Secrets St. James Montego Bay - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

10160 reviews

• 

  Would definitely return

  We stayed at Secrets St. James the last week in February. We had a great time. We didn’t have any of the issues I’m reading from recent posts. We are very early risers, and while the beach chair situation is true at 6am, this was expected. We have stayed at other brand all inclusive and this is always the situation so it wasn’t a surprise. Our Ocean view room was really nice and the housekeeping crew were so nice and did a great job. Not sure what was up with the clear door for the toilet lol but hanging a bath towel on the door solved the issue. We enjoyed the food , it’s resort food and if you travel anywhere the food is pretty similiar. We really loved the jerk chicken at the Backyard Grill. Delicious! The breakfast buffet was huge and had so many choices. Inlet bar is always my go to and it did not disappoint. We did not have the wait times I’m reading about for dinner. We waited about 30 minutes twice but the other days we got right in. We ate around 630 if that helps. Some restaurants are more popular than others, like the Italian, so you know there is going to be a wait there, plan accordingly. It rained one night so we ordered room service and it took a little over an hour but it was good. Staff at the resort were so nice. Shout out to Kimisha at the front desk, whose name I probably spelt wrong, she was so helpful with all of our questions and explained all our options in great detail for the hotel credits we had. She was friendly and very good at her job along with her coworkers! We sat at the pool for a little while one day but realized we are beach people. The beaches were clean and beautiful and we got our drinks served at the beach which was great. The bar staff were friendly and helpful with telling us good frozen drinks to try. We also usually asked people as we walked by them with their colorful drinks. The CoCo cafe was a great spot with delicious coffee drinks and treats. We walked around the resort a few times in the morning and it was so clean and quiet. The views are amazing! All in all we would return again!

  Mar 13, 2025
• 

  Not a 5* resort

  Where to start….. Don’t book this Hotel, clearly not a 5* resort as advertised by TUI. Having to set an alarm for 5.30 every morning to secure a sun bed is not acceptable, despite pool and beach regulations clearly stating it is prohibited. Plenty of cabanas vacant daily but at a minimum charge of 100 US dollars per day, So NOT an all inclusive resort. The restaurant situation is unreal with waits of over 2 hours to secure a table. We were amazed to witness guests complaining loudly to restaurant about their wait and then being shown straight to a table jumping the queue. This happened nightly and became a source of entertainment for us. Unbelievable….. if however you paid extra for a butler, a reservation at your chosen restaurant was made for you and you got shown straight to a table. Butlers also reserved sun beds for their guests, we witnessed this on several occasions with those sun beds remaining unused all day. We informed reception of this and were told that it was part of the butler service package and there was nothing they could or would not do about it. Some staff were lovely, some were down right rude, if you tip high enough you got served quickly. Lengthy waits at the bars, there did not seem to be enough staff on at any given shift. I could go on, but after spending thousands of pounds for our one holiday a year, it has all been rather depressing.

  Mar 12, 2025
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  Will not be back.

  Husband and I spent 2 weeks at Saint James preferred. Staff, Room, beds, housekeeping, cleanliness, view, all excellent. We spent each day at the preferred beach, but without the help and paying for someone to save our spot we would not have had one without getting up at 5am, not what we are going to do on vacation. Those with butlers get the royal treatment for pool or beach spots and dinner reservations. There are no wrist bands here which means you can go anywhere and eat anywhere you want even if you didn't pay for preferred. The chair game is real as is the restaurant wait times. We met an elderly couple from the UK in there 80's there for the 4th time while we were waiting to get into the Portofino restaurant I noticed the wife go to the front of the line to see how much longer it would be and walk away I asked her how long her and her husband had been waiting....2 hours and they were still 8th in line. They left. Broke my heart. There only alternative would have been room service at that time of night IF room service got there order. The last night we were there (March 9/25) we waited 2 hours to get a table at Himitsu restaurant, when I asked how much longer there were 13 ahead of us, it was 9:30 when we walked away. Ordered room service on the way back to our room, we were leaving early the next morning. After 2 hours and 3 attempts ordering room service it finally arrived. It is common sense to ourselves and many others we spoke with that an evening buffet option is desperately needed. We met so many amazing people from all over the world. The staff goes above an beyond, they are the heart and soul!!!! We will not be returning.

  Mar 11, 2025
• 

  Would never return

  Absolutely awful experience. The food was stale, the service was terrible, and the staff seemed indifferent. Don’t expect to be served food or drinks on the beach—it’s not happening. We tried multiple restaurants, and every meal was a disappointment. The spa was mediocre at best. The only redeeming qualities were the rooms and the beach, but even that couldn’t make up for the overall terrible stay. Would never return.

  Mar 10, 2025
• 

  March Break 2025 Secrets St.James

  Not what you would expect from a 5 star resort. In order to get a chair at the pool for the day, you wake up around 6am and compete for a place. Meanwhile there are gazebo beds with 2 chairs available for an extra cost that are empty (Always wanting more money from guests that already pay a premium for 5 star). Restaurant situation for evening service needs to be worked out. Don't know if it's a lack of staff or Secrets wanting to maximize profits by shutting down restaurants (as much as 3 were shut every evening during our stay ) leaving big lines to attempt get into the restaurant or to get a pager to wait another 2 plus hours. To avoid the chance of waiting for hours or being turned away from the opened restaurants we rearranged our day: cutting short our time at the beach/pool or on the tennis court to make sure we were lined up at the chosen restaurant 30min to 45min before opening. The location and layout of the resort are both terrific. We had a perfect view of the Caribbean from our room. The staff onsite are very hardworking and pleasant to interact with. This is the fourth Secrets we have visited and would only return to St James if the issues mentioned are resolved.

  Mar 09, 2025