St. James's Club Bewertungen 13

Just back from a fabulous two weeks holiday at St James’s Club. Our first visit there and we were very impressed with the facilities and number of eateries on the complex. The food was of very good quality and such a wide variety to suit the requirements of most guests. The staff were very helpful and very hard working. A special mention for Joe in the Mamora coffee shop, Amali in Docksider and Mr Riaan the general manager who is very approachable and is so focused on improving the quality of stay for the guests, nothing is too much trouble.
A few tips; English Harbour is worth visiting and have many good quality restaurants to have a change from the resorts menus. Also Shirley Heights is good fun and the Friday night beach Party is a must visit.

We rarely return to places we have visited on holiday but St James’s Club is certainly one we would consider.

We have been going to St James's for 10 years and it has always been fabulous but last November we noticed a huge difference in the quality and variety of food available in the restaurants and the food is now at another level. The upgrades to the kitchens is evident - Kudos to Riaan and his team. Make sure your trip includes a Friday night for "Beach Party" as it's amazing!!

Second time at St James and again not disappointed with the accommodation, food and services at this resort. We stayed on Coco beach which offered a cooling breeze and while there is constant seaweed washed up on the beach, the staff are out early clearing it up. The amount of seaweed does not stop you entering the water for a refreshing swim. Plenty of sunbeds available on both beaches so no need to rush to get your towel down. Thanks to manager Riian for his help and willingness to stop and ask if all was OK and have a general chat, generally involved Liverpool FC, but obviously a man who works hard for the benefit of us holidaymakers. Thanks to you and your staff.

So we stayed at the resort from 7-16 Jan 26 all inclusive. On arrival the booking in procedure was simple and quick, we were given a key and lock for the safe, but it was not required (more about that later). We didn't get the king size bed as my wife selected and asked for in a follow-up email, but decided that the large twin beds would suffice. There was a paucity of information in the room about the resort in general. We were not informed of the meet and orientation at 0930, found that out ourselves the next morning after breakfast, but we missed it. We took note (pictures) of all the activities and meal times and themes from the 2 notice boards and then set off to recce the area on foot, which was simple to do as long as you don't have any mobility issues. After the first day we generally knew where everything was (time spent on reconnaissance is seldom waste). So here we go on the review:

Room (135) good location, nice view of the beach, could sit on the balcony, air-con fine when required, easy to control and switch off. Don't watch TV on holiday so can't comment, easy walk to both beaches and overall facilities. In general, the room was a bit tired and the cleaning regime somewhat erratic until by chance I found out it was only every other day, so on our second day when we had a afternoon nap and used the don’t disturb sign, there was no room service until 4 days in to the holiday. The electronic safe displayed an error reading, we reported it, a guy turned up, checked it out, said it needed batteries and we never saw hime again.

Food: whichever meal or restaurant theme we used the food was great and my wife is a foodie. The coffee shop was an oasis during the day for a bit of respite and great for bird watching.

Drink/Refreshments: Nothing at all to complain about, Wilson and Mackie and others kept us topped up...good lads.

Activities: We did pickle ball, paddle boarding and used the gym, very enjoyable. My wife also did pilates on the beach jetty.

The music nights down at the harbour after dinner were a great way to end the day/night. The beach party was a blast and we were fortunate to sit and meet with members of the staff and The GM Riaan (pity he is a Liverpool supporter), great night, thanks for your company.

The beaches were good as were the locations of the beds/umbrella's, plenty of shade to retreat into, towels were always available. We didn't really use the pools other than the bars.
Staff: The staff were always respectful and nothing was too much trouble, "No Problem".
In summary we had a great holiday at a great location, with friendly staff and good food and drink and weather. What's not to like? The few niggles were just that and did not distract from a great holiday. Thank you.

The whole complex is well maintained and the staff are extremely friendly, helpful and knowledgeable to all requests and requirements. The amenities are of a high quality, the food and restaurants are of high quality and cater for everyone, with a vast choice. If you are looking for a holiday in Antigua look no further, wither its beach, pool or sporting activities this resort has something for everyone.

We visited St James for the first time twenty years ago with our two toddlers, and wanted to return with our now adult children. We spent ten days there over Christmas and it was a mixed experience.

The property has improved since we were there last, new coffee shop, gym, more rooms, clean and the floodlit tennis courts are fabulous.

We were staying in one of the self catering Villas, which was in a perfect location literally feet from the beach. The first morning we decided to visit the hotel restaurant for the buffet breakfast - when I asked for the bill I was asked to pay $300 USD for 4 x people!. I raised this with the Manager thinking it was a mistake, he promptly told me it was correct. I was told that if I, wanted to transfer to All Inclusive they would charge me $340 USD per day but it had to be for a minimum of three days. They eventually gave me a discount but I had to argue for it.

Generally most staff seemed miserable and overworked, they didn't seem to want to be there, expect long waits for just about everything, we waited for over an hour for lunch on more than one occasion and heard other diners complaining about the same thing.

I have traveled extensively round the Caribbean but never experienced such a terrible hotel as the St. James’s Club in Antigua and it is vastly over priced. Albeit situated on a beautiful peninsula.
It is tired, very short staffed for its size. Water problems endless in the bathrooms. Taps all rusty drains dirty, rooms serviced they state every second day bearing in mind this is supposed to be a four star hotel! Service in restaurants terrible. Food average. Music very loud at all stations. Beach towels never stocked up. Messages not relayed from department to department. The management have no power to solve any big problems - all reverted to base by email somewhere in Miami - they never answer. It becomes one huge stressful holiday. We are now thankfully recovering at a beautiful hotel on the island.

We stayed in ‘Royal Suites’ which is the Adults Only part of this resort for our 10th Wedding Anniversary.
The room was nice with a balcony overlooking Mamora Bay, with a lovely bed and huge bathroom. Everywhere is extremely clean and well kept. The grounds are vibrant and neat and there is no litter or mess, and the tennis courts were very nice and well maintained. Empty glasses and used towels are collected quickly. The beaches are really clean and hardly packed with people. There are a few swimming pools but sadly are not suitable for actually swimming in, except the one next to the Rainbow Restaurant and Bar, but this was the one used for all the activities.

The special concierge for the Royal Suites was supposed to be open everyday, however in the time we were there it was only open on 2 of the days, which was a real shame. However, when it was open and manned by Lorraine, we received excellent service, who also managed to organise a romantic meal for 2 on the beach to help us celebrate our anniversary.

The excursions offered are great and the tour lady was very helpful in explaining and giving recommendations. The Pink Panther Tour was a highlight - there was nothing our driver Joy didn’t know about the island and the locations we visited and it was amazing to see and learn about the culture of the island. The taxi’s from the hotel were extremely expensive, which was a shame as it put us off from using them to discover the island for ourselves.

Piccolo Monde Restaurant was the fine dining restaurant which you had to pay a supplement for. What a fantastic experience it was, the views, the staff, Ariana the Singer were all excellent, and the food was absolutely lovely, which made it one of the best meals we have ever had.

Throughout the Resort, staff were lovely by speaking to you when they passed with a Good Morning or Hello. However the staff in the Restaurants were very hit and miss with inconsistent levels of service, from rude and lazy (which was a shame and let the resort down), to excellent. We did notice that the excellent staff were frowned upon by their Managers for speaking to us, which came across and noticed by Guests.

Special mentions have to go to Damyon, Jessica, Joslin and Beverley who were all absolutely fantastic in their attentiveness, with lovely personalities, and have to say it was a joy to be served by them.
Other special mentions have to go to Vernon who took the time to teach my Wife and I how to sail. Tony the Bar Tender in the Jacaranda Lounge who made us feel very welcome.

A lot of reviews mention the seaweed, however for us it was an act of nature, however there were teams cleaning up the beaches, which was great to see. The seaweed didn’t affect our holiday in the slightest.
Overall, we enjoyed our holiday at St James’s and in Antigua.

Returning guest , 3-week stay , beachfront room.
A lovely time but a mixed bag this time really, overall a noticeable lowering of some standards since previous 2022 visit. At times the resort felt very busy, although it was lovely to look at. The seaweed being washed up on the Atlantic side beach was a big problem this year , particularly on the beach side closest to the main hotel. Watersports excellent , restaurant food generally very good in our view with only a few minor issues. Restaurant service was very slow in the 11-11(all day) restaurant sometimes taking hours at lunchtime just for a salad but did improve after we raised the matter with Elite Hotels centrally. Food content and size were sometimes erratic- ie same dish different from one day to another.
US $ prices in the restaurants look very expensive when converted into £ if you weren't all-inclusive ( we were).
Room not cleaned for first 4 days but again, attended to after we had complained. Wifi not good enough for this day and age.
Selected restaurant closures on certain days meant a restricting of choice to a buffet or the 11/11 restaurant and you needed to book your table early to ensure reservation at the Rainbow garden on the days that it was open.
Staff were mostly friendly and helpful ( some very much so) but there was evidence of staff shortages and lack of experience.

The resort is generally nice, the villas are decent and all the staff are very friendly, but there are way too many guests on site for the number of staff on duty. One of the restaurants was closed for a week because of staff shortages, which was a problem with so few options. The food is average at best. Wait times for tables and service are excessive for the expense. The supposedly best restaurant on site charges $37.50 surcharge per person, even if you are all inclusive.
We also booked a tour at the hotel that was cancelled several times, which was hugely disappointing.
Overall, St James’s Club is nowhere near value for money, but is a good for a break if you want to do absolutely nothing and have unlimited amounts of money to burn.

Booked 5 days all inclusive package, got picked up at the Airport as arranged. Checked in at the front desk, sent to our room with no instructions,figured there would be some paper work describing the place and amenities.There was not even amap with the layout of the place. When time for dinner we did not know where to eat, we had to ask fellow guests. The front desk was telling us the name of the different resturants but not how to find them.Even asked some workers and they did not know.The dockside, their main resturant serves buffet style food for lunch, but is not open some nights. For the first 3 days we did not find a resturant to have a good breakfast or where the pool was located. turns out the Rainbow Cafe was about 50 yards from the front desk. For te entire 5 days while there I could not connect to the internet. One more thing there are no elevators in the place. I have 2 dislocated discs in the back also need rotator cuff surgery on both shoulders and to add insult to injury the tv set in my room had awased out picture that hurt your eyes to watch. I spoke to some of the staff and found out they are very dissafied with management. When the place shut down for 3 months during COVID the staff was furloughed, but when they reopened again they wanted to pay them as new employees, so most left and went to other hotels for better pay. On the positive sidethe grounds were meticuously landscaped-if you like peace and quiet to read a good book you will like this place. one more thing worth mentioning, they had a manager who tried toupgrade conditions for the staff but was fired after 2 months for spending too much, no wonder the staff is disgruntled, but they do not show it to the guests.. As someone who was born in the caribbean I was able to get informationthat they probably would not tell other guests. Needless to say I would not patronise this hotel? again.

We have just spent 10 days at St James Club. We had previously enjoyed at many other stays during the last 10 years and thought everything about the previous holidays had been wonderful, our last stay was February 2020, just before Covid.
We had been led to believe that we would feel Covid safe and were happy to pay all of the extra fees charged to cover this.
To our dismay, virtually all of the staff had seemingly been replaced with young staff without experience, who were basically disinterested and unhelpful.
We had booked our usual Royal Suite room and were told that the cleaning would be reduced to every second day. We didn't get cleaned for any of the next three days so asked if the room could be cleaned and the towels changed and at least every third day in the future which did then happen.
Despite all of the notices around the hotel assuring us that everything was being done to keep everyone covid safe, on the day we left we were told that we would be transferred to the airport at 5.00pm for our 8.00pm flight. We had to give up our room in the Royal Suite at 12.00, but we would be provided with an alternative room to shower and freshen up before we left, which was often the routine. We asked to book the room for 3.30pm but were told at reception that booking the room wasn't necessary as they had plenty of rooms available. This wasn't what had happened in the past so I returned twice more to the reception and requested to reserve the slot but were told again that a reservation wasn't necessary and to just come along when we wanted the room.
When we went to reception at 3.30pm we were told to take our suitcases to the porter who would take us to the shower facilities in the electric buggy as it was too far away from the reception area to walk.
The porter then took us to the gymnasium toilets and told us that we needed to freshen up in the gymnasium male and female toilets and left our cases outside. My wife and I had to separate after leaving the cases in the gymnasium and each use the separate toilets alongside other guests taking the same evening flight and the guests using the gymnasium at the time. In my case, I had to wait by the row of urinals for the one shower to be available and to use the toilet which was also being used. There were two washbasins side by side where I was able to have a shave alongside another guest. The only place to get changed was by the side of the urinals as the shower room had nowhere to put either a towel or clothes without getting them wet. All of the time the facilities were available for the guests in the gymnasium. There were no masks, no social distancing and nothing was being cleaned.
We had thought we were staying in a luxury hotel but this seemed closer to a camping holiday.
We tried to complain to the duty manager who tried to pretend that it had been a mistake and we were the only guests who hadn't been provided with a covid safe private room but this certainly wasn't true because I and my wife had used the facilities alongside other guests on the same flight. Some guests had been given shower rooms but for some reason others hadn't.
I explained how it didn't feel at all safe to be sharing facilities at this time but she claimed that it was a rare mistake and generally the premises were covid safe. This wasn't our experience at all. The previous day we had been asked to come to the reception area for the lateral flow tests we had booked at the hotel. We were then asked to go into a room with a total of 82 people and jostle for over 2 hours to get into a side room for our test. There was no social distancing whatsoever and had any of the guests had covid, we would all have been at risk.
At the time of writing this review, I am waiting with my fingers crossed on the result of my PCR test taken shortly after we landed at Heathrow.
In summary, the hotel is not the same as it has been in countless ways but if you have any concerns about covid I would consider your options.
Room 233 Royal Suite

Now that my wife and I are semi-retired, it frees us up to travel more. We had to turn down past offers to visit some of the finest resorts in the Caribbean but this time, we selected St. James Club. They had closed for a couple of months to renovate. We were curious to see the improvements made during the shut down.

Upon check in, my wife and I were upgraded to a Jr. Suite in the Poinciana building. They remodeled many of the rooms by replacing the flooring and updating the bathroom. The view from our room was perfect. The Rainbow Garden restaurant received a complete makeover as well. The Jacaranda Bar and Lounge had a moldy smell but was supposedly “redesigned”.

You can sense how proud they are of their property. The staff was exceptional. The grounds are well maintained. The quality and variety of food was excellent. Our british friends said the Piccolo Mondo was not worth the extra price and was “average” Italian fare. We didn’t see a need to pay the $40 US per person when the Coco Beach Restaurant, Rainbow Garden, Docksider and Eleven/11 were more that sufficient.

On the downside, free WiFi is only available in the lobby, Rainbow Garden and is spotty at best. You have the option of paying for WiFi if you would like internet access from your room, but we were not there to work!

Also, we felt slighted when we found a “No Children” pool close by. We were not welcome to use any facilities in the Royal Suite area, although the next closest “No Children” pool is a ten minute walk away. Patrick, the concierge, bemoaned to a guest how hard it was to keep the resort guests in the non-royal area from using the Royal Suite facilities. He may want to consider wristbands for the “royals” or specially colored towels that would identify them.

Overall, St. James Club is a wonderful destination for a romantic getaway and Antigua is a fantastic destination you must experience. Kudos to Elite Island Resorts!