Secrets St. James Montego Bay

First time to Jamaica, not first time to Caribbean, first impressions were very nice. Checking in staff were very polite and upgraded us as it was hubbys 50th birthday. Got to the room and unpacked, we then went for a walk around the complex before going back to the room for a shower but it didn't work properly & the toilet didn't flush. We rang reception and they called the maintenance man. They then asked us to move rooms, so we had to pack up all our belongings and move rooms on our first night. New room was lovely, view was beautiful , All inclusive was great all branded drinks not local brands, bar staff at pool bar were exceptional Alvin, Dowaine, Leo and all the girls that served drinks all day long. Nico at the lobby bar was fantastic! So polite, poured our drinks without asking as he knew what we wanted, Proper gentleman . Our favourite! Food was mixed really. Some restaurants better than others some waitresses in Mexican bit ignorant slow service steak cold had to send back. The French restaurant was our worse food we only ate there once , Jamaican restaurant food nice service shocking waiter got all our starters mixed up forgot 1 starter completely. Best was Oceania wild orchid side. The food, service outstanding (Kneal or Kenny) waiter was the best, my biggest problem with this hotel was breakfast, it was awful as they make you queue to be seated, some days we could be standing in a line for 10 minutes waiting to be seated, breakfast was for both hotels St James & Wild Orchid which was ridiculous as it had far to many people for the size of the restaurant. One day we turned up at 8:45 am for breakfast we couldn't get in as it was full, a huge queue outside so we walked away. Never had this before on holiday. Breakfast staff serving in the buffet were not friendly at all. Breakfast was the same everyday for 2 weeks Weather was a bit hit and miss more rain than we imagined but it never stopped us enjoying ourselves, Our other issue was we had to keep ringing down to reception for missing items we should have had automatically , like coffee,milk & water . The entertainment staff at the pool were as good as the bar staff Kamstar, Stella, Ice, Delicious were fantastic they really get to know you, they work so hard and very long hours. Well done to all you guys !!! We had a problem with our ceiling leaking water after a heavy downpour which wasn't anybody's fault but we only had 3 days left of our holiday. We had to pack up again and move rooms, they moved us to an amazing ocean view room right on the front, it was lovely. Just a shock to have to move again so far into our holiday. Hotel entrainment was okay 1 night they had 3 men singing with the live band they were brilliant , this hotel,has some really good points and a few not so good. Overall we had a great time, laughing and joking with the entertainment staff and the pool bar staff. And Nico in the lobby bar. We holiday a lot in Mexico and if the management want to have an absolutely super hotel in Jamaica they should go their, they would definitely learn a lot from them. Everyone is super polite! Super efficient and the buffets are unbelievable.

We booked an ocean-view non-preferred room at the Secrets St. James through Costco Travel. Costco Travel is great! It included transportation to/from the airport, $100 Chukka tour credit, a Costco Cash Card, which we received the day we returned home, and Club Mobay for the return trip home. This will be a long review, but I’ll try to include everything I wish others had told me before our trip. I will get the bad out of the way first... service was not what we expected. Employees did not seem very happy. Most ignore you as they walk past. Only a handful of the waiters & bartenders were awesome. The rest were just so-so. Maybe it would’ve been different if we had upgraded to preferred, but I think all service should be outstanding considering how much we paid! Secrets St. James just didn't compare with service we've received at other Caribbean resorts. The employees expect to be tipped despite Secrets' "gratuities included" policy. I'm glad we had read that in reviews prior to arriving otherwise we would not have been prepared with cash. Secrets majorly needs to rethink this: if tips are included in the package price employees should not even accept tips. If they keep this policy, the need to pay their employees more so they don't need to work for tips. Resort credit was bogus... The $200 could not be used at once and had to be split into increments. If I recall correctly, it had to be spread between 3 different spa treatments or 3 different bottles of wine. They give you specific max $ amounts that you can use for each instance. Our friends got an hour couple’s massage and ended up having to pay $380 out of pocket… that is OUTRAGEOUS!! We felt like the credit was a scam and let ours go unused. Now here's the good :) The room: We stayed in rm 3534, which had a KILLER sunset view over the ocean and also overlooks the St. James pool and the water activities area with the Hobie sailboats & kayaks, glass bottom boat and a couple of other boats coming and going. It was gorgeous! 3 different people come through your room each day: maid service, fridge refill & turn-down. The rooms have a privacy light at the door, so turn it on if you are in your room and they will not disturb you. Remember to turn the light off when you head out for the day. Service the first few days wasn't fantastic, so we started tipping a couple $ each day (instead of a larger tip the last day). Service improved after that. There are two sizes of patio and we lucked out with the larger of the two - it had plenty of space to eat room service dinner and watch the sunset. All patios have a drying rack for swimsuits – super useful! As with most modern hotels, the toilet & shower areas are divided by glass panels and door, so be warned that there isn't much privacy... The room was a great size, with a full sitting area, king size bed, bathroom with double sinks, large soaking tub, and shower with rain head. The closet and dresser drawers were a bit musty smelling, but I think that's understandable with the humidity in Jamaica. Bring a few dryer sheets to combat the smell. They line the drawers with paper, and I thought that was a nice touch. The A/C worked awesome and we were always comfortable in the room. We did not pay for the birthday package, but we told them we were celebrating one – we arrived to a bottle of Appleton rum and piece of birthday cake – so sweet of them! Wi-fi was strong indoors all over the hotel, but we often lost connection at the beach. The Beach/Pool: Oh, the beach!!!! We LOVED it!!!! The beaches aren't gigantic but we were always able to find 2 chairs with a little shade. I recommend bringing your own blow-up floatie. The water is so calm, you can float for hours! There are areas with seaweed in the water, but it's just like grass, so it wasn't too gross or slimy. There are lots of little fish to watch near the rock jetty that separates the preferred area. You can see so much while standing in the water, you don’t even need a snorkel. Just watch out for the spiky sea urchins, we saw one floating around. I HIGHLY recommend the free kayaking! The water was smooth and clear as glass; you can see down into the reefs and watch fish! We went 3 times and loved every minute! There was occasional drink service at the beach - it just depended on who was working and how often they'd come by. The nearby Marlin Bar was always empty, so it was easier to get drinks ourselves. Party at the pool, relax at the beach: the beach is much quieter than the pool since the pool hosts all the activities and has all the drunk people & swim-up bar :) The pool was pretty awesome! It was cleaned daily. Foam floaties are provided in each pool. There are some stationary bikes in the St James pool, which I have never seen before. It was fun hanging out in the pool especially if a monsoon rolled through (happened twice for us in 10 days). The pool was empty! You're already wet from swimming, who cares about rain? We noticed that service and drink quality was much higher at the St James pool than the Wild Orchid. We walked through the St James Preferred area. In my opinion, it's not necessary. While the area was gorgeous, the music from the surrounding hotels (Breathless? Hard Rock?) was soooo loud, I have no idea how anyone relaxed there. Maybe the Wild Orchid Preferred section is better? The food: We didn’t find out until we arrived, the only breakfast option is the World buffet or coffee and tiny sandwiches at Coco Cafe. Lunch was lacking too: either World buffet again, Oceana, or Seaside. Lunch at Oceana & Seaside wasn’t near as good as their dinner. Menus are small and quality was low. The Barefoot Grill in front of Wild Orchid saved us for lunches. The Secrets Burger is seasoned like gyro meat and we really enjoyed it. Barefoot also serves infinite beef or chicken Tastee hand pies and homemade potato chips – so yummy! Great snacks to hold you over 'til dinner. The jerk chicken & Rasta Relaxer (fresh fruit) carts are much easier to find than we expected at lunch & late night – I think the jerk chicken cart comes back out at 10 or 11pm in front of World buffet. We ate something from the carts daily – don’t miss the fresh mangos & Carlton was awesome! There’s also seafood paella day, where they set up woks and cook at the beach in front of the Barefoot Grill– don’t pass that up, the line moves fast & it was delicious! While it took us a couple of days to figure out the best way to do breakfast and lunch, dinner was always great! We enjoyed every restaurant, including the aforementioned Oceana and Seaside Grill. Reservations were not hard to get for the Himitsu teppenyaki show. We had short waits for tables on a couple of nights, but just grabbed a drink and watched whatever show was going on at the outdoor stage. We never felt the need to order bottles of wine. You can order high end drinks at dinner, the waiters get them from the bar for you. When ordering drinks at any of the bars, always ask for the bartender’s specialty – it’s a fun surprise each time and they are all delicious! Also, bring an insulated cup from home – it’ll keep the slushy drinks from melting so fast. For our fellow tequila lovers, they only stock Pepe Lopez tequila, no matter which bar you go to. Room service was basic – so very basic. We were disappointed in the food quality and selection (similar to diner food), delivery to the room was 30-45 minutes. If you book this resort, there is a very active Facebook discussion group you can join, “Secrets Wild Orchid/St James – Montego Bay Jamaica�, that gave us a lot of great information before our trip. Past and present guests answer questions, share tons of pictures, current menus, advice, tour info, etc.

Our agent at trip central recommended this resort so we booked it. We just got back this week and it was a great time. We did the upgrade to the ocean view, which included breakfast in our room and this was excellent. We went to the SPA and this was also excellent. The restaurants are very good, some just better than others. The mexican and asian we were not a fan of, but other than that - what can one say when you have a drink in your hand at 11am in the morning. We spent most of our time at the party pool, and the pool bar people there make sure you have a really good time. The crew there make awesome drinks. Everyday a guy rolls up offering up Jerk chicken and this was our lunch staple every day. The highlight and the most important reason I was there was to propose to my wife to be. I prebooked a romantic dinner. When I got there I called the events desk to ask if they could help me with an extra step as I really wanted to propose on the beach. It was an absolutely unforgettable romantic moment, gushing tears from the both of us and my hats off to the events desk for coming through. They say they don't need to tip, but we always do and it helps them so bring an extra $200-$300 with you and they will most certainly appreciate it. We loved it and it is a place we would definitely go back to.

Once again, a beautiful and charismatic Secrets Resort. The restaurants and dining experiences are plentiful, unique and delicious. The various beach inlets are great because the water stays calm and you have great options to walk around depending on your mood and preference. I saw a wedding taking place on one of the beach areas and was extremely jealous and blown away by how picturesque and perfect it was. The entertainment staff and vibrant and talented, I spent night after night enjoying the events and evenings with the majority of the Secrets guests at the Piano Bar. It is definitely the 'watering hole' of the properties. The Reggae band was great and I danced in the great atmosphere. Once things calm down, the Piano bar holds a sing along in side the bar and it is such a treat to see everybody of different nationalities be brought together in that way. I have never seen it before in any hotel I have stayed in. For a person who loves music, it was just magical. The house band deserves amazing credit, I was speechless! I can't wait to go back :)

Wow, we went to Secrets St. James for our Honeymoon in the beginning of May and I wish we didn't have to leave! We stayed in the Master Suite in the preferred club area and our room was amazing and so clean! We had the butler service and Jerome and Travis were so friendly and accommodating! These two guys were awesome and made us dinner reservations every night so we didn't have to wait at all and drove us to dinner on top of that! All of the staff were so welcoming and friendly. Every person that passed us by smiled and said hello and asked how we were doing. The pool area was beautiful and quiet as was the beach area. We will definitely be returning to Secrets St. James!