Secrets St. James Montego Bay

The service was great, the rooms were spacious and clean, (especially with our wonderful housekeeper Carolyn). The staff was all outstanding, friendly, and welcoming no matter when we came to any restaurant! Everyone was so excellent and treated us like family! They went the extra mile to make us feel comfortable! Sharifa (UVC butler) Joy, the evening hostess in our front lobby went the extra mile making sure we got the drink of our choice and remembered it! All staff made this place a first-class destination! Of course, the rooms were spacious with wonderful amenities, and the ocean was beautiful on our walks around the place every day! The food was excellent from the breakfast buffet to the different restaurants represented.

My wife and I booked here for our 10th anniversary as we had gotten married here 10 years earlier to the week we arrived and had been back a couple more times because this was our favorite resort. This was our first time there after Hyatt took over. Nothing for anniversary was offered, room key machine wasn't working so after waiting a few hours for room, they finally had a bellman take us to the room, knowing we would need similar to get back in, but luckily it was fixed later at night. The place has not been kept up and is in need of a lot of repair. One night we ordered food at Italian restaurant and almost an hour later we were told they had technical difficulties in the kitchen and would expedite our order. We ended up with cold rare at best steaks when ordered medium rare. We had to continually ask for mini fridge to be restocked, as well as snacks. We were moved to a different room after the mini fridge in first room was frozen over (while sitting on the floor with an outlet strung out from the wall). Now the pure scenery of the ocean and the beach are still amazing. Trixie from entertainment and Merlando at the bar were great. Very disappointing to see what has happened to our once favorite resort.

My hubs and i just returned from an 8 day trip to Secrets St James, Montego Bay and thought a quick review might be helpful! 🛏️ Accommodations The resort is absolutely beautiful, though some areas are showing signs of wear and tear. A minor facelift in certain spots would go a long way, but that didn’t take away from the overall charm. Cleanliness was solid – I’d give it an 8 out of 10. The staff works very hard to keep it looking beautiful! When we arrived our initiall room smelled moldy (which happens sometimes with beach properties), but they moved us to a new room within a few hours that had no smell and we were good to go! 👨‍🍳 Dining & Food The food was surprisingly good for an all-inclusive. We've stayed at around 10 all-inclusive resorts, and this ranks in our top 3 for food quality. They like their spices and I am NOT mad about it!❤️ Must-try: The jerk cart was the star of our trip — the jerk pork especially. 🤤We ate there nearly every day and wished they offered it for dinner! The oxtail at Blue Mountain was also pretty incredible! The dining service could be slow, especially with larger parties — one night it took us 3 hours for dinner, but we didn't mind since we enjoyed the company and conversation. Note: Restaurants moved around frequently, and there wasn’t great communication about it. This created some confusion and we were often unsure where to go or what was open. Coco’s Café was a nice daily stop for a midday espresso. Highlight: One thing you absolutely shouldn’t miss is the Asado dinner and fire show. We did this for my 40th birthday, and it was such a treat. Our waiter was hilarious and made the whole evening so fun. The fire show was beautiful and the whole team really put in the effort to make the night special — an unforgettable experience! 🏖️ Beach & Pools The beach on the St. James side was my favorite. The shallow shoreline made it perfect for lounging near the water, and the area was generally peaceful. Definitely the more “chill side” of the resort. We were not preferred club, but i did notice non preferred guest at the preferred beach and pool but the staff didnt seem to mind. We were a group of 8, and most of us preferred shade (not me - give me allll the sun) so we made sure to head to the beach by 7:30 most days! Pool chairs seemed to fill up faster than beach chairs, probably bc there are so few close to the pool! Id say if you want shade, head out early - otherwise plenty of places to sit! Pools were great in the morning, but by afternoon they became murky and needed more attention. 😬Daily cleaning seemed to taper off later in the day. We are most definitely pool people but avoided it after the first day bc of how gross it got! 🎟️ Activities & Entertainment Something I didn’t expect to enjoy as much as I did was the glass bottom boat tour. We assumed it would be a simple ride over some coral, but it turned out to be so much more. The captain and his assistant were super engaging and made a few stops where we actually got to hold some live sea creatures — it was really fun and unexpectedly hands-on. They also shared lots of fun facts about marine life, Jamaican culture, and history. Highly recommend this if you’re looking for something relaxing but educational and interactive. 🧑‍💼 Service & Staff Service was a mixed bag. Some staff members were incredibly warm, welcoming, and attentive — while others seemed irritated by basic requests. That said, the majority of our interactions were positive, and we felt well taken care of overall. Be patient. Waiting for food, drinks, or callbacks is common — but honestly, that’s part of the Caribbean vibe. Everything runs on “island time,” so take a deep breath and roll with it. ☀️ Weather Before our trip, the forecast showed rain every day, which had us worried. In reality, we got maybe 30 minutes of rain total across all 8 days. Mornings were hot and sunny, and by mid-morning, clouds would roll in with a light breeze — honestly, perfect beach weather. 🌅 Vibes & Atmosphere We loved the sunsets. After the first couple of nights, we made it a ritual to take the beach route to dinner just to enjoy them. Absolutely stunning. The first few days were relatively quiet, but by midweek, larger groups (including a President’s Club) arrived, which made things a bit more crowded. Still, the resort handled it fairly well. 🌟 Final Thoughts While there were a few hiccups — mainly communication issues and inconsistent pool maintenance — the good far outweighed the bad. The scenery, beach, food, and overall ambiance made this a wonderful, relaxing getaway. We'd definitely recommend Secrets St. James/Wild Orchid for couples or groups looking for a laid-back, beachy escape with solid food and unforgettable sunsets. Would we go back? Absolutely.

Erika and Ghenelle (lobby bar) were GREAT! AWESOME drinks and lots of laughs. Shanice ( pool cocktail waitress) did a FANTASTIC Mai Tai and was so friendly. She should be promoted to bartender. She knows her stuff! Janelle ( pool cocktail waitress in training) took WONDERFUL care of us on our pool day checking on us several times .Sasha K (piano bar waitress) was LOVELY to talk to and did her job with excellence going above and beyond. Roberta and Kendrea (coffee bar) knew my order when I walked up! I saw them twice a day because there coffee and ice cream were AWESOME! Nicola ( housekeeping) took care of our room with EXCELLENCE and a beautiful smile. Conrad and Hopeton( bell hops) greeted us with smiles and fist bumps our whole trip. GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION! Great time at the piano bar! Both gentlemen that played there were VERY TALENTED! Please fix/tune your piano. The sound systems also need work ( very distorted) Disorganization was frustrating for scheduling. Hanging schedules, the app, and staff were all telling us different things which made it difficult to plan your day/ night.

St.James was so beautiful. The beaches are kept clean and the wait staff make sure your taken care of. Our Butler's made sure we needed nothing our entire stay by bringing us jerk chicken from the cart which was my favorite food the whole time and drinks by pool or beach never stopped. We were married on the beach while there and it was amazing with the sunset in the background! If you never been to Jamaica this is the place to go!!