St. James's Club & Villas

We spent two wonderful weeks in Antigua earlier in October 2024 and wanted to thank the wonderful staff who made our stay so memorable. When we arrived we were shown to our 1st floor beach view room which was very comfy and had everything you could need: Large King bed with nice linens, tea/coffee making facilities, fridge, dual sinks in the bathroom, bath and shower combination. We were checked in and finally out by Keanaleen and Calica who checked in with each time we passed the reception desk, nothing was too much trouble. The food was great being able to chose different restaurants each night was nice we particularly liked the Rainbow restaurant for Italian night and Docksider for roast dinner on Sunday evening. Shout out to some of the servers Letoya, T'wanna, Vanessa, Luinda. Breakfasts were taken in Rainbow with Michal the smoothly maker par excellence! Lunch times were spent at 11/11 good choice of food - from pizzas to fresh fish. We had a wonderful evening at Piccolo Mondo in the 1st week and it was wonderful - the food was amazing and the drinks expertly mixed by Vincent! My only minor point due to the heat wave during our stay in Antigua the restaurant was extremely hot (being a lady of a certain age) and I would have preferred to have sat under a fan. Each evening we could return after dinner to the Jacaranda and Chad was there serving drinks. The resort has a 24 hour coffee shop serving coffee, tea, snacks and chilled beverages and our star staff member there was Joeanne who always was happy to brew my iced tea. We booked 2 trips through the resort both of which we thought were good value - the Pink Panther safari and the trip of Stingray City to swim with the stingrays of the island. Pools - we stayed mainly by the main pool Reef Deck Bar and plentiful towels available. Beaches we spent time on and swam in the sea on both sides of the spit of the resort. We thought the resort was great - there is some building work going updating rooms but the builders were polite and noise was minimal. Finally a big shout out to our wonderful cleaner Heather who kept the room spotless - checking back in with us on one day when my husband was unwell due to a pre-existing health condition and we needed to stay in the room. She brought us more coffee and tea and made sure we had everything we needed. We would love to return and have started saving for 2025!! thanks

I just returned from a stay at Saint James Antigua, and I must warn potential guests: buyer beware! To anyone considering booking this resort, I cannot recommend it. The experience fell far short of what our group expected. This resort is not typical; it's also a timeshare property, which means it caters more towards families. While I respect that, I was under the impression we could enjoy a relaxing vacation by the pool or beach with island music playing and an upbeat vibe—unfortunately, that was not the case. The one pool that did have music played it very quietly, and the noise from children splashing around drowned it out. Initially, I was impressed with the property. It features multiple restaurants with diverse menus, two beach areas, and various pool options. However, the reviews I read did not mention the issues our group faced. Here are the problems we encountered: We checked in on a busy turnover day and waited about 20 minutes, which was manageable. The staff was friendly, but they failed to inform us about an important orientation session that detailed the dining schedule and weekly activities. We only discovered this when we attempted to dine at one of the restaurants and were told we couldn’t because we needed a reservation. This miscommunication frustrated not only our group but several other vacationers who also missed the memo. Consequently, we ended up waiting a long time to eat dinner at another restaurant, only to receive our meal at 11 PM. If you choose this resort, remember to make your dinner reservations in the morning—reservations are only taken for the same day. Now, regarding the food: breakfast was decent for a resort buffet, but lunch was hit or miss. The only consistently good meal we found was at the dockside bar and grill, where the food was made to order and served hot. However, dinner was a nightmare. The food was cold and lacked seasoning, and it took us an hour and a half to receive our meals. Throughout our stay, we repeatedly heard that they were short-staffed. While I empathize with the staff—who were doing multiple jobs—service was painfully slow, especially since the bar was not close to the restaurant. Refills for drinks, including water, were non-existent despite how easily accessible they were. Another issue was our room. We had booked a ground-floor beach walk-out, but upon check-in, we were assigned a second-floor beach view instead. Even though we had booked through a travel agency six months prior, we were told our rate remained the same, despite not receiving the promised direct beach access. This was unacceptable to our group. On a positive note, the room was spacious and well-kept. However, we experienced several maintenance issues: low shower pressure made rinsing off a hassle, the toilet paper holder was broken, and while our air conditioner worked perfectly, others in our group faced difficulties. Although we reported these issues to management, we received no follow-up from maintenance, despite management promising twice that they would address our concerns. One more thing: the resort offers various water activities, but the nightlife is lifeless compared to other Caribbean resorts we've visited. In conclusion, I personally cannot recommend this resort. Save your money!

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 wear though—cracks in the ceiling, faded/cracked paint, a touch of rust here and there and an outdated bathroom—but not a dealbreaker by any means. Rooms are cleaned every other day, which was fine for us but may not suit everyone. But the best part is the view out to the beach! 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!

This was a return trip for us; we visited 5 years previous and were blown away by this place. Sadly this time less so. The place is now in some need of refurbishment in a number of areas, and the pools are small by modern standards. The great location of the hotel is first rate though and this masks some of those issues. Our main problem was the shortage of staff, resulting in frequently slow service, with single bartenders trying to serve an entire bar for example. One night we left the restaurant after our starter as we had to wait such a very long time. Another night there was no drinks service at dinner so I had to go and queue at the bar as my dinner went cold. The lady serving at the poolside bar was fantastic and remained cheerful even without help in busy times.

The resort overall was beautiful, and kept up well. The staff were all so friendly, a lot of them remembered us day after day. It was nice having beaches right on the resort. The food was good but not great, nothing blew us away, lacked a lot of flavor. The coffee shop being 24 hours was a real asset as we were there with an early waking toddler. I will say it was disappointing that no restaurant, although advertised, had an actual kids menu. The restaurant eleveneleven had items like pasta and pizza but you could not take those items to go. The only restaurant that had to go items didn’t have anything toddler friendly, so that made the stay difficult. Room service was also advertised but not as part of the all inclusive package.