SECRETS ST. JAMES MONTEGO BAY LUXURY ALL INCLUSIVE - Lot 59a Freeport Montego Bay, JM Jamaica Phone Number

4.5 out of 5 Based on 1726 guest reviews, Very Good

Based on 2,206 traveler reviews

Value

Rooms

Cleanliness

Service

Excellent

1410

Very Good

498

Average

199

Poor

Terrible

Most Recent Traveler Reviews:

“Unbelievable”

May 21, 2013 Camarillo712, Camarillo, California | Trip type: Couples

My husband and I were at Secrets St James on May 4th through May 11th. We stayed in the presidenatial suite to celebrate our anniversay and honeymoon that we never... more »

“Loved St.James”

May 21, 2013 gocgo, Northern Illinois | Trip type: Friends getaway

I am late writing this review, we returned May 5th. The resort was clean, from the rooms, to the grounds, to the washrooms, everywhere. The food was, I think, the... more »

“It depends what your used too i suppose!”

May 21, 2013 JamesMiltonKeynes, Milton Keynes | Trip type: Couples

We booked into the preferred section of St James but couldn't be accommodated for the 1st night so we were put into a standard room, this in itself was not... more »

We booked into the preferred section of St James but couldn't be accommodated for the 1st night so we were put into a standard room, this in itself was not an issue but it did give us a good view of the differences. 3345 looks out onto the St James preferred pool area and as we found out was slightly larger than the preferred rooms with more wardrobe space and bigger floor space. Once in 4403 (preferred) we found out that your upgraded room has the following extras - a bath on your balcony, an upgraded mini bar (it’s actually the same with the addition of 1 bottle of vodka, rum and brandy - local brands - which once consumed do not get replaced) upgraded toiletries (again the same with the addition of a towelling dressing gown) and err umm that's it. You do get the following benefits - a private area where you can get limited breakfast items and snacks throughout the day, plus a self serve bar area which has top shelf liquors, this is the same for both preferred areas.

The St James area is at the far end of the complex away from the majority of the restaurants and the night life, we saw this as a positive but I can imagine others would prefer the Orchid preferred area as its at the same end as most of the night life.

The website suggests that they have 9 pools, this is a little marketing artistic licence, there are 4 pool areas, 2 in the normal areas which both have swim up bars and one in each of the preferred areas, these don't have swim up bars but they do have one each within a short walk, or you can make use of the waitress service, the preferred pool at the orchid has the swim out upgrades but has a very small pool area, the St James pool area is the largest in the complex, it has one warmed pool and a cooler one, its quiet but significantly lacking in shade, in fact if you are not out before 07:30 reserving your sun beds with parasol then don't expect to get one and those that are there are in various states of repair. There are plenty though on the beach if that's your thing. Which brings me nicely onto that subject: The web site proudly boasts 900 metres long of fine white sand beach, the 900 metres long is sometimes no more than 2 metres wide at some points and probably no more than 6 or 7 metres at its widest. Saying that it’s private, you don't get any hawkers and the waitress service is regular both at the pools and on the beach.

This brings me onto food. There is one buffet breakfast (plus each preferred area) and this is as good as most. For lunch you can again utilise the buffet area or use the 2 beach (standard pool area) facing restaurants. The seaside has a varied mixture of sandwiches, a couple of pizzas and other lunch dishes, the food is reasonable, generally fresh (if you don't get forgotten about) although the salad choice is lacking. There is also the barefoot grill for burgers, hotdogs, pretzels, crisp and chips (or chips and fries) The Oceana serves self chosen wraps which again are reasonable..... I am told the trick to it is getting as many fillings as possible otherwise (as we found out) it can be all wrap. The buffet at the world cafe has a greater choice of salad and dessert and some fresh cooked items although most are pre cooked and are not kept hot enough.
For dinner you have an extensive choice of 7 restaurants (on alternate nights the Mexican and the Jamaican become a joint buffet) and generally during our stay one of the 2 poolside restaurants was closed. The food (in our opinion) is the biggest let down of this resort, obviously this depends on what your used to and the level/ type of all inclusive you have utilised but for the price bracket they put themselves in the food is unimaginative, sometimes Ill prepared and often too fatty or under cooked. The restaurants are hit and miss at best and the quality if the food is not my version of 5 star.
Oh the guys serving jerk chicken at lunchtime are great and its nice hot, fresh chicken.

There are a lot of weddings here, at least one a day sometimes as many as three, it’s not that they are intrusive (mostly) but that added to the fact there are also a lot of honeymooners this gives you a view of a large proportion of the clientele. The rest is then generally made up of 4 to 7 day stays with a few exceptions like us who where there for 2 weeks.

Generally the level of service is excellent but I would not use this hotel again and if this is representative of Secrets I wouldn't use the chain. Excellence is better, with Sandals topping both. « less

“Absolutely Amazing!!”

May 21, 2013 Stephanie N, Lafayette, Indiana | Trip type: Couples

We researched many resorts before choosing Secrets St. James. We could not have made a better choice. This place is more than you could ever ask for. The staff is... more »

“Top notch service”

May 20, 2013 F00die121, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Trip type: Couples

My boyfriend and I spent 5 perfect days at the Secrets St. James preferred room with an ocean view and balcony jacuzzi. We had never been so relaxed and pampered.... more »

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