St. James's Club, Antigua

This is a large resort. The food was average. Loved the (Mamora Bay Cafe) coffee shop on site! Even though it said 24x7 it was not. Opened at 6am to 11pm apparently because it was the low season. However that being said it was wonderful, as the main breakfast area (Rainbow Garden) did not open until 7am. So for the early risers it was a huge plus and there were always lots of families and guest there early in the morning. Freshly baked goods and later on sandwiches. If there was a EMPLOYEE OF THE RESORT it would go to JOENANN. She worked in the coffee shop and no matter what time of day you visited she was always warm, pleasant with a ready smile. Thank you Joenann for this warm hospitality, she just made my day when she was rostered. The staff all in all were friendly. There are carts to move you around the resort. All restaurants were included except one, The Piccolo Mondo The food was a bit of a disappointment for us. Well presented but when it came to cooking the meats we were disappointed. We ordered Filet Mignon as the main and the meat was tough it was to be medium & Medium well; My son-in-law ordered lobster and it was overcooked, chewy. We did go on separate nights, my daughter had a leg of lamb and said it was OK. There is an additional charge of US$37.50 per head. Did not think it was worth it. A mobile drink cart was available on the beach from around 11 so that was a really nice touch. If you do go to the Beach Bar &Grill restaurant on the beach go before 11.45 otherwise there is a long wait to get your food. However, there is a mini buffet which food I believe is from the night before, so if you are absolutely starving you can always have a quick bite from that section. The buffets at the Dockside Grill are excellent and the wait staff really friendly. It's a must! The sargassum weed at the beach was awful and the smell was even worse. I would suggest that the resort not put guest in that section of the resort. Smelt like rotten eggs the whole time. I did feel for the resort as they did try their very best to remove same. However, as fast as they did it came back! The sargassum weed is not new to the Caribbean but sure is a menace. Lots of places are having a very hard time getting it off their beaches. This resort however is situated on the Atlantic ocean side of the island. However there was a beach for swimming without the weed on the resort. My biggest disappointment with this resort was the taxi service. Be warned, depending on which person picks you up the prices vary. They also charged for a 18month toddler the same as for an adult. The concierge service was not bordered and said I could write it up but it would not make a difference. I do appreciate that there is a taxi service on site but it should not matter which taxi person picks you up prices need to be standardized. THIS NEEDS ATTENTION BY THE RESORT. Also, you can pay by card. Again depending on who you get they add on a 5-10% charge to use your card. While other drivers do not! The kids club while there were quite a few activities for kids I though the young ladies could have been a bit more interactive. On the afternoons they put on the TV and THEY settled down on the cushions to watch TV as well. When i asked, they told me that the mornings were activities and afternoons were winding down, clearly it was for them. When I went in there were four kids 1 watching tv and the other three playing and the ladies lying down watching tv. This was not what I expected, I'm sure that's not what the resort expects of them. Something to be aware of is the bathrooms. I am still not sure if the information that I was given by two persons on separate occasions were accurate. There are only tubs, and I was told only two walk in showers and that were occupied. I still don't believe this! So if there is someone in your party that cannot maneuver in and out of a tub unaided, one must be very careful. The tubs however are lovely & spacious. Read less

We recently had a fabulous family trip with a party of 14 from grandparents all the way down to our 18th month old baby boy. Mamora bay is quite a site when driving into the resort. We enjoyed amenities including the great restaurants and sporting facilities where we had a family Pickleball tournament. The staff were so attentive and helpful while also making us feel like their family. 10/10 Read less

St James was a nice place but definitely not the Caribbean experience we were expecting. The beach was super small and basically unusable due to seaweed. Our older kids were really bored, as there is basically only Kayaking and a couple of pools to keep them occupied. The food options were limited but what they had was very good. The massages at the spa were also A+. Whatever St James was lacking, though, was made up by the amazing staff, across the board. A special shoutout to Amie from the Rainbow Garden restaurant whose lovely personality and service brightened our breakfasts every day. Thanks Amie! Read less

Beautiful hotel with amazing views of the ocean or the bay from all rooms on the hotel side. The service and food at Coco’s and Eleven Eleven were great. Food at Docksider was good but super slow service. Staff at all restaurants worked really hard & did the best they could while being understaffed for the season. We enjoyed the water sports & the pools. Wish there was more local food for breakfast but all seafood dishes were great. Shout out to the breakfast chefs especially Maurice and the front desk staff. We highly recommend the Pink Panther Tours. Jahira and Gabby were amazing! They know ALL things about their island, they were energetic & fun & we felt very safe during the drive. We loved it! Read less

From our first view of Mamora Bay in the taxi we knew that we would have a wonderful holiday. The cocktails on our arrival in reception put us in the mood for the rest of our trip. Within an hour we were having lunch at the Beach Bar watching the activity on the Bay: sailing kayaking and paddle boarding. Our first dinner was at Docksider and the quality of the food remained first class throughout our trip. On our first morning we enjoyed the cooling breeze on the Ocean side and that afternoon we moved over to the Bay side. We had good intentions to use the well equipped gym, to play tennis or Pickle Ball but we succumbed simply to relax until the hot sun or in the warm water or sipping ice cold cocktails! The staff were very friendly and helpful : they always had a smile on their faces. We look forward to a return trip to St James Club. Read less