one sitting on them! That said I would definitely recommend this resort and we can’t wait to return. Oh, also must mention the rum punch which is not to be missed!

by Wendy M Welland, Canada

Beautiful views & relaxing

This resort is very small with a small beach area but the resort is lovely. Some rooms are older, while other areas newer, but the resort is feeling a little tired looking. The food was very good, with lots of options. It can be tricky to get reservations so make sure you do it the day or two after arriving. The desk closes each day at 4 so don’t leave it late. We did pay to eat at the surcharge restaurant & weren’t disappointed, it was excellent. The rooms right next to the bar area & entertainment area are very noisy till 11 pm. Some nights we sat on our balcony & enjoyed the music, other evenings it was so loud we could hardly carry on a conversation.. Our room was beach front view & pool view, balconies are small though. There isn’t much storage area in the room, king bed very comfy. The staff work very hard & most friendly, they aren’t paid very well, but always try to please. Nic the bartender is great & makes super good drinks. We experienced 4 red flag days on the beach, so no water sports on the water those days, was disappointing but undertow very unsafe, so safety first. Lots of pool chairs & beach chairs. Lots of pool activities, but some people would rather not participate, but it’s fun just to people watch. Bar servers around the beach & pool are great. The beach party was great, lots of food, drinks, entertainment, & laughs. The ride from airport is very long 1hr, & the road is awful with bends, drops, & narrow curves. Some people felt sick.

by rosannalashley Ottawa, Canada

Excellent Vacation. Would go back to this resort.

I went to the St. James's Club Morgan Bay resort during the week of January 27th with two friends. This was one of my more relaxing and enjoyable vacations. St. Lucia is a beautiful island and I was so happy that we chose the St. James resort for our stay. The resort is beautiful and clean with many options for meals and activities.