St. James's Club & Villas

Just returned from 5 great days at beautiful St James Club Antigua. Room was lovely. Beaches beautiful. The buffets provided a very big selection of food, but the quality was only fair. However, the a la carte meals we had at Rainbow Gardens, Cocoa Beach, and Piccolo Mondo were outstanding. There was a substantial upcharge for Piccolo Mondo, but we felt it was worth it. The best thing about this resort was the staff. From the porters to the front desk, to the guest services desk, to the servers in the restaurants, to the people sweeping the walkways, everyone was smiling, friendly, and helpful in every way. We prepaid for airport shuttle through cheapcaribbean, and we believe we were way overcharged--almost twice what a cab should have cost, plus we shared the ride.

I was looking for a nice quite vacation and that is what I got - I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you're looking for a low key vacation, this is the place for you. However, If you're looking for a place with fun outgoing staff, a variety of excursions, high quality nightly entertainment and various dining options, this is not the place for you. Cons: -No swim up bars -When we arrived it was past 4pm, and the room should have been ready at 3pm and still was not ready. After a long day of travelling this is very frustrating. -Not many dining options - One of the restaurants, Piccolo Mundo was an extra cost per person - the food was great, but it should have been included. -Many staff seemed unhappy to be there. I met a handful of staff that actually seemed happy to be working - Anita, Alex, Alfred and a few others. I have been on other vacations and the staff were more friendly and all about the customer experience. -The wait for a burger or hot dog at the Surfside Grill was crazy. We'd be starving, order a burger (keep in mind it wasn't busy) and it'd take 30+ minutes to get our food. -The nightly entertainment was below average. The staff didn't know what times things were starting at, and the posters outside were often incorrect. I missed the magic show because of this. I then asked a fellow beach goer how the show was and they said "it was so bad that it was funny" - the nightly entertainment was disorganized and below average -There's N ocean part, and bay side part to the resort - the bay is more like a lake, and when i went, it was tooooo windy to be on the ocean side - also it is the Atlantic, not the Caribbean -Excursions were limited -We paid $300 extra for on ocean front room, and didn't have a walk out to the beach - disappointed and confused this wasn't made more clear through CheapCaribbean - in addition, all rooms were ocean front, so I don't know why we paid extra...going to contact CheapCaribbean about this -I went on one excursion while I was there and the staff member who signed us up mixed up the time, so our taxi was late, and when we arrived to the excursion we had to wait on a picnic table in the hot sun for over an hour before our tour started - aggravating! Pros: -Though most of the nightly entertainment was disorganized, trivia night, and karaoke was fun, and organized (though everything starts late, very very late) -The live bands and singers were amazing!! -The food was very tasty overall -Drinks were delicious and strong -try the BBC and Club Special! -They had a cocktail party and give away prizes, which was very nice and generous - i won a free snorkeling trip! -The water trampolines in the bay on were fun and relaxing to lay on -Landscaping was absolutely beautiful -The room and bathroom = very large size, which was great - lots of hangers in the closet too! -Bird island was very pretty - part of the excursion -Other beach goers were friendly -Crowd was older which was nice (average 45+) - quite atmosphere -If you're lucky you may see a kitten or two around the resort - super cute!! -Fitness center was big! However the AC was broken. -Two sinks in bathroom was a plus. Overall I would recommend this place - it is a pretty resort and great for relaxing and low key adventures.

We opted for the Deal of Fortune, but were really hoping that we would land St James Club & Villas - which we did. Amazing resort. Friendliest, most helpful staff ever. Nothing was too much trouble. Everyone went out of their way to make your vacation the most relaxing experience possible. Two beaches: Coco Beach, slightly choppier water, but a great reef to snorkel a little way out from the beach, and a beautiful breeze blowing all day long to keep you cool; or Mamora Bay, very still water, a little disappointingly murky, but wonderfully warm and lots of watersports to amuse. No breeze on this side of the resort, so you can feel yourself fry! Plenty of pools in the various areas of the resort, all beautifully maintained. Four restaurants provide a large variety of dining options to keep everyone happy, from snack type meals to fine dining (though there was a small additional charge for Piccolo Mondo, but well worth it). The Rainbow Garden provided breakfast and lunch daily, and dinner most nights. A la carte or buffet was offered for breakfast and lunch, and we were very impressed at the way the buffet selections were changed up daily. Dress Code is 'elegant' for Piccolo Mondo (long pants, collared shirts & closed toed shoes for men) and 'summer casual' for the remainder of the restaurants. There was a certain amount of griping about the dress code from some guests, but we thought it was a rather nice touch. We were upgraded from a club room to a premium room, which I think was basically the same room but with a partial view of the ocean. The room was spacious, spotlessly clean, and everything functioned perfectly. Housekeeping here is second to none. Transport is easy - golf carts available to whip you around the property if you're too tired to walk after a long hard day on the beach; taxis on site to take you wherever you like if you wish to explore, and a car rental office on site if you're brave enough to drive and want to explore on your own terms. Daily entertainment on the resort. Kids Club to give parents a break. Dive shop on site. Catamaran tours available from the hotel. There's just not enough time to take advantage of all there is to offer! We had a wonderful stay and can't wait to return.

Ended up with this hotel through Deal of Fortune for Antigua. The staff here was incredibly nice and helpful. There is a beach side of the resort with waves and a bay side with water sports. We preferred the beach side which always had a nice breeze so you never felt too hot. Would recommend bringing your own snorkel. Plenty of shady spots with trees and cabanas. They drive around on carts and offer you drinks so you don't have to search for a bar. It wasn't too crowded at the resort this time of year (beginning of July), never had any trouble finding lounge chairs, getting clean towels, or waiting too long for tables at meals. Food options better than other all inclusive resorts I have stayed at. Rooms could use some updating but overall no real complaints, good vacation for the price- very relaxing.