St. James's Club - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

4685 reviews

• 

  The sun at least did not disappoint.

  The setting of StJames’s Club and Villa is beautiful. This resort might have been once upon a time a very decent resort but hasn’t age gracefully. It is our third visit in the island and stayed in other resorts and I would recommend the Elite Island Resorts to invest a little bit( a lot) more money on the SJC. The bedrooms really need updating, particularly the bathrooms and please train your staff how to clean thoroughly, they truly do not care. The food is beyond disappointment. I truly can not find the words. A school cafeteria would be definitely of higher standard. The service, 80% of the staff did not really wish to be there. The water of the pools raised serious questions about when and how often it was cleaned and the chemical level monitored. The overall hygiene of the premises needs to be addressed urgently. The Piccolino Mundo restaurant has been described on your site as ‘Fine Cuisine”well I am not a foodie or a snob but really!!! I better stop there because whatever I say will probably not make a difference because there will always be tourists, with lower standards expectations or inexperience of what a decent resort should be, that will be satisfied and I am sure that Elite Island Resorts do bet on it. Needless to say that we will not return to the SJC. … the sun at least did not disappoint just as we expected.

  Jan 15, 2025
• 

  Something for everyone

  It was an amazing place to celebrate a vacation with three generation of family - so many options for food, activities, pools, beach, and excursions. The setting was amazing and loved the Mamora bay beach area with the water hammocks! Highly recommend the sunset boat cruise and Shirley heights for the sunset and music . Truly a great spot and everthing went so smooth with how the whole place is run - already thinking of when we can return!

  Jan 13, 2025
• 

  Sadly disappointing.

  Very disappointing. We are here now and have another week to go. The staff do their best but it seems they’re fighting a losing battle. One of the main restaurants is closed with no explanation which has a knock on effect and we have now waited over 2 hours to be served our dinner. The weather is beautiful the beaches are lovely but the whole holiday has been marred by bad management. We have actually made a complaint at guest services so have tried to address certain issues. I would be interested to know how other guests feel. This is a 4 star resort but does not live up to that status.

  Jan 13, 2025
• 

  Beautiful resort with great activities, but service and dining could be improved

  I recently stayed at St. James Resort in Antigua, and while there were some great aspects of the experience, there were also a few areas that need improvement. Here’s a breakdown of my stay: Pros: • The front-of-house staff were lovely and particularly welcoming to my child, which made our family feel right at home. They were helpful when, for instance, we asked for a baby bath (which was promptly arranged). • Lunch restaurants were a highlight, generally offering solid lunchtime options with good service . We particularly enjoyed Eleven Eleven and Mamora Grill for lunch—they offered good choices and relaxed atmospheres. • The resort provides a wide range of activities—pickleball, tennis, and water sports are all on-site, and excursions are easy to book. • The location is stunning—truly idyllic and perfect for a relaxing getaway. • Overall, the food, drinks, activities, and cleanliness were generally good, though nothing stood out as exceptional. • Despite some reviews mentioning the resort as outdated, I didn’t feel that way. The property seemed well-maintained, with everything in good condition. • The pools and beaches were lovely, and there were always plenty of lounge chairs and shade available. • WiFi was generally reliable and worked throughout the resort, which made staying connected easy. • Some nice touches were the staff driving along the beach offering cold drinks and beer, a simple but appreciated service. • My spa treatment (a deep tissue massage) was excellent. • The Rainbow Garden restaurant served good dinner food, with Chef Kika and our server Joel providing excellent service. • A special shoutout to Joeann at the café—she was always friendly and made our mornings brighter. • The grounds and lawns were very well-maintained, adding to the overall relaxing atmosphere. • Piccolo Mondo, the only restaurant with an additional charge, was a standout. The surcharge was modest, and the food and atmosphere made it worth the extra cost. - Taxi booking was fairly easy. Shout out to Spencer who was excellent and we ended up using on several occasions (for taxi and guide services). Cons: • Customer service could be hit or miss. While some staff members were incredibly friendly, others—especially in the bars and kitchen—were unprofessional and occasionally unhelpful. For instance, the lady at the fruit stand/omelette station during breakfast was very rude and frankly inhospitable, which greatly affected my overall experience. Also the lady bartender at Jacaranda Lounge was again fairly unfriendly. St James Club seems to have a number of individuals who are just not suited to customer facing roles and from looking at other reviews, it seems I’m not alone in holding this view. However, Michael at the fruit stand was a standout—he was genuinely nice and made up for some of the negative experiences. • Signage around the resort could be improved. On our first night, we were taken to two restaurants situated right next to each other (Coco’s and Eleven Eleven). While Coco’s is reservation-only, Eleven Eleven is walk-in, but there was no indication of that. We got turned away from Coco’s without being pointed to Eleven Eleven, which resulted in us eating cold sandwiches in our room—a disappointing start. • The furniture in the restaurants wasn’t ideal. The tables were often too high, and the chairs too short, creating an uncomfortable dining experience. It felt like a lack of attention to detail in the design. • The service at the Docksider Caribbean night buffet was poor. It took an hour to be served a drink, and the food quality wasn’t great. • On arrival, there were water bottles in our room’s fridge, but after that, we had to refill at water stations throughout the hotel. Not the worst (and clearly good for the environment), though for the price of the all-inclusive package, it seemed odd not to have new bottles provided regularly. • At times, the pools were not stocked with fresh towels. Several times at different pools, we found ourselves without towels. • Additional amenities, such as the spa treatments, felt a bit overpriced. The $160 cost for a 1-hour sports massage was steep, though the massage itself was good. • The quality of the food at dinner was inconsistent. The red snapper at Coco’s was clearly frozen and not the ‘fresh catch’ it was advertised to be. It seemed to us like a lot of the food came from frozen stock, which was disappointing. • Drink service at dinner was limited— generally only one or two drinks were offered during the meal. Wine glasses were small, and beers were served in quarts / half-pints, meaning you were left with very little unless you asked repeatedly for refills. • Some unhygienic practices at the café were concerning. The milk pitchers and steam wand for the coffee machine weren’t cleaned after each use, meaning unsightly milk residue built up. • The omelette station was surrounded by glass panels, making it difficult for the chefs to hear orders. There was often confusion, and we had to clarify our requests multiple times, slowing things down (also see comment above about generally unfriendly / unsmiling / inhospitable kitchen staff). • There were a few minor issues—I had to send a lamb fillet back at Piccolo Mondo because it was undercooked, and we were served a margarita with two olives (I suppose they got confused with a martini…). These weren’t major problems, but they added to the feeling of inconsistency. Restaurant Recommendations: The best restaurants for us were Piccolo Mondo and Rainbow Garden for dinner, both offering good food and service. For lunch, we enjoyed Eleven Eleven and Mamora Grill. However, I would suggest avoiding the buffet dinner at Docksider or Coco’s for dinner—the quality just didn’t measure up to our other dining experiences. Overall, St. James Resort offers a lot of great features, from its beautiful location and range of activities to some standout staff members. However, the service and food quality could be more consistent, and there were a few small issues that detracted from an otherwise pleasant stay. I would recommend the resort, but with the expectation that there are areas that need attention to reach its full potential. That being said, I’d encourage you to look at other reviews to form your own opinion. Whilst some seem unfairly negative, you’ll notice some consistent feedback across multiple reviews, and it’s regrettable that St. James Club’s approach to responding to these reviews appears to be one of denial rather than addressing negative comments and looking for ways to improve. Constructive criticism can go a long way in helping to make this resort even better for future guests.

  Jan 12, 2025
• 

  Great place

  This place will shock you, most 5 star places are lovely but this place should be a 10 star. The rooms are lovely and clean, bed is awesome. The food is delicious and well presented with a huge variety to choose from. But what gives it the extra 5 stars are the people. Never encountered one staff member that didn’t speak or smile, they really make you feel wanted and they seem so happy to have us there. We had my 1 year old grandson with us and they went out of their way to help my daughter and her husband, whether is was helping get the buggy moved or filling his bottle with juice. If you have kids the beach is quite safe and although there are no lifeguards the pools seem just as safe (you do need to take caution around any pool)

  Jan 11, 2025