Latest Reviews for St James

overall antigua is a beautiful caribbean island perfect for couples and honeymooners.

we stayed at this hotel 20th june 2008, we thoroughly enjoed the romantic side of the island.the people in Antigua are extremely helpful and friendly. we cannot say anything bad about this country,we are regular travellers to the caribbean, and we found this country one of the most beautiful and romantic. When staying at this hotel, we thoroughly recommend you book at the hotel tour desk adjacent to the reception, and experience " ELMOS LUXURY SAFARI TOUR" to see all the sights of antigua in one day with an all inclusive drinks, snacks, and a tasty lunch at a local beach bar. This is the best trip in antigua.

This was our first long haul holiday and the first one without the children.

We had one of the superior rooms in the middle block that went straight onto the beach and it was wonderful. Very few children were on the complex during our stay, and it was extremely quiet. It was perfect as all we wanted was to sit in the sun and relax. The rooms were lovley and clean as was the whole resort in general. No complaints about the food at all, on the whole it was excellent. Staff were friendly and polite. The little cart that went along the beaches each day delivering drinks to you was wonderful. We did dine at the dockside and rainbows but were more that happy at cocos. We went on the catamaran excellence for a day trip around the island and would thoroughly recomment this, its a superb day out, although we were a little spoilt as the day we went there was only 28 on board and nearly as many staff, its a superb day out.

If its total relaxation you are after then this is certainly a place to go to. We would certainly return.

Well, where do I start ...

Absolutely fantastic, I got married at St James's and stayed at The Beach Club.

The beaches were wonderful, apart from the seaweed but this was cleared by 8.30 every morning. The eating places were lovely, staying at the Beach Club you are restricted to Cocos the majority of time apart from two days which you are entitled to attend one of two other restaurants at St James's.

The staff was all very helpful and willing to help you wherever possible.

Guest Services at St James are cool and helped me have a exceptionally brilliant wedding day - thanks Carolyn and Co.

Shirley Heights is worth seeing!

The whole holiday was fantastic, I could not fault anything (oh but the entertainment could have been better) and I will definately be returning within the next few years!

arrived back from holiday at the beach club at st james, went 17 jan - 1 feb 2007

had a good time, we did have a problem when we arrived, we booked through thomsons with virgin and requested 2 rooms with twin beds, when we got there both rooms had king size beds, we had to wait nearly 3 hours before we knew what was happening, then we had a single bed put in each room, no bedspread on at all only a blanket, after speaking to the virgin rep she showed us her sheet and thomsons had not passed on our request, it was suggested by a guest to email or write to hotel 1 month before going on holiday with any special requests which we will certainly do in future.

weather
rained heavy on day of arrival, can dodge most of it, had a couple of nights with heavy rain, 1 day (heli trip )was overcast and windy, had a couple of very light showers 10 mins max.
sun most days temp high 80s

rooms
upstairs (standard room) hugh, pleased we didn't upgrade to downstairs because of the number of children, if we had been on ground floor it would have been so noisy as they were usually up at 6am running around all the time, we were in mango (the middle block) in room 337, on the end room nearest beach reception, we got sun from sunrise till sunset ( it came in the side of balcony because we were on the end), the view from balcony was wonderful.
the room itself was very spacious with a small kitchen unit in passage with a fridge, sink and coffee maker, tea bags and coffee to perk (not a kettle) we also had a hairdryer, iron and ironing board, loads of storage space,lots of hangers and lots drawer space too, our room was sometimes not done till 5pm !!! maid also missed 1 day, some days some towels or bathmat were missing, but it didn't really matter.

bathroom 14' x 11' with 2 sinks and a 3ft wide bath.
balcony 14' x 11' 2loungers and table
room 27' x 11' with high vaulted ceiling

the view from papaya rooms might have been because they were higher than ours, they had about 9 steps from beach our block only had 3 steps and pineapple had about 5 or 6 steps, we were the lowest

food
on weds and sunday it is a la carte in cocos, on monday you eat in rainbow (buffet), on thurs eat at docksider (buffet) menus usually on display in cocos or in main reception (I am limited what I can eat and if there was nothing suitable on the a la carte nights I would have a word with maitre d, I prefer buffet there is always something suitable for me. look out for crab racing in cocos on a friday night. Dress code was NOT adhered to , it was sad that it was not enforced on an evening, lot of people coming in to dinner in shorts both men and women. lots of children running wild.
lunchtimes was ok if you go in before 1pm, after that there was usually a queue, people coming over from st james, cocos has a lovely outdoor lounge which seemed to be the only lounge outdoors.

comments from other people who had been 3 or 4 times before
they said food selection had really deteriated and they would not return.

pools
childrens pool usually none in
adults usually children in there
cocos, good enough for a swim if no one in, usually empty till after 11am
large pool, rather a disappointment, there are no views over the bay because of all the building work going on, they are building 2 blocks of 1 bed villas for timeshare and 1 block of rooms for st james right on the beach so all you can see are the roofs, there is a tremendous amount of noise all day long, pneumatic drills and hammering no peace at all, I would swim then go onto beach for a bit of peace and quiet, usually there are lots of unsupervised children so you can't have a decent swim, there wern't so many children our 2cd week.

beaches
beach club , i preferred there was always a breeze although it was sometimes rough, some seaweed, unpleasant to swim in, snorkelling poor.
mamora beach, calm but no breeze very hot, water murky, not v good to snorkel.

taxis
we thought v expensive to go from our hotel to dickenson bay for a trip was 70 $ similar price to get picked up for helicopter trip, 4 of us to shirley heights 30$, 4 of us to nelsons dockyard 30$, same rates apply for 2 people, most trips you have to make your own way there.

rep
seemed efficient, but was not, we booked 2 trips on days when other guests were going as we wern't bothered when we went, helicopter trip 30 mins,I had to tphone other couple, they didn't want to share, was going to cost us 70$ on top of the 300$ for the trip, our trip was for the afternoon, 10 mins before we left to get a taxi we had a tphone call to say trip was cancelled due to bad weather, we wondered if we had already left in taxi would we have got a refund for the 70$, probably not) I even had to tphone the heli company to find out when we were going (not good) If you decide to go on a heli trip make sure you say it has to have only 4 passengers, if not there could be 6 passengers and you will be crammed in.

I went to see rep on the friday and said we had decided to cancel trip, she said no problem, I had paid for both trips in full with my mastercard and she said she couldn't process it until the following weds at the office so I asked for written confirmation to say trip had been cancelled, was told no that virgin was a reputable company no problem, went out then went back to ask again she still said no, however when I went back to our room there was a note confirming trip had been cancelled, saw her at chillin checkout asked for refund slip she said she had it but couldn't find it!!! so I am now going to write to virgin with a complaint and a copy of the note, if they can take your money with a credit card I can't see why they can not give you an immediate refund

trip 2 the eco tour 100$ pp, same predicament re sharing taxi, I had to tphone other couple to arrange to share taxi, they said the rep had not confirmed their trip was going ahead so we paid 70$ for taxi to dickenson bay, boat was 45 mins late we thought we had been forgotten. when boat came there was no jetty, we had to wade out waist deep to get on boat, if our friends had come with us they would not have been able to get on the boat, I really think you should be notified when booking trip if you get on at a jetty or have to wade in the sea.
we both enjoyed this trip some snorkelling stopped for lunch at bird island, visited hells bridge, you have to swim to it, there is also tuition in snorkelling.

If i was going on trips I would book through tour desk at st james reception

timeshare
usually contacted at beginning of 2cd week, worth going to have a look, our tour lasted 45 mins no hard sell, at the end of it all you get a free beachbag, 75$ to spend in shop and 50 $ to spend in casino, we gambled a little and came out with 32$, our friends played safe, 25 tokens on odds and 25 tokens on evens, couldn't lose, they came away with 25$

people wth walking difficulties may find it difficult in beach club because there are steps to ALL rooms, ramp up to cocos

I know this is rather a long write up but I just like to think anyone going there in the future will be aware of the problems we had.

All 4 of us thoroughly enjoyed our holiday and would certainly return to the beach club.

I have included a lot of information below, and know that some people just want a recommendation so I have put this first. If you want a quiet holiday, and don't mind not having the Caribbean beach and clear sea, AND you can get this at discount prices, then this is worth it. If however you are looking at Virgin's standard rate, are less than 65 with a pulse and yearn for clear seas and soft white beaches, then choose somewhere else. This is an OK place, but vastly overpriced and with an inflated view of its quality rating.

St James Club is located on a 100-acre peninsula on the south-east coast of Antigua. Once there you need either a car or taxi ($70 standard return fare to anywhere on the island) to go anywhere else. The accommodation consists of a total of 132 guest rooms and suites in The Club - 30 Club Rooms, 70 Premium Rooms, 20 Beachfront Rooms, 10 Bay Suites and 2 Club Suites. Also 25 two-bedroom villas in The Village. Overall it's a little tired in places, but they do appear to be building more and updating everything so it is improving. That said, there is too much on the relatively small land area - particularly the Village feels cramped and overcrowded. They have a dress code for the evenings, which is inconsistently applied, and isn't really justified for sitting on plastic garden furniture in the restaurants.

There are 2 beaches at St James Club, but if you are expecting gentle white beaches, calm clear Caribbean sea as most brochures depict for Antigua, then you will be very disappointed. St James club is on the Atlantic - which is neither calm nor clear. Coco beach is steep, rough and the sea pounds the sea weed onto the beach morning noon and night, and the sea breeze is bracing to put it mildly. The other (Mamora Bay) is in a cove and conforms more to the Antigua stereotype, but don't be fooled as all is not what it seems. This is still the Atlantic and the entry into the water is pretty steep, full of sea weed and slimy under foot. You wont see any of that of course as the sea is sludge coloured and visibility is approx 6 inches in the water. Don't mis-understand, it's not a bad beach or place to swim, but if you have paid a lot of money and travelled a long way for the Caribbean dream, then a beach no better than Blackpool and sea cloudier than Brighton is not what you expect.

Four pools are claimed, but 1 is a children's pool, 1 is an adult plunge pool and 1 is the size of a handkerchief by Cocos. That leaves the main pool which is a pretty basic rectangle, clean and reasonably sized, but does get busy. The kids pool is well set out, but a hike up to the village. The adult 'Tiered pool' is just below Piccolo Mondo, quite romantic, but a little tired and worn and getting in and out is not easy.

The tennis courts looked well maintained and did not seem very busy. The free non-motorised water sports were always busy with booking hours in advance required, but the boats are well looked after and the staff were very helpful.

There are 4 restaurants on the site, but each one closes for one night so for some of the week the choice is really 3. Add to that that one of the restaurants is not part of the all inclusive - you need to pay extra and you are down to a choice of 2 for some nights. If you can afford the extra, though go to Piccolo Mondo as the food is a massive step up from the other restaurants, the choice is wider and the view over the bay is pretty good. You do need to book a place at your chosen restaurant usually by about 09:00 if you want to eat at your first choice and at a time of your choosing. Breakfast for The Club is in Coco's and for the rest the Rainbow Garden. Rainbow garden I found a little uncomfortable as it appears to be decorated and set out to remind you of the days when ignorant Americans and Empire building Brits sat around and ordered the slaves to bring them drinks on the veranda. Service was a bit slow here as well. The Docksider was the main restaurant and overlooks Mamora Bay. Food was OK, but choice a bit limited. Lunch was by far and away the best, with the hot and cold buffet being extensive, fresh and very tasty - best taken at Cocos for the view and service.

Bars are available in Cocos, Docksider and Piccolo Mondo. During the day there are also bars by the main pool and by the adult pool, and at night the Jarcaranda Bar and Casino. The restaurant bars close pretty early so the only entertainment at night is in the Jarcaranda bar - and that is really cheesy. If you are looking for excitement, bring it with you or hope that the Virgin cabin crew are staying over to liven the evening up. There really is nothing to do in the evening except drink, read, watch telly, make love or play scrabble. On the inclusive the brochure states ";Unlimited drinks by the glass, including premium brand liquor, Caribbean beer, house wine, tropical coolers and champagne by the glass."; Well we NEVER saw branded liquor, and we certainly asked as the rum aside, the generics for everything else were pretty awful. Wine and beer however were pretty good and it was certainly freely available if you wanted it.

The accommodation is pretty good. The rooms - at least those outside the Village - are large and reasonably well appointed. The ones we were in had been recently painted and were in a good state of repair. We had a king size bed which was very comfortable and there was plenty of space for the table, chairs and other furniture in the room. The cubby hole which was the wardrobe was however not up to scratch - or rather that's exactly what it did do. The recess was not quite big enough for the rails and clothes rubbed against the rough walls and got caught on the door. You had to keep the door shut as it was in front of the main entrance so this was not ideal. We were glad we had brought dress and jacket covers to help protect them. No fridge in the room and ice was supposed to be delivered daily, though this was inconsistent. Rooms were cleaned daily and to a high standard. We were on the ground floor and that meant the balcony was unusable. It was generally flooded after the expected rainstorms, and the upper floors balconies water emptied into it. In addition the aircon heat diffuser units were in the garden outside so the balcony was a good 10 degrees hotter than anywhere else. This was true of most of the ground floor rooms. The floors are not very well soundproofed and the movement of the people above was intrusive

In general the staff were polite, friendly and very helpful. This is a pretty well run operation, mainly let down by its location, age, and overdevelopment. Although it may not seem it from my descriptions above, I liked the place, but felt the 5* claims are vastly over-rated and the price Virgin are charging beggars belief. On the whole you could go to a Greek island have a better beach, clear water, all the 5* accompaniments, better day and night time entertainment all for a quarter the price. The only reason for paying the extra is the Caribbean dream beaches and sea, and that's the one thing that St James can never offer even if it ups the quality of everything else. Nice place to stay if you can get it at the right price and cope with the Atlantic beach compromises.

From the moment we arrived this resort was first class.
We told Virgin that this was our honeymoon. Our room was decorated with flowers and flower petals and a bottle of champagne. We were in a standard room which as good and big as any I had had be for. The view was fantastic looking through palm tree at the blue ocean.
The food was excellent, nearly as good as Royal Caribbean cruise ships. Yes, that good and I'm very fussy about food being rarely satisfied when eating out.

There is four restaurants, Dockside on lovely Memora Bay, Rainbow Garden Room in the main hotel but like being in the garden, Cocos in the Beach Club overlooking the Ocean and Piccolo Mondo (Italian) with a $35 suppliment. We and not many others used this, dont need to other were too good.
The staff were friendly, polite and very efficent.
We stayed all inclusive, and apart from special meals e.g. lobster A/I meant A/I.

When we were leaving the waiters said 'Come back and see us again' We will.

The Beach Club is amazing.

As soon as you arrive you are given refreshing drinks and your bags and you are quickly taken to your room on a golf cart. The first 15 minutes really set the tone for the whole holiday. We had two standard rooms which in my opinion, and many others, are lot nicer than the superior rooms on the ground floor as on the first floor you have the advantage of the splendid vaulted ceilings. The rooms are quite sizeable with ample storage. The bathroom is one of the biggest I have ever seen in a hotel with his and hers sinks and a large bath with shower over. The rooms are cleaned each day and new towels are supplied. The staff are so friendly and eager to please. Every time you say thank you they say ";your most welcome"; which is really nice. The main restaurant (Cocos) is a lovely nautical themed place set into the hill overlooking the Atlantic.

Although this beach is quite breezy it is a godsend when you are eating as it is really refreshing without being overpowering. Breakfast is a buffet and so is dinner. Breakfast is the same each day but dinner varies daily and some of the dishes are really different from what you would expect. Lunch is also a buffet but there is also the option of choosing from the menu which offers burgers, ribs, hot dogs etc. In fact, if requested the chef would cook burgers especially for you at dinner it you did not fancy anything from the buffet. The beach facing the Atlantic is quite breezy and full of seaweed but great for sunbathing. However, the beach on Marmora Bay is much nicer and just a minutes stroll away from the rooms. Here you can do lots of water sports, sunbath or just swim in the sea. As it is a bay, there is hardly any current and the waves do not break so it is very safe. There are two jetties that can be used for sunbathing. These are good but the sea is very deep out that far so we much preferred the beach. There is a drinks cart and a beach bar that be used to get drinks from on the all-inclusive deal.

On Monday and Thursday nights you have to dine at the restaurants in the St James Club. These are ok but we much preferred Cocos. The tennis courts are good. As it gets very hot and you cannot be bothered to walk just hail one of the men driving the golf carts around and they will take you where you want to go in the resort. We won a meal at Piccolo Mondos. This restaurant is very nice indeed and well worth a visit- although the $35 surcharge may put you off. The check in and chill out service is very good and well worth it. But a word of advice go to the desk at around 9-9:15am as the queue gets very long and tedious in the heat. We took a tour of Nelsons dockyard and Shirley Heights. This is well worth it but do not go through Virgin. Ring up reception and ask for a taxi. The taxi is cheaper and the driver will give you lots of information. The trip costs us, with admission to the various places, $100.

We never actually went to the swimming pools but what we saw of them they were good. Beach towels are provided so now need to take them. In total, we had a fantastic time at this hotel and would have no hesitation in recommending it. The staff, service, facilities and atmosphere are fantastic - no wonder it is Virgin's Flagship hotel.

We just returned from St James Beach Club after 2 glourous weeks June 9th -June 23rd,2006.I agree with the other reviews it was just fabulous, we could not have wished for a better holiday.

Food, accomodation, staff were all 1st class, all staff we talked to could not do enough for you. Shopping in st Johns is also very good you do not feel intimidated nor are you harrased in anyway.

The flight outward was also fab as it was less than half full so we were allowed to sit where we liked, but!! yes there is always a but. Totally relaxed we went to check in our luggage on site very good idea but were then told there was no plane to take us home, after sitting around for about 1 hour we were informed we would be going on the flight to St Lucia and would be picked up at 5.30 3 hours later than planned. We then had to sit on the tarmac untill the flight picked up all the people from St Lucia which resulted in us being nearly 7 hours late and we missed our connection to Aberdeen so had to wait until 5pm to get on to another BA flight. We had to pay for this ourselves and now have to claim it back from Virgin. this has in my opinion spoiled what was a wonderful holiday but yet yes I would go back in a flash.

Just returned from the Beach Club at St James and I cannot recommend it highly enough. To clarify a couple of points, The Beach Club is part of the St James Club and all the facilities can be used throughout the stay.
The only limitation to your AI stay are; there is a Beach Club restaurant (Cocos)which you eat in for the vast majority of the time, and you can get inclusive drinks from Cocos bar, the Mamora BBQ bar and the drinks trolley that goes around the beaches every hour, but not in the other 3 bars.
Dinner in Cocos is great a mixture of a la carte and a buffet selection. Twice a week you dine in different restaurants, the excellent Docksider Restaurant and the less impressive Garden Restaurant.
Lunch can be taken at Cocos or the BBQ bar on Mamora beach.
The food is generally excellent, loads of fresh fruit and fish and plenty of choice. My 2 children loved the food and thankfully there are hardly any chips!!

The standard rooms are great, lovely high ceilings and very effective air con. The premium rooms would be great too, direct access onto the beach, but less airy.
The rooms in the Beach Club are much nicer and larger than the St James rooms.
Everything else was fabulous, great service, friendly staff, the resort is spotless and excellently maintained.
If you go on the village tour you will get $125 worth of vouchers for a 30 minute session. However be warned they are very impressive and can be very tempting (too tempting in my case).
Good tours are the boat trip around the island and the jeep safari. Do not go horseriding with virgin, a very badly managed trip. A word of caution the deli in the Village is incredibly expensive $6 for a packet of crisps.

Overall a brilliant place to holiday.

We spent two glorius weeks at the Beach Club, St James at the beginning of February. Don't upgrade to a premium room as the first floor rooms are much nicer, the only difference is you don't have steps down to the beach, you don't have a fridge full of drink (but it's all inclusive anyway!!) and you don't get a bathrobe (take your own!). The upstairs rooms have fantastic high vaulted ceiling and the rooms are the biggest I have every stayed in in the Caribbean. The bath is huge (big enough for two with arms rests), double sinks, hairdryer and toiletries replenished every day. The room not only had air conditioning but also a ceiling fan and en enormous bed.

The Caribbean beach is just a two minute stroll through the villas and is very large, we had the same beach shade every day regardless of if we went to the beach at 9.00 or 3.00. The drinks cart comes round every hour with you cold drinks. The only downside to this hotel is that there are a large number of villas that are for rent on the complex and these are mainly taken by Americans who have to pay for their food and continually use Coco's dining room, so although the hotel is Virgin only the dining room isn't. The bar area needs complete renovation but unfortunately you don't have any choice as you can't get drinks at the St. James Club without paying.

The food is excellent and the maitr d' a very nice man. All the staff in the restaurant are great but the bar staff are very surly (this first time we've come across this in the Caribbean). You will get a note through your door from the villa people asking if you want to visit, it is time share but it's worht half an hour of your time. Each booking is individual and they show you round these five star villas, give you a sheet with the prices on and then they give you two vouchers. One for 75 dollars to spend in the St James shop and one for 50 dollars to spend in the casino. it's well worth a visit. Check in chill out is as usual excellent. Visit St Johns for your gifts and duty free (ladies especially the diamonds!!) this will cost you $25 for a taxi per couple and also visit Nelsons Dockyard. Extremely well worth it and this will cost $12 dollars per couple.

Do what we did and have a fantastic holiday.