St. James's Club Morgan Bay All Inclusive

A wonderful hotel with much to offer, great location and lovely staff

Arrived early evening early Jan, not to the warmest of welcomes, and without any welcome drink, but we were shown to our room after taking copies of our passports and asking for proof of vaccination. Strangely nobody seemed to tell the hotel that we couldn't fly without this proof, we couldn't enter the country at customs and we were given '' safe to roam'' wrist bands by the authorities at the airport. So we chose a second floor beach front (645) overlooking the sea and sports area. Great room, clean and newly decorated, but the balcony was small....just enough room for 2 chairs. But the view was amazing, with super sunsets. There were various restaurants open on alternate evenings, generally 2-3 at a time which were all superb. The water front one on the pier was our favourite, but not by much. Obviously with covid, the buffet wasn't available, so it was waiter service all the time. Food was very well presented and always served with a smile, and without any delay at all. Very happy with the restaurants, food and service. The wine, beers and other drinks were great too, with choices of each. The waiters and waitresses were always jolly, and not in a fake way. There was plenty to do, trips available and kayaks, paddle boards etc and water skiing, all free. Sadly the waters were too chopped up to snorkel from the beach, which was a disappointment. Not sure whether this was all the time or only when we were there? Two main criticisms, the loud music around the pool could be described as reggae on acid.....it was sooo loud, it was ridiculous. Several guests and I asked them for some more chilled tunes, more local relaxed vibe, and they listened and played new tunes for 10 minutes. It was as if the young local bar staff could just play whatever crap they wanted. The pool music then competed with the beach bar and the beachside cafe, so it was like a mish mash of more heavy beat. afro rap music. It just did our heads in. I don't know if it's an American thing, wanting loud, not the slightest bit relaxing pumping tunes for hours, to accompany the pool area, I don't know. But there was nowhere to escape to for at least 2-3 hours per day. Secondly and mostly from a cosmetic perspective, but half the hotel seemed to have subtle dim yellow lighting in the walkways and on balcony's etc, but the rest had bright white light bulbs.....they detracted from the evening atmosphere. I get the whole eco bulbs, save the planet of course, but we couldn't put the balcony light on without joking that we were sitting in an operating theatre. They are on all night of course. If I owned the resort, I'd remove all the white light bulbs and replace the lot, giving a much warmer relaxed evening feel to the resort. I had the distinct impression that 4-14th Jan was a great time to go - without the madness of New Year or Christmas. It would have been chaos, especially queues for everything, which we avoided. We did book three nights dining at reception, then repeated the process, although it was quiet, we didn't bother for the first 3-4 nights. Busier periods and it would be essential - made worse by no buffet of course. We would go back, the hotel was lovely with enough to do, but they'd have to do something about the terrible pool music as it was not relaxing, laying on the beach even, let alone by the pool itself. I do not know how older people would cope!! I would not go during busy times, as there would be too much queuing for drinks, lunch and dinners.

Return visit post Covid

We were staying at this hotel when the Covid outbreak started and this was our first vacation now we are able to travel. We arrived on 27 Dec and the property was busy but expected at this time of year. Most of the staff are friendly apart from front desk and restaurant booking that was always a trial. Some staff were not that engaging. The Covid security steps taken were good and not so obtrusive. The frustration in this visit was following the reduction in guests following the peak holiday time. Restaurants were closed down with he menus not changing so when there for 2 weeks it is boring. Then we wanted to extend the room as we were leaving at around 4pm. Despite the hotel being at around 20% capacity we were charged to do this bearing in mind they are happy to close restaurants. This lack of service (restaurants and late check out) was very galling. When the property was closing at the outset of the pandemic we were more concerned with he welfare of the staff but now we are paying far more and it is deemed acceptable for the mgmt to reduce service as they see fit. Previously I reviewed the property and gave it a better review

Relaxation Supreme

Stayed over Xmas and New Years’ 2022 - a smaller resort with excellent COVID controls and service. Great for families, couples, with lots of included water sports and staff who will make sure you have a good time. Very casual resort - pack less, enjoy more. Excellent massages, variety of dining experiences and pleasant ambiance. Wonderful beach area with no vendors and beach bar. Rooms are a bit dated but who spends much time in their rooms? St. Lucia is fabulous and this resort is lovely, particularly for the price.