St. James's Club, Antigua

Had a great time. The beach on the bay side is calm and quiet and not busy. Lots of shaded spots and could still get a prime spot at 10am. Beach bar is rarely busy. Loved the water sports crew. There were five hobie cats, almost always available, plus good kayaks. It's a nice, sheltered area for sailing and paddling around. The ocean side beach isn't great. Lots of seaweed that isn't cleaned up very quickly. Also a large retaining wall separates the water from the seating and kinda spoils the view while you sit. But the water is nicer blue than the bay side. There is some snorkeling here if you swim out about 80m. There are a bunch of large cement blocks that create a reef with some fish and coral to see. Food was great; as good as we've had at a resort. Two nice lunch spots with great views of the water. Coffee shop was great. It was strangely never busy around the bars. Even in the early evening where you usually expect a crowd. The beach party on friday was also very well done and food was excellent. Easy to take a taxi to snorkel at Galleon beach, under Shirley Heights (near english harbour). Only $48USD return for two of us. The water was a little murky, but saw some large turtles, squid, plus more. Read less

Beautiful location, with two great beaches that offer a selection of various sport activities. We were hosted by friendly and a great team of staff, so thank you Alvira, Chris, Ken, Felin and Calvin, always willing to assist ones needs, with a smile. 💯 percent service. Beautiful rooms with all ones needs for a good stay at this resort. Food was great; with a wide variety to enjoy and choose from. Friendly staff at resort made a huge difference. Will recommend a stay here, memorable and would love to go back, where the fun begins and the beautiful beaches makes it so unique 🌴🐳😇 Read less

I agree with those who found the 'ordinary' hotel rooms at best tired, if not tatty. On arrival the bottled water in our room had been half drunk and the bathroom bin had not been emptied. The bath tap came away from the wall in my hands and the towel rail fell off the wall! Also the provision of towels was a lottery - sometimes too many, sometimes not enough. We too found the general service erratic, some staff were very pleasant, others downright surly. Just a bit of customer service training would solve this. The food was plentiful And the facilities excellent. Don’t understand why they have to fog the mosquitos at 4am with very loud machinery - especially as it is totally ineffective as everyone was bitten. Nobody’s fault but the mozzies. I echo other reviews of the beaches - not the place for crystal clear seas that we all hope for. Read less

We have just had a fantastic and relaxing 10 days holiday at St James’ Antigua - a 5 star experience! The hotel is set on lovely grounds and is comprised of charming villas and rooms (both beach and garden views) and is not high rise either with multiple floors. It is the type of resort that is good for all ages and it was nice to see extended families of different generation’s enjoying a holiday together. Even though this a large resort, it doesn’t feel like that due to the extensive grounds and the personal touch given by the staff. We felt very at home at the resort! We were very well looked after by all the staff, who work very hard. All the public areas i.e. toilets by the pool and beach were kept extremely clean at all times, at no point did we see lots of sand or water. Other public areas were also kept immaculate. In terms of the beach, there was some seaweed which was cleared constantly throughout each day. There was also a beach buggy that came round throughout the day offering drinks and cocktails. We were staying in a 2 bedroom villa on an all inclusive basis, which had 2 generous sized bedrooms with king sized beds, one with a bath/shower and the other with a walk in shower. There was also a well equipped kitchen and dining area and a seating area, plus a big balcony with a dining table and sun beds. On a couple of nights we decided to have dinner in our villa, whilst room service isn’t available, we were able to bring a 2 course dinner back to our room and drinks. Our villa was cleaned immaculately every day with clean towels etc. We understand that the resort are renovating rooms/villas gradually. We found the resort was well lit at night time and very safe, and if you didn’t want to walk then there were buggies readily available to take you to and from places. We also observed that the resort caters very well for those with mobility issues and parents with babies. There was also a wide range of activities available at the resort including tennis, pickleball, a well equipped gym, water aerobics and yoga etc. You could also go for lovely walks round the ground. There are 4 restaurants available with the all inclusive, Rainbow Garden is open for buffet breakfast and buffet lunch daily and some evenings for a la carte dinner (by reservation only). Cocos is only open for dinner a couple of times a week, which is a la carte, and again by reservation only. Docksider is open for dinner each night with different themed buffets daily and 11/11 is open from 11am to 11pm, including drinks throughout the day. The food in all these restaurants was very good with an excellent choice. There was also a beach BBQ in the Friday night which had a huge range of food and drink available . Piccolo Mondo is the resort’s Italian fine dining restaurant which is charged at an additional supplement, and also with fine wines and champagne. We dined there one evening and this was a very special experience. We would like to thank some key people who made our stay extra special - Riann Thiart (General Manager), Kaisha, Omar, Eyka, Milton, Tushane, Joe Anne and Samori. Apologies to anyone we might have missed - all the staff are excellent, including maintenance, the beach guys, housekeeping, chefs, waiters/waitresses! We have travelled extensively and stayed in a lot of hotels not just in the Caribbean but elsewhere in the world too. We have never seen a General Manager as present and proactive as Riaan, he was there at breakfast, lunch and dinner clearing tables and working with the staff and truly led by example, and had clearly built an excellent rapport with the staff. We noticed that he was working in the busiest areas of the resort where the help was needed, instead of hiding away. He was very approachable to the guests and was keen to interact with everyone to make sure people were happy. His management style clearly has also influenced other members of the management team who also followed his example. In addition to being an excellent general manager, Riaan also has a wonderful sense of humour and we shall miss him making us laugh everyday. We hope to return soon! Thank you all for giving us a much needed stress free holiday, which we will never forget and will hold a fond place in our memory bank. P.S. you will need the immigration form/QR code (advisable to do online) when you arrive into Antigua and when you leave Antigua! Read less