We have been travelling in the carribean for twelve years or so and although we enjoyed our holiday we were disappointed by St James. The hotel and grounds are clean and well kept, the food and staff are great but the resort is large and lacksany carribean atmosphere. The beaches well kept but very few people swim in the sea as it is full of sea weed and unclear. My children and husband had great fun every day sailing the hobbies but you do have to book these early in the day. When we were there at half term the hotel was full and the staff struggled to cope. In theory we should have been able to eat at any of the restaurants. A time was allocated daily after which you were allowed to book and about 45mins before this a large queue would snake around the reception area. Very few people achieved abooking at the Piccolo or the Docksider as only a few booking were taken and it became apparent that bookings were taken before this time. Many residents became extremely cross but management became unavailable and left the front desk staff with a problem that was not their fault. The third restaurant Coco's desk staff told us was kept for the residents of the village as it was the only one they were allowed to use. The hotel was full and so most of the roughly 800 people were left to the two sittings in the Rainbow which was a similar to an aircraft hangar and sounded like school dinners as a result. We secured a booking at Piccolos once and Docksider twice and they both were good - Piccolos was excellent. There was one pool to use-one was for adults only, the child only pool was tiny and well away from the hotel and the third not very nice. As a result it was difficult to find anywhere to sit and was full to capacity of very noisy children. It seems many people who enter reports on this site return year after year to the resort. I can only assume they have never been anywhere else and would urge them to spread their wings a little, there are far better places to go many of which are also less expensive.

This was my first trip back to Antigua in twenty years and fortunately
it remains as lovely an island as I remembered. It is mountainous,
green, and uncrowded with countless gorgeous beaches. The natives are
very polite, very friendly and seem to enjoy interacting with tourists.
Although Antiguans officially drive on the left, they also drive on the
right and in the middle of the road with frequent passing. This is one
island where you will be more comfortable with a taxi than a rental
car.

The St. James's Club is a lovely 4 star hotel set off on its own gated,
palm-laden peninsula on the southeastern Atlantic side of the island.
We were there in mid March for Spring Break. Half the guests were
British and it seemed as though the remainder were from suburban
Connecticut making for an interesting mix. The resort is spacious and
lovely; the landscaping is lush and well-groomed. The staff were always
extremely helpful and friendly. Meal were often buffet and the food is
excellent. Management takes their long pants to dinner dress code
seriously and my fifteen year old son was sent back twice to change out
of shorts.

We stayed in a very spacious 2 bedroom 2 bath villa with LR/DR/kitchen on 2 separate floors and an upstairs deck overlooking sailboats in the bay. Although it was somewhat dated in appearance, it's size more than compensated. The ocean beach was scenic and breezy but not really swimable because of an overgrowth of seagrass in the shallows. The bay side was perfect for sailing, kayaking and swimming but had more the murky color of the North Atlantic than the Caribbean. If you require gin-clear aquamarine water pick a resort on the west side of the island or in Aruba. That aside, my wife and two teens kept very busy the week we were there and I would have no hesitation to return.

Our wonderful travel agent, Annette, told us about the St. Jame's Club.
We owe her BIG time! The St. Jame's Club is by far the nicest resort we have stayed at. We have travelled the Caribbean many times (Aruba, Bahama's) as well as Riviera Maya in Mexico. The first wonderful thing about the resort, by far, is the staff. From the minute we stepped out of the taxi from the airport until we were sadly departing, we were given nothing but exceptional service the entire 10 days we were there.
Secondly, the food was phenomenal!! Each night we ate at a different restauarant (and the St. Jame's Club does not limit you on how many restaurants you can eat at on the resort, like some all-inclusives) and were surprised each and every night, they have 4 wonderful restaurants to choose from. The Piccolo Mondo was our favorite (only because it was a little more upscale and more intimate). Whether the menu was ala carte or buffet style - it was delicious!! The grounds of the resort were beautiful. It was nice being away from the other large resorts and be on our own on our own little peninsula. You had your pick of the Atlantic Ocean-side beach, the Mamora Bay beach, or one of 4 pools.
There were plenty of shaded areas for those who don't like to be in the sun all day. We loved the St. Jame's Club because it was an ideal place for us to go relax, and do whatever it was we chose to do for that particular day. People who travel to the Caribbean need to realize that the island resorts are not like the large Hilton's and Hyatt's of the big cities. These resorts are made personal by the staff, the grounds, and the individual island you are visiting. Each resort is so different and it's important to find one that fits your needs. If you are looking for a lot of activity, loud motor sports, lots of partying, then St.
Jame's Club is not for you. That's not what we were looking for in a vacation, so that' why the St. Jame's Club was perfect for us! Can't wait to return and reunite with the wonderful friends we made: Maureen and Terry, and Sarah and Mike. Thanks St. Jame's Club for a perfect, wonderful getaway!!

Just returned from our third consecutive annual visit to St James's Club. We have obviously been delighted with our previous visits but this year was even better than those. Various improvements have been made in the last year that were quite noticeable. The quality of food, which we already regarded as very good, is now even better and with a greater variety. More palm trees have been planted on the Mamora Bay beach providing more shady areas. More 'Hobie Cats' have been added to the 'fleet' making it easier to get some sailing time in. As ever, the staff were very attentive and friendly. We shall be going back again next year!