Joseph Gregory
This was our fourth visit to St James Club, and we went as a family (me, my wife, our young son, and mother-in-law). For the second year running, we’d requested adjoining rooms, but on arrival, found ourselves in the same block but in separate rooms with King beds. This is not exactly ideal for our son. After a few (4 in total) friendly calls to reception, we were kindly provided a folding bed, saving my son from bunking with his Nan!
The rooms (305/311) are large and clean, complete with all the essentials like a fridge and TV. They’re showing some wear—cracks in the ceiling, faded/cracked paint, a touch of rust here and there and an outdated bathroom—but not a dealbreaker. Rooms are cleaned every other day, which was fine for us but may not suit everyone.
The resort was undergoing some refurbishments, so power tools and workers were around during the day, particularly near the Pickleball courts and Eleven Eleven. We didn’t mind; the workers were polite, even pausing when passing. Ignore the other reviews making it out like it was severely disruptive. It really wasn’t, and it’s common in resorts that planned maintenance is likely to happen during quieter periods.
As for the resort, it’s great as always. Our son’s a tennis fan, so we made good use of the tennis and pickleball courts. The coffee shop is a gem, thanks to Jo-Anne, who’s an absolute queen behind the counter. She makes a brilliant drink and has a lovely, welcoming demeanour. Since last year the inclusion of water machines at the children’s pool and pickleball courts would have been welcomed, but neither were working when I tried using them sadly.
Dining has its highs and lows and overall the food is a mixed bag, but mostly positive. Eleven Eleven was our favourite – casual with a good snack-style food range and a nice breeze. Mamora Grill was great for lunches. I’d recommend the Fisherman’s Sandwich, the burger and my son loved the hot dogs. Docksider was good when it was open, and Rainbow Garden offered a solid selection and decent themed nights. Big thanks to Iyanla at breakfast for her friendly, attentive service, and to Amie, who recognised us from last year and was lovely to our son. Only downside was one slow themed night at Coco’s, where we waited 90 minutes for cold BBQ chicken – an exception to the otherwise decent service.
It’s also worth mentioning the on-site gift shop. If you’ve forgotten any essentials, they’ve got you covered, with a bit of everything from clothing (kids and adult) and drinks to basic medicine—and even a few home comforts, like UK Dairy Milk (a win for my sweet tooth)! We found ourselves needing to buy a couple large bottled waters for the room as the hotel only provides two on arrival and while the tap water is filtered, I didn’t want to risk it.
A big plus this time of the year: no major sargassum issues! Beaches were well maintained, though parents beware – Coco’s Beach isn’t the best for sandcastles due to the dense sand underneath. Head to Mamora Bay to undertake sandcastle duties.
If I were to make one recommendation to management, it’d be to simplify the check-out process. It’s the worst part of the experience: you have to review the resort fee, decide on a local charity donation (which we accepted, but the receptionist took off anyway), sign two rounds of the bill (which feels a bit excessive), and make payment, all while the receptionist is fielding phone calls. It leaves the visit ending on a bit of a low rather than a high.
Overall though, we had another lovely time. We’ve come to love Antigua, St James Club, and especially its people. If budgets allow (and that resort fee doesn’t sting too much), we’d happily return for round five!
Johnny Krysciak
Right on marmora bay, and the beach on the ocean. Resort is beautiful tons of activities for the kids daily, many pools all over, bars and restaurants. Little pricey but your in vacation so you gotta treat ya self! Definitely one of the nicer resorts on the island. Room service keeps the room stocked with what you need and every employee is extremely nice and helpful! Really enjoyed my stay.
Helen Chao
This was my first visit to Antigua, and I booked my stay at St. James Villa through WestJet Vacations on my agent’s recommendation. Unfortunately, the experience fell short of expectations.
We requested a ground-floor room due to accessibility needs, but despite multiple inquiries, we were not accommodated. Additionally, the a-la-carte restaurant isn’t open daily, and even for an all-inclusive resort, we were charged $37 USD per person for dining, which felt excessive.
The resort only has one swimming pool for us to use and the beach was disappointing, filled with seaweed and rocky areas. The bay area felt muddy, which detracted from the experience. Considering the limited amenities, I struggle to understand how this can be classified as a four-star resort.
To make matters worse, the WestJet representative never showed up during our stay. We also received only one bottle of water per guest for the entire week, and the restaurant menu was quite limited with subpar food quality. Service was slow, with drinks taking 15-20 minutes to arrive, and our table often remained cluttered with unremoved plates until we left.
Overall, my experience at this resort was disappointing, and I wouldn’t recommend it.
Jack Henry
We absolutely loved our stay here in June!!!! Service was wonderful and we were always being greeted with smiles by staff and they went out of their way to make conversation with us and remember small details about our group and stay. Food was very good with big portions, which can be atypical for all-inclusives. We decided to extend our stay and everyone was super helpful with that. Chad and Crisaida (I apologize for the spelling!) the bartenders were so wonderful. Always having fun with us and really making our stay. At the time of our stay, the sargassum was very prevalent but the staff was very diligent in offering us other options and giving us wonderful recommendations. Activities at night were great too. We 100% plan to stay again!
Nelly Skala
This was a very nice resort, service was excellent at the restaurants. Just be aware when asking questions at the front desk you might get two different answers so double check everything . overall, we had a lovely time. I recommend Saint James CLUB.
4.3
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