We have just returned from St James Club and were disappointed with the resort. The good points are the location. Situated on a small peninsular the resort enjoys two great beaches. All the pools are four star standard with an adult only pool included in the complex. The problems start with the accommodation. Avoid the Hibiscus rooms like the plague, particularly lower floors if with young children as this is where airline crew are placed as children and crew don't exactly keep the same hours. Enough said!! In general our room was typical standard Caribbean although shabby and in need of updating. The real problems we found are with the way the resort is run. Restaurants and bars are run like what can only be best described as 60's holiday camp mentality with strict opening times and dress codes. Booking is essential in restaurants as is the dress code. We normally enjoy dressing for dinner but to be quite blunt the standard of the place and food (plastic tables and chairs) just doesn't warrant it. The bars seem to open when the staff bother to turn up and close before they should. We even witnessed staff asleep on bar top during the day for heavens sake. The overall impression is that the resort is being run for the benefit of the staff and not the guests. Having read previous reviews it would appear this was not always the case and we can only assume that the decline in standards is only recent. We went all inclusive a first time for us as we now have a child, however any ice creams etc are not included and had to be purchased from the shop or deli both of which are nowhere near the beaches I know its only a trivial point but nonetheless annoying on a daily basis. Even upon checkout we were not asked if we enjoyed our stay etc just pay and go. As you may now have deducted we will not being returning to St James Club. Our considered opinion based upon our experience is this resort should rate as 3 star at best.

My boyfriend and I enjoyed an all inclusive week at St James' Club. Overall this hotel and beach club development is great. It was rated 4 star in the Virgin brochure and having travelled extensively this is a well deserved rating.
Unfortunately on arrival we seemed to miss out on the welcome rum punch...just what we required after our prolonged and sweaty wait for the transfer.
We had a standard room (bit dated) which was of a very good size with a huge balcony. The amenities were TV, safe, 2 sinks, very average shower/bath(long hair beware!) However, it was very clean.
First day we had a look around at what the hotel complex had to offer. It is much bigger than it sounds as it has shared facilities with The Beach Club and a number of time share and rented properties. However, this meant there were two gorgeous beaches (one on a lagoon/harbour) and 4 pools. During our stay one of the beaches was permanently windy, but i guess in the antiguan heat this was refreshing! The pools were a perfect temperature and apart from the main pool (where all the families with kids hung out) were pretty deserted which suited us!
To warn you topless sunbathing isn't permitted anywhere in the resort.
There are 4 restaurants. Three are basically the same but in different but beautiful settings. The buffets were decent but not gourmet. (its not 5 star tho so..?) There is 1 restaurant of 5 star quality but it costs $35 dollars a head extra even for AI guests. However, TopTip - If you are offered a time share viewing of about 45mins (sales nausea!) you get one meal here free plus $75 to spend in the gift shop! - well worth it!
The major negative we found was the staffs attitude. All, but afew seemed surly. It did put abit of a dampener on meal times.
In summary, £1000 well spent, but i wouldn't spend much more than £1300 or you could feel short changed.

We booked a premium room at the St james club but was it a premium room? Tired in places and situated right next to the Gym with noise early in the morning from various maintenance vans. Had seaview but not the best. We enquired at reception which type of room we were given and they were positive that it was a premium room. Anyway, too lazy to repack, we did not ask to move.
The situation with the Beach Club (exclusive to Virgin Holidays) and the St James Club is not well defined. On arrival, we were dumped with other people and had to queue for check in at a hut outside the Beach Club and then told to go up the main hotel lobby where the St James' reception is located.
St James Club's guests can eat in all restaurants while the Beach Club's guests, apart of 2 nights a week, can only eat in Coco's or pay for Piccolo Mundo.
According to some guests, the rooms at the Beach Club are in better condition than some at the St James. All the facilities are common.
Food was not brilliant. Breakfast was nice with good choices. Buffet lunch was not very appetising apart of salads. Dinner, a la carte, was for some dishes nice, most of the time indifferent. My husband said that the fish was always overcooked. Accompaniments mostly the same every night. You have to remember to book. We somehow managed to book 2 days ahead sometimes when we could see the menu.
The drinks were watered at the beach bar but quite good in the night bar. Wine and "champagne" were of poor quality.
Service was from good to poor with the staff either very nice or from sultry to rude.
Evening entertainment: non existent or late. The magician who comes around tables in the bar is good if you show interest. A trio in the docksider restaurant was very funny. That is about all. Good music at Shirley Heights on Sunday nights.
Beaches are nice with plenty of shade, mostly from the palm trees. We never had difficulties to find a lounger but were not the last on the beach. Towels were mostly of good quality.
Watersports were good with equipment in good condition and tuition, from my husband's point of view on a hobbycat, good and friendly.
We used the tennis courts most days. They are fine except for drainage problems after the rain. Water is provided on the side of the courts: that is a nice touch.

We went on the Virgin ahoy trip around the island with the Excellence. That was a good fun day out. Snorkelling is not terrific as the reef is mostly dead, but we could find a few colourful fish and the sea was warm.
We rented a car for a day. True the roads are very bumpy and the local driving hazardous, but it was a good way to visit the island and spot other hotels.
Did not think much about St Johns. Only a stop for massive cruise ships with their folks straight into the jewellery shops.
At night the place is scary and on a Saturday night unbearably noisy with a all night rave. But this is an other story following an incident with our Virgin flight back to the UK.

Overall, we enjoyed our week in Antigua. The St James Club has a good location but, in our view only deserves 3 1/2 stars.

We've just had a wonderful, relaxing week at the St James's Club. The temperature in November was perfect, hot but not uncomfortable.Our room which overlooked the ocean was large, spacious and very clean. The surrounding gardens were beautiful. The staff were numerous, friendly and very helpful. The swimming pool areas were very clean - towels are provided, so don't waste luggage space. Both the beaches were great, the sheltered side offering free gentle water sports which we took advantage of in learning to sail a 'Hobie cat' - brilliant - our first time in charge of a sailing boat.
The beaches were well supplied with straw umbrellas and lots of palm trees for shelter and sufficient sunbeds (just about) so that you didn't have to rush to 'bag' one too early.
We were all inclusive which was definitely the best thing to do. $75 a day for 3 meals and unlimited drinks is excellent value. You didn't even have to leave the beach for a drink as a mercy wagon came along every now and then to top you up, so you don't have to carry any money with you. Food was great in all the restaurants and plenty of choice, just remember to book the day before or early the same day. The inclusive wine was just about OK but of course you can choose any other bottle from the wine list and pay extra. Piccolo Mondo was lovely but not really worth the extra $35.
We went on the shopping trip to St John's but unless there is something you really need to buy I wouldn't bother. The sunset
cruise on the catamaran was good fun.
There is a shop in the hotel with swimsuits, sarongs, shirts, flip flops etc and not overpriced, in case you forget anything.
We are definitely going to go there again.