St. James's Club, Antigua

Antigua, Caribbean

Virgin rating

The hotel

This lovely hotel sits on its own 100-acre peninsula at the southeast point of the island, just a 10-minute drive from Nelson's Dockyard with its historical buildings, museum and bars. There are two beaches, one for non-motorised water sports and the other for enjoying refreshing ocean breezes. The resort boasts five open-aired restaurants and one grill; most fêted of these is Piccolo Mondo, the resort's fine dining Mediterranean style restaurant in the village section, while the attractive waterside Docksider does a great Caribbean buffet each Thursday in alfresco surrounds. For a real treat, Royal Suites feature a king size bed with sunken living room, glass sliding doors to a private balcony and expansive bathrooms with deep soaking tubs and his and hers showers! A boardwalk also takes you from the suites right into the heart of Mamora Bay, perfect for strolling along in the moonlight! If plenty of home-from-home comforts appeal, choose a villa instead of a hotel room at St James's Club. Cheerful and bright, they feature warm Caribbean tones and terracotta tiles throughout. They're also very generous on space so are ideal for families and groups of friends.

Amenities

  • Kayaking
  • Sailing
  • Snorkelling
  • Tennis
  • Families
  • Honeymoon
  • Wedding
  • Bar
  • Evening Entertainment
  • Fitness Centre/Gym
  • Internet Access
  • Restaurant

Where is it

On the south east side of the island, with two beaches. 10-minute drive to Nelson's Dockyard and Shirley Heights. Transfer time from airport: approximately 35 minutes.

Hotel information

248 rooms on ground, first and second floors with no lifts. All with air-conditioning, flat-screen TV, tea/coffee-making facilities, safe, mini fridge, bathroom amenities, iron and ironing board, and hairdryer.

Standard Club Rooms are located on the ground floor with balcony or terrace, full garden view and 1 king-size bed, sleeping maximum 2 adults.

All Inclusive of: all meals, including afternoon tea and drinks (including sparkling wine and some premium brands) by the glass. All activities above unless otherwise stated. Bottled water not included.  

Premium Rooms feature garden or partial ocean views and are situated on the ground, 1st and 2nd floors, with 1 king-size bed or 2 double beds, sleeping maximum 3 adults, or 2 adults and 2 children.

Beachfront Rooms offer views of Coco Beach, with 1 king-size bed or 2 double beds, sleeping maximum 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 children.

Junior Suites feature a separate living space, larger balcony featuring garden or sea views, and 1 king-size bed (rollaway bed on request), sleeping maximum 2 adults and 1 child.

Royal Suites (adults-only) are situated in a private area of the resort with dedicated check-in. The suites have a separate seating area, private wet bar, and a deep soaking tub, with 1 king-size bed sleeping maximum 2 adults.

2-Bedroom Villas have a spacious living area and 2 bedrooms, both with en-suite bathrooms. An excellent choice for families as they offer a kitchen and large inside or outside living and dining areas with balcony or terrace, sleeping maximum 5 adults or 2 adults and 3 children with 1 king-size bed in master bedroom, twin beds in 2nd bedroom and using existing double sofa bed.

Please note: Standard Club, Premium Rooms and Junior Suites have no space for a rollaway bed*.

Please note: no children permitted in the Royal Suites.

Complimentary shuttle to transport guests around the property. Complimentary self-parking. 

Rainbow Garden (International and Caribbean cuisine, open for buffet breakfast and lunch, as well as a la carte dinner). Piccolo Mondo (fine dining Italian cuisine, surcharge applies). Coco Beach Restaurant & Bar (casual al fresco dining, open for breakfast and dinner on selected days). The Docksider Restaurant and Bar (waterfront dining, serving food and drinks from 11:00am-11:00pm, with live music on selected evenings). Eleven/11 (casual dining with ocean views). Mamora Bay Grill (beachside grill serving light lunches and refreshments). The Reef Deck Bar (poolside bar open throughout the day). Coco Beach Bar. Royal Pool Bar (exclusive to Royal suites guests). Jacaranda Lounge (featuring nightly entertainment, transforming into a nightclub on selected evenings). Mamora Bay Café, (24-hour coffee house). Drinks buggy serving the beach. Please note: restaurants open on a rotation basis due to season/occupancy.

Daytime activity schedule for all ages. Regular evening entertainment. Weekly manager's cocktail party and themed evenings. 

6 swimming pools including a designated kids pool and 3 adults-only pools. Tranquility Spa (massage and beauty salon)*. Gym with extensive list of exercise classes including yoga and Pilates. 4 tennis courts (floodlit for night play), tennis coaching*. Beach volleyball. Table tennis. Complimentary non-motorised water sports including Hobie sailing, snorkelling, kayaks and pedal boats. Deep sea fishing is also available*. Cooking lessons weekly. Kids' Club with indoor and outdoor activities. 3 Pickleball Courts (daylight use only). Extensive reading library. Nature walks.

Room service* (available 5:00 pm through 10:00 pm. Subject to Covid protocols). Boutique and gift shop. Complimentary WiFi available in public areas. Laundry service*. Concierge.

This hotel has a resort fee of USD $24 including tax per room, per night, (payable locally, subject to change). Please note: a room levy of USD $5 per guest, per night applies to guests aged 6 years and above (payable locally, subject to change).

7 nights between 21 Dec-2 Jan and 1 Feb- 28 Feb.

2-Bedroom Villas 10 nights between 21 Dec-2 Jan.

* Denotes local charge.

Dress code: in the restaurants, shoes should be worn and bathing suits covered. After 6:30 pm, men need to wear slacks and collared shirts with short or long sleeves (no t-shirts or tank tops). Women need to wear dresses, skirts, slacks, culottes or tailored Bermuda-length shorts (no "short shorts" or cutoffs). No flip flops.

Please note: additional rollaway beds are charged at $20 per night (payable locally, fee subject to change).

Please note: child ages are from 2 up to and including 11 years.

Please note: 2 guests are required to present a valid form of ID (passport, driving license, ID card) along with a valid credit card at check-in. A USD$350 pre-authorisation will be processed on the credit card at check-in to cover for any incidental purchases or similar expenses. Incidental purchases may include tours, excursions, gift shop purchases or dining in the speciality restaurant. We understand that not all guests incur additional charges during their stay, but this process assists the resort with fraud prevention. Upon check-out, the pre-authorisation is released, assuming there are no charges made.

Please note: activity schedules are subject to change without notice.

Rating summary

  • Location Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Sleep Quality Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Rooms Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Service Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Value Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Cleanliness Image of the Tripadvisor rating

Traveller rating

  • Excellent (2294)
  • Very good (1420)
  • Average (491)
  • Poor (229)
  • Terrible (151)
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Great place, most of the staff would rather but have not been there.

Apr 19, 2024 MarkTGrubb Bracknell, United Kingdom

The location is absolutely stunning, the holiday was great. I would suggest the star rating be dropped. The hotel was lovely if not a bit tired. The beaches amazing. The major thing that let this place down was the staff. Only 2 of the staff we met were lovely. All other staff unfortunately gave the impression they didn’t want to be there, we… Read more
The location is absolutely stunning, the holiday was great. I would suggest the star rating be dropped. The hotel was lovely if not a bit tired. The beaches amazing. The major thing that let this place down was the staff. Only 2 of the staff we met were lovely. All other staff unfortunately gave the impression they didn’t want to be there, we felt like an inconvenience. We went with people who had been to the resort many times and they felt like they had to apologise to us about how things were and said previously it has been amazing. We still had a lovely time. If the staff smiled more it would be a start. Amy in the restaurants was amazing unfortunately I can’t remember the other lady’s name ( she was part of the activity team) Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating An amazing trip

Apr 18, 2024 sammQ2571JK Southampton, United Kingdom

St James club resort met all expectations a minor couple of tweaks but overall would recommend. Positives: The rooms are lovely, really big comfortable bed, we had a beautiful view over coco beach. Room was very clean on arrival, nice to have a big bathroom with a double sink, nice to have a bath as well. Balcony was a good size as well. We… Read more
St James club resort met all expectations a minor couple of tweaks but overall would recommend. Positives: The rooms are lovely, really big comfortable bed, we had a beautiful view over coco beach. Room was very clean on arrival, nice to have a big bathroom with a double sink, nice to have a bath as well. Balcony was a good size as well. We mainly ate in Docksider which has lovely views over the beach (Mamora) good options for breakfast lunch and dinner. Had one meal (lunch) at 11-11 which was really lovely and we wished we had gone there sooner. The staff are honestly so friendly nothing was too much trouble. Although this is a big resort never felt cramped as all spaced out. The mamora beach is so so pretty with two bars nearby too. The on site cafe was really nice could pick up ice coffee to take away and snacks too. You can use all of the non motorised water sports this meant you can even use the snorkels and flippers and take them off site. The sailing cats as well. There is on site car hire which is really organised and the guy who runs it is just lovely! Taxis on site and so easy to organise. On site gym and full shower etc meant we could have a final beach day and fully freshen up before journey home. The on site tour operator was great and organised a helicopter flight over to the volcano on monserrat which is a must do! Couple of minor things to improve/note Reception staff are friendly on arrival but a lot of information to take in, in terms of restaurants etc ok you can do the greeting meeting but not big on those if I’m honest. It was a shame on the few occasions we asked to get cash there was none available with lack of atms on the island and the big cash preference this wasn’t great and made for an awkward moment with one taxi driver who was very understanding! Found reception staff a little hit and miss a few very friendly and a couple not so much! Unable to get any food other than cakes at any time after 11pm. Some of the nicer bars do close quite early like the one by the main pool it might be nice to have a few more options as in general the atmosphere is on the quieter side post 10/11pm. There is an on site bar/club which is inside but found the vibe a little funny somehow as quite empty so preferred to go out. We sadly weren’t overly impressed with Picolo mondo it’s really pretty but food we didn’t feel was worth the surcharge. Coco beach is pretty but full of seaweed so didn’t really go on there and sadly as we overlooked that often woken quite early to sound of tractors clearing seaweed. One last thing the gift shop is just a complete and utter rip off about four times price! All in all we loved our stay and good far outweighed the bad we would definitely return. Make sure to go up to Shirley heights especially on the Sunday night which is busier. Go over to English harbour for drinks, go to half moon bay and go for food at beach bums! Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Beautiful island, hotel has lots of potential but rude and unhelpful staff let it down!

Apr 18, 2024 Sarah M

Antigua is beautiful and the hotel had so much potential but it let itself down with the unhelpful and at times rude staff! The buffet had a good selection of themed nights and the food was good but at the 11-eleven restaurant we had to wait an hour and a half for a table as we were a group of 8 and they struggled to accommodate this number of… Read more
Antigua is beautiful and the hotel had so much potential but it let itself down with the unhelpful and at times rude staff! The buffet had a good selection of themed nights and the food was good but at the 11-eleven restaurant we had to wait an hour and a half for a table as we were a group of 8 and they struggled to accommodate this number of people! The other restaurants were only open on particular nights and the booking system was flawed! Activities were advertised but never happened! Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Fantastic Vacation

Apr 16, 2024 dv50 Milford, Pennsylvania

We just returned from a week at St James Club and I can't say enough nice things about the hotel. I can't understand the negative reviews of staff being rude. You get what you give, and maybe the rude vibe you were getting is because of the vibe you were giving off. EVERYONE we encountered from the front desk, resturaunt servers, bartenders,… Read more
We just returned from a week at St James Club and I can't say enough nice things about the hotel. I can't understand the negative reviews of staff being rude. You get what you give, and maybe the rude vibe you were getting is because of the vibe you were giving off. EVERYONE we encountered from the front desk, resturaunt servers, bartenders, {Judy was great} porters, water sports crew, housekeepers, to the landscapers greeted you with a smile and a "good morning" or "good afternoon". The Food Service Manager [Delroy-I think} asked us every day how we were enjoying our stay. We ate at all the resturaunts-except Piccolo [which you had to pay for] and found the food to be very good. The buffet had several food choices and if you couldn't find something you like then it was your own fault, because there was a nice selection of dishes. We are vegeterians and I can tell you we never went hungry. I also found the resort and grounds to be very clean and well kept. It might not be as "modern" as some newer resorts but we like the caribbean decor and laid back feel. There were alot of activities, we used the kayaks, paddleboards, and hobie cats, and really LOVED the water hammocks. There was enough beach chairs and, really appreciated the beach bag you were given since I forgot to bring one. Our first two days there we didn't go into the ocean due to the seaweed, but the groundscrew worked tirelessly to clean the beach and by the third day we were able to swim and snorkel. We had a beachfront room which was lovely with a vaulted wood ceiling and a large balcony. The ocean view was amazing. The only hiccup was our room wasn't ready at check in, but no big deal, we had a couple of drinks, met some other guests, and had a few lively conversations. Donna at the front desk was very pleasant and kept checking with housekeeping to see when we could go to the room. You have to realize, you're on island time!! I would highly recommend St James club. If you are looking for a lively "party place", go elsewhere; but if you want a nice, relaxing vacation, at a lovely resort with friendly staff this is the place to come!!! Hope to go back again. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating More 4 star than 5

Apr 15, 2024 Andy649Herts Herts

Having previously stayed in the sister resort in St Lucia I was told that this resort was better hence my reason for choosing it for this year. The St lucia trip itself was a good trip despite it coming right off the back of COVID restrictions being lifted. Unfortunately my expectations were not met. The resort needs some updating in places and… Read more
Having previously stayed in the sister resort in St Lucia I was told that this resort was better hence my reason for choosing it for this year. The St lucia trip itself was a good trip despite it coming right off the back of COVID restrictions being lifted. Unfortunately my expectations were not met. The resort needs some updating in places and certainly needs more staff within the restaurant areas. Generally the male restaurant staff were very attentive. A number of the female restaurant staff however gave off the 'vibe' that they didn't want to be there. A lot would often walk around the restaurants with heads down seemingly not wanting to catch anyone's eye just in case they were asked for anything. I would have given this feedback on our departure but unfortunately when we were checking out, the member of staff was just interested in getting us out of our room so that it could be cleaned as well as taking our payment. There was no attempt to find out from us if we had enjoyed our stay. In addition, whilst I do not know what the regular rooms were like, I'm not convinced that staying in The Royal Suites is worth the extra cost. Don't get me wrong, we had a lovely time at the resort. Despite my note regarding some of the resort restaurant staff, the staff in the main were very friendly, welcoming and clearly underlined the fact that customers should be welcomed and made to feel at home. I geel that the resort doesn't currently live up to its 5 star rating. Read less