Secrets St. James Montego Bay

Rated 5 stars , only 4 stars value , the activities are too expensive and the visits to the room are done 3 times a day, impossible to take a nap without warning the lobby, no do not disturb sign . ok beach, acceptable food, evening entertainment could be improved, only one band all week and way too much reggay, people don't dance

Just spent 5 nights at Secrets St James. This is probably the 6th or 7th time we've stayed here over the years. Been to Breathless, Wild Orchid, and Hyatt Zilara also. We did stay in the preferred club, which is nice, but not necessary. Honestly you don't get much more for your money. First the really good things, the people that work at the resort are amazing. I honestly can't say enough positive things about them all. It's really the Jamaican people that keep us coming back. It starts with Jah-mal that greeted.us as soon as we got to the resort. Then Chris Brown, our bell hop, who is the friendliest man and always has a smile for you! Service from the pool bar was outstanding. Tyrone was spot on, along with all the ladies who worked the pool area. I'm sorry I don't remember their names. I also can't forget Shelly Ann over at the Bare Buns grill! She was a lot of fun and gave us fantastic lunch time service each day! For the disappointing things. I think the food options at dinner have really gone down. The menus are about half of what they used to be. There are no dinner buffets offered anymore. This is very difficult for people with dietary restrictions. Also, now they just put up pool side cabanas that they want you to rent daily. I feel like we are already paying for "all inclusive" and "preferred club" now they also want to have me pay for a cabana. I get it's a business, but when does it stop? They need to put more effort into fixing the roofs, updating the rooms, and getting back to more food and dining options before they start nickel and diming the customers. Bottom line, I will go back. But mainly for the people. Although next time we may try a different resort, even though I hate to say that.

had to share a taxi from hotel to airport with another couple. Was not informed of this and the hotel taxi even charghed me 40 dollars and the couple with me 40 dollars. Rip off and not the best way to say goodbye from your hotel. The staff were excellent however this double fair really spoilt my holiday and left a bad taste in my mouth

Just returned from a 10 day trip here and it was one of the best, if not THE best hotels I’ve visited in the world! If the resort has 1 fault, it is that the pools and beach areas need more umbrellas for shade.

DISCOUNTS For Travel Agents: Since this property was taken over by Hyatt, they do NOT offer ANY travel agent rates for this hotel. I even contacted the GM and was told it’s all managed by the TA Hyatt site, which shows they no longer offer TA rates for this property. ROOMS The rooms look as if they haven’t been updated since its existence. I paid for the Preferred Club Ocean King. When I arrived, the minibar was not fully stocked, and there were no promised snacks in the room. I literally realized the refrigerator was not working- no cold drinks. I also noticed hair on the floor as if the room had not been properly swept. And there was NO way I was using either of the Jacuzzi tubs because there were stains on the bottom of both the indoor and outdoor one. FOOD The main reason I came to Jamaica was to get some great jerk chicken. However, the only Jamaican restaurant on the property doesn’t even have jerk chicken on the menu. The oxtails were more fatty than meat, but the sauce was good. All of the appetizers were mini (i.e. order spring rolls at the Asian restaurant, you will get one the size your pinky finger on a huge plate. The sweet & sour chicken wasn’t even good. They offer hibachi but it’s all the same food on the menu (not a true hibachi). The one thing I do enjoy is the “secret box” where room service can leave your food (like a dumb waiter). Room service repeatedly messed up my order or left things out. I was, however, pleasantly surprised that the rum toast is French toast on thick brioche bread. Between the rum toast and the coffee, that was the best of breakfast room service. The jerk hut that is open during lunchtime is the only place you can get jerk chicken. It was the best. Pizza and chicken curry patty’s are just okay. COUPLE VIBES ONLY Although they don’t state this on their website, this resort mainly caters to couples…only. It says adults only, but if you do not have a man with you, no one is going out of their way to help you with reservations or quickly bring those drinks to you poolside. I even saw one couple get a free bottle of alcohol. The male attendant passed by me a couple of times without even asking if I wanted a drink. He went to all the couples around the pool 1st. I guess he developed a rapport with someone’s boyfriend/husband so they got a free bottle. Even the daily events include a “couples trivia”. The dance party and pool workouts are more inclusive. If you are a solo traveler, 98% of the time you will be out of place among the couples walking the resort, eating, or in the pool where ALL the ladies have to go piggybacking on their man around the pool. The piggybacking is like a thing here (I assume it’s a “marking your territory for the insecure women with a wandering eye man. LOL). If you are attractive, prepare to have these women staring you down as you enter the pool/ocean (you’ve been warned. lol). Part of the Preferred Club includes, $200 on coupons that can be used at the spa, for a bottle of wine, or special experiences. BUT, these are broken down into smaller increments and you CANNOT use them all at the same time (ex: $10 off 1 bottle of wine, $40 off 1st spa treatment). It’s not even worth it. Also, the only special experiences offered are for couples (ex: dinner for two under the stars, dinner for two with serenade, etc.) PREFERRED CLUB This upgrade is not worth it in my opinion. There is no one really monitoring who has access and who doesn’t. For instance, people who did not pay for a preferred club can easily walk over to the preferred pool, there’s no one that will stop you. They can also walk into the preferred lobby and take advantage of the hot food bar there. I was able to walk over to Breathless without anyone asking me if I had preferred club access from Secrets St. James. I was in the Breathless rooftop pool for over an hour ordering drinks, and no one asked. I chose this hotel because online postings said this was a 4-5 star hotel. I’m okay with paying additional money for luxury. However, this is NOT luxury at all. I’ve stayed in the Ritz Carlton in Singapore as a reference, and had a state of the art room, amazing room service and the spa was chefs kiss 😘. Secrets St. James should NOT be $500/night. It’s giving $300/night at best.