St. James's ClubReviews of stjamesclubantigua.com

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.

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!