Secrets St. James Montego Bay

We just returned from 10 days holiday from Secrets St James Montego Bay. Only one word to describe it- perfect! Beautiful resort, wonderful friendly people. Very clean. Food delicious and plentiful. We were staying in St James preferred club site in Butler suite. We had 2 amazing butlers Darwin and...

We just returned from 10 days holiday from Secrets St James Montego Bay. Only one word to describe it- perfect! Beautiful resort, wonderful friendly people. Very clean. Food delicious and plentiful. We were staying in St James preferred club site in Butler suite. We had 2 amazing butlers Darwin and Tajae to look after us. They went far and beyond! Every single detail was taken care of. The minute we asked for something- it’s done. They made our holiday exceptional! It feels like we made friends for life. And I’m sure we will be back! ❤️❤️

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...

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!

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...

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.

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...

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.

The number of poor reviews I could give this resort are countless. We’ve stayed at several other secrets resorts including Cap Cana, Akumal, Maroma Beach, etc. We assumed this Secrets resort would also be a 5 star resort and be just as amazing as the rest. We aren’t really people...

The number of poor reviews I could give this resort are countless. We’ve stayed at several other secrets resorts including Cap Cana, Akumal, Maroma Beach, etc. We assumed this Secrets resort would also be a 5 star resort and be just as amazing as the rest. We aren’t really people to complain but something needs to be written so people realize how awful this resort was. We would never go back here. We stayed at Secrets St. James which is basically combined with Secrets Wild orchid and the breathless resort. They claim to be “separate” although they are all mashed into one resort. It was way overbooked because they couldn’t accommodate any needs of the guests. The wait time for dinner was excessive, some nights took as long as an 1.5 hours to even be seated and once finally seated several meals took as long as 2.5 hours to complete a meal, appetizer to dessert. Food was very poor quality, terrible compared to other resorts. Workers would say things like “oh the crepe machine doesn’t work today, the coffee machine is out of service, we’re out of chicken at this time, we ran out of dessert, check back later, etc” I’m sorry but if I’m paying this much money for an all inclusive resort, it should be all inclusive. Service was horrible and barely even present at all when needed. God forbid you actually needed something important, it would be impossible for staff to accommodate you. The Resort was old and outdated. Rooms were gross and uncleanly, couldn’t even use the room jacuzzi because it was so gross. Resort is in dire need of a remodel and fresh paint job. Some workers were very friendly and kind, but majority of the workers were rude and didn’t care about you. Majority never even flashed a smile, maybe because the workers are as miserable as the guests are. There are not nearly enough pool or beach chairs for the amount of guests between the 3 resorts. You had to get up at sunrise to reserve chairs if you even wanted a slight chance of being able to have a spot for the day at the beach or pool. I could go on and on, don’t waste your time or even consider stepping foot into any of these 3 Jamaican resorts, look elsewhere. I’ll never return, this resort sure gives Secrets resorts a bad name.

What a lovely hotel, just got back, was a celebration for the wife's 40th birthday, we had such a great time, place is so beautiful, staff were brilliant, from bar staff to entertainment team. Actor boy had us laughing all the time around the pool. The only thing I say...

What a lovely hotel, just got back, was a celebration for the wife's 40th birthday, we had such a great time, place is so beautiful, staff were brilliant, from bar staff to entertainment team. Actor boy had us laughing all the time around the pool. The only thing I say that could improve, personally I think a booking system would be better when it comes to eating at night time, apart from that couldn't fault the place, would definitely return and recommend to other people.

What a wonderful experience at the New Years Eve celebration on the beach at MBJ Secrets. Ms. Delrose, Pace Band, special singers along with the entire entertainment team provided the resort with an awesome celebration. As always, the restaurants, pools, Coco Cafe, bartenders and staff went above and beyond. Housekeeping...

What a wonderful experience at the New Years Eve celebration on the beach at MBJ Secrets. Ms. Delrose, Pace Band, special singers along with the entire entertainment team provided the resort with an awesome celebration. As always, the restaurants, pools, Coco Cafe, bartenders and staff went above and beyond. Housekeeping always came before we got back to the room along with the minibar. Chase and Dane our butlers, as always were wonderful. A special shout-out to Andre at the piano bar. One Love! Jeff & Kathleen

An excellent 7 day holiday with my wife. We stayed in the Preferred Club in block 4 on the third floor. The resort is fantastic and the staff are amazing. The hotel room is spacious and has everything you need for luxury. The bed is comfortable so you get a...

An excellent 7 day holiday with my wife. We stayed in the Preferred Club in block 4 on the third floor. The resort is fantastic and the staff are amazing. The hotel room is spacious and has everything you need for luxury. The bed is comfortable so you get a good nights sleep. The food in every restaurant is amazing, fresh and very flavoursome. The hotel resort is very clean and the staff work here with pride. Each member of staff is very pleasant, always has a smile on their face. The pool areas are very clean, staff are always on hand if you need them. Drinks are good and selection is vast. I can’t fault the resort to be honest. We’ll definitely be returning.

We stayed at the Secrets St. James for my wife's 30th birthday last week. This was our fourth Secrets all-inclusive trip and this was by far, the absolute worst. The good: The area itself was beautiful. Aside from the occasional quick rain shower, it was sunny and warm the entire...

We stayed at the Secrets St. James for my wife's 30th birthday last week. This was our fourth Secrets all-inclusive trip and this was by far, the absolute worst. The good: The area itself was beautiful. Aside from the occasional quick rain shower, it was sunny and warm the entire time. The beaches and ocean were beautiful! Romane, who worked as bartender at the outdoor pools was awesome. He took the time to get to know us and vice versa and even on the days where he was working at a different pool, he would come find us on his breaks and ask if we needed anything. He truly made our underwhelming experience better. The bad: Starting with the rooms, while understanding this is a slightly "older" resort, the rooms are less than desirable. Upon checking into our room, we had to call and request for it to be recleaned since it was clearly not properly cleaned for newly arriving guest. The fridge was only restocked one time over the course of our 7-night stay. We ordered room service three times and each time there was an issue; either the order was wrong, the food was undercooked or something was missing. We didn’t bother to call to request a correction because it had already taken too long or it just became not worth the hassle at that point. The shower and toilet area were also not appropriately cleaned upon our arrival or on a daily basis. Moving onto the food service, by far the worst dining experiences we've had at an all inclusive. Regarding the actual food itself, the meals were less than desirable regardless if it was breakfast, lunch or dinner. For breakfast, it seemed like some of the food was reheated leftovers from the morning before. On more than one occasion we were told that either the omelet station or crepe station was not working, although there was clearly heat coming off the burner, the ingredients to make either were prepared and ready to go, all it seemed that needed to happen was for the worker to actually make the food. For lunch, Barefoot grille was always one of our favorite spots at the other Secrets resorts. At Secrets St. James, we only ate there every day because it quite literally the only option unless you wanted to sit down for 1.5 hours and wait to be served. Even then, Barefoot grill never once had every option (only 8 options total) on the menu available. The only options available were a meat pie, pizza, "jerk chicken" and fries, or "jerked pork" and fries. Even with only half of the menu items actually available, the wait time for something that was supposed to a quick grab and go was anywhere from 10-40 minutes because they were often out of food and waiting for more to arrive. Lastly, for dinner, The wait time to get into any of the evening restaurants was anywhere from 2-3 hours every single night, if you weren't lined up right at 6pm when the restaurants opened. Then once you were finally seated service was less than desirable and you often felt like you were inconveniencing the wait staff. On three separate occasions, the food was brought out wrong and we didn’t even bother to ask for it to be corrected because it had already taken 45-60 minutes to be served after already waiting anywhere from 2-3 hours to be seated. El Patio and Blue Mountain smelled like dirty mop water the two times we had dinned there. Regarding the staff, it was again by far the worst experience we've had at an all-inclusive. As I mentioned earlier, you were often made to feel like you were inconveniencing the staff by simply asking for a drink or showing up to dinner. The bar tenders very rarely were pleasant, aside from the two guys working the bar next to the lobby and Cruze who worked at the swim up bar at the St. James pool. Very few workers smiled or appeared to be enjoying any aspect of their job and they would only talk to you if you were putting a tip on the bar first. Other than that, they would ask what you want, begrudgingly make you drink and just hand it to you. We're generous tippers given we have experience working in the service industry and we continuously tipped the waiters throughout this trip, but to be made to feel like the only way im going to get sub-decent service is from tipping at what is supposed to be a 5-star all inclusive, is simply unacceptable. Almost all of employees appeared visibly unhappy, inconvenience and the resort appeared to be understaffed. After talking around a little bit, there was a strike/employee walkout for three days in November due to employees being unhappy with their working conditions. Based on our experience, doesn’t seem much has improved since then. Although we were unhappy with our service, we felt bad for the workers Additionally, almost everything was an upcharge. If you wanted a to have a decent seat at the pool where you'll actually receive service, you had to rent a cabana for the day for $110 Since all of the cabanas are lined up in the front row by the pool, you were often stuck 2-3 rows away from the pool and had to get your own drinks anytime you wanted one, since the wait staff did not come around. Not the end of the world, but you expect differently at a 5-star all-inclusive. Also regarding the pool area, towels from the day before never seemed to be removed from chairs or properly cleaned up. Overall the resort was quite unkept. Overall, an absolutely horrible stay and unless there's significant evidence things have changed, we'll never be back.

The resort was great and the people who work there are wonderful. I would like to thank Tajae and Darwin who were our butlers through out our stay. They took very good care of us 100% I would also like to recognize Kerri-Ann who was our server on the beach...

The resort was great and the people who work there are wonderful. I would like to thank Tajae and Darwin who were our butlers through out our stay. They took very good care of us 100% I would also like to recognize Kerri-Ann who was our server on the beach who’s personality just made the day and Shanae our Cabana hostess, she was checking on us all day to ensure we had a wonderful day Overall, our stay was awesome. Great food, great service and fun time. Thank you Secret’s St James!

My husband and I have been to Secrets St. James/Wild Orchid/Breathless Montego Bay. We have celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, holidays (Thanksgiving/4th of July/New Years, and Jamaica's Independence Day). We had an amazing vow renewal there in May 2022. This past vacation Feb 22 to March 1st 2025 was incredible. I was...

My husband and I have been to Secrets St. James/Wild Orchid/Breathless Montego Bay. We have celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, holidays (Thanksgiving/4th of July/New Years, and Jamaica's Independence Day). We had an amazing vow renewal there in May 2022. This past vacation Feb 22 to March 1st 2025 was incredible. I was able to celebrate being a 5 year breast cancer survivor in Jamaica. We enjoyed our breakfasts at World Cafe and in the Secrets St. James preferred lounge. Chelsea, Joy, and others took great care of us in the preferred. We know that we are home as soon as we see Chris Brown. He is always friendly and takes great care of our luggage. The Secrets St. James Preferred pool Kerry-Ann took excellent care of us. Everett, Marlando, Sashonia, Alvin, Philip, O'Neil, Ernell, Michael lots of others are excellent bartenders. Always lots of fun and laughter. We enjoyed going to Coco Cafe and seeing Erica along with others. As always, our amazing butlers Chase and Dane did an excellent job taking great care of us. We always have to stop in at the SWO preferred to see Lisa, Matthew, and Asheekie. They are always welcoming and friendly. We always enjoy listening to Pace Band. Housekeeping did a wonderful job along with the mini bar. The lifeguards are terrific! Floyd, Brian, Patrick, and the lists keeps growing. Audley preferred towel hut took great care of us. UVC rep - Schan is always going above and beyond. We also would like to thank Paul and Tracy at the woodcarving hut for a beautiful handcrafted University of Tennessee sign. We have bought several handmade items from them. The entertainment team is absolutely the best! I can't name them all but just a few T-Jay, Sky, Samii Jo, Bleu, Redstripe, Chad (Adonis) and of course Ms. Delrose! We want to thank you to all of the amazing staff. They are what keeps us coming back. There are so many wonderful staff that we can't name them all. We have been to other places but there is no comparison. The staff here are amazing! A huge THANK YOU to Daniele- resort manager, Ms. Delrose, and Kyle for making our stay so magical. We are very excited to come back in August! Thank you! Kathleen & Jeff Whitson

Nice property, well laid out with all amenities you’d want from an all inclusive resort. Staff was great and welcoming from the first moment. Thanks to Bevrica at check in, Kerry Ann for all the drinks at the beach. Jordan and Andrea for helping set up our spots every morning...

Nice property, well laid out with all amenities you’d want from an all inclusive resort. Staff was great and welcoming from the first moment. Thanks to Bevrica at check in, Kerry Ann for all the drinks at the beach. Jordan and Andrea for helping set up our spots every morning under the shade and all the others. Lots of Americans (you decide if that’s good or bad) and many who don’t think the no smoking policy don’t apply to them (again, decide for yourself if that’s good or bad…)

We visited the hotel from the 24 Feb to the 6th March. It is close to the airport so a quick transfer. Check in was great, hotel room was nice. Staff were very friendly. Location is good. It is pretty and you can walk along the beach front to the...

We visited the hotel from the 24 Feb to the 6th March. It is close to the airport so a quick transfer. Check in was great, hotel room was nice. Staff were very friendly. Location is good. It is pretty and you can walk along the beach front to the main area for dinner. However, trying to get a sunbed with a shade was really hard work. We are up early even on holiday around 6am, which was just as well. Any later and the sunbeds are all taken around both the pools and the beach. You may be lucky if you want one and do not require shade. The disappointing part of this is that the hotel have plenty of room for sunbeds but they have installed cabanas around all of the pools which you can hire for an additional $100 dollars a day and these take all the prime spots around the pool. The irony being, they really were not used that much and general sunbeds would of been much better. On at least 3 occasions when we returned to our room to get ready, about 4pm, the house keeping staff had not been to us. I think this was due to the fact that there were not enough of the housekeeping staff. Especially as the hotel had a substantial number of American weekend guests. The other main issue we found is that we were unable to book a restaurant, unless you had a butler suite, the butler could book for you. You had to queue for the restaurants to open. Generally you would queue from 5.30pm for them to open at 6.00pm. If they were unable to seat you then you were given a buzzer to come back later. This was not an issue for us as we do not mind eating later, however, if you were called at 9.30pm and the restaurant shut at 10.00 the service stopped. They did not stay open to accommodate you. Restaurant food was ok overall. We found the Italian was the best restaurant and went there for 5 nights of our stay. We also had a couple of meals in the Mexican and if you like spicy food, this is the place to go. We ate at Bordeaux twice, we had one good meal and one bad meal in there. We did raise all of the above issues with the hotel reception as did many other guests. The staff were helpful and did what they could to resolve the situations, but there hands were tied with the set up put in place by management. We had lunch every day at the fish restaurant around the pool. Food was pleasant and the service was good. Piano bar was nice in the evening for a drink and to watch the sun set. In summary a nice location, lots of issues for the management to work out to make your stay easier and more enjoyable. However, all of the general staff were pleasant and friendly. They appreciated the issues everyone was having with the sunbeds, booking restaurants etc but could only do so much. We would not return to this hotel or the group based on our experience.

Where have the last 15 years gone? Our first trip to Secrets Jamaica was on our honeymoon shortly after it opened. We fell in love with the resort, the entertainment, and most importantly, the staff. Little did we know that Secrets would become our second home and that we would...

Where have the last 15 years gone? Our first trip to Secrets Jamaica was on our honeymoon shortly after it opened. We fell in love with the resort, the entertainment, and most importantly, the staff. Little did we know that Secrets would become our second home and that we would be welcomed time after time with open arms and truly be made to feel like part of the family. We have celebrated so many momentous occasions here, including birthdays, 10 NYEs, our beautiful vow renewal, our retirement, and many more. Jamfest has become an annual highlight for us and we appreciate all of the hard work that goes in to marking Jamaica's Independence Day. Our recent trip has been no exception. In March 2015, we had to cancel our trip to Secrets because I had a major health crisis. From Feb.22-March 5th we were grateful to honour a 10 year survival milestone at our favourite place, along with friends who were recognizing an important moment as well. What a vacation it was! There is no place we would rather be, and that is still because of the staff.Every department from housekeeping, food and beverage, entertainment, Uvc, outdoor areas, maintenance, lifeguards/pool, butlers - the list is endless, goes above and beyond to ensure the best possible experience. The talented entertainment team captured our hearts a long time ago.We have been to many other resorts, and the entertainment here is heads above the rest. Thank you to Delrose, Francois, and all of the Ent members, as well as Kyle, for making this trip so special. It was also a pleasure to chat with hotel manager, Daniele, and he is to be commended for the interest he showed in getting to know repeat guests such as us. While I can't mention everyone by name, I would be remiss by not thanking Andre Clarke for making every trip perfect since 2010. We had the best time and left with so many memories. Thanks, Secrets, and see you next month!

Well,this was our first Secret ever. Though we do go often to Jamaica .We love Jamaica. We were in Jamaica in mid last December..as an example on how often we do go. I was expecting a way lot nicer and better then this place. It is due to be updated...

Well,this was our first Secret ever. Though we do go often to Jamaica .We love Jamaica. We were in Jamaica in mid last December..as an example on how often we do go. I was expecting a way lot nicer and better then this place. It is due to be updated in most of the place. The lobby,gees get some better chairs for the guests when they arrived those desks ,,the lobby is so dark and I was just expecting so much nicer…. There is a piano bar right next to the lobby,,those curtains and the rest must be the same as when they builded that place. The staff,i would say that most of them are very nice,but let s say i did felt that some of them were not happy being there. Talk about the food, at the beach for lunch we do like to sit down near the ocean and have a drink of wine and relaxed. They have two places,but both have pretty much the very same menu as choices,and that stays again the very same all week long. For dinner,no reservation needed,this I do like and not sometimes. To have places outside to eat,you needed to be in line early ,otherwise you had to be inside! We don’t t go to Jamaica to eat inside restaurants,,and that is for breakfast,lunch and dinners. The food was ok,,but never like the places that we are used to go at the very same prices.Took a long time to get,other times it was cold,,etc etc Now for drinks.If you want a beer in a can on the beach side,forget it. Those bars don t serve you those cans,,only draft beers ,,which i hate,and wont drink.For the money we spend there,please serve those guests cans not that draft ,and i mean it s not a choice,,NO CANS HERE..which is very unpleasant for what you charge.. The bar guy will tell you,you need to go at the lobby to get Red Stripe beer in a can,,though you will be lucky in the afternoon if they still have them,i was turned away twice about that issue. The point is,,why should i have to walk all the way inside to get a simple beer can..?????!!!!! Am I in Cuba at a 3 star Hotel!? I met this person also,that drank only GreyGoose vodka. Same thing for him,,could nt get it at the beach bar,,even if he paid Premium like us..had to be in the front lobby. He was pretty unhappy about that,,and he will not go back,like us. Simple things ,but those simple things ,,will make tourists like us not to go back. Cleaning ladys were really nice ,and did great jobs.. As for the hotel at nights,, Some darn people were talking in the hallways at late hours waking us up talking like it was 10 am,,that was really annoying too. This happened three times,and it was like really late. So as my final review ,i am not impressed . Will not go back. We have way better places for the very same price in Jamaica, Mar

My husband and I just returned from a 6 night stay at the Secrets St James Preferred Club Montego Bay. The resort is pretty and is on a really nice stretch of beach. Our room was on the bottom floor and was nicely appointed. I booked this resort based on...

My husband and I just returned from a 6 night stay at the Secrets St James Preferred Club Montego Bay. The resort is pretty and is on a really nice stretch of beach. Our room was on the bottom floor and was nicely appointed. I booked this resort based on a few options. It is close to the airport, they advertise top shelf liquor and gourmet dining at 9 restaurants. There are only two bars that serve top shelf liquor the Piano Bar and the Marlin Bar. The pool bar was awful. Servers while friendly but were slow and stingy on liquor in the drinks. Could not get Absolut or Titos at the pool bar or Tanqueray Gin. No fresh cut fruit either so if you like lemon or lime in your drinks forget it. Syrupy mixes for pina coladas and daiquiris. My husband and I are both gluten free by choice and do not eat certain foods like fried options. Wherever we go we never have any issues with finding something to eat. There were options here but the food was subpar at best. The buffet is only available for breakfast and lunch no dinner buffet option. The beef was tough and one night my husband actually got bad steak at E Patio the mexican restaurant. He also got two tough steaks at the French Restaurant Bordeaux. We did manage to have lamb at Bordeaux which was good, not great. We also ate at Altitudes located at Breathless next door. Awful!! View is beautiful but that's where the experience ended for us. They served our meal so fast and didn't ask how it was. Lamb there was tough. Wine is subpar as well. Japanese restaurant is ok. Did not try the Italian option. Secrets has a wonderful reputation; however, this resort is taking away from that. We had no issues getting pool loungers as the resort was provably at about half capacity. Our bed was very comfortable as well. We did a wonderful couples massage at the Spa and enjoyed their Hydrotherapy pools and jacuzzi as well. We would not return to this resort due to the subpar food and liquor choices.

Secrets St. James Montego Bay Montego Bay Disappointing & a waste of money 998533673 We paid for a 5 star all inclusive Virgin Adult only get away from it all vacation to Montego Bay. An £11k+ holiday which was fraught with disappointment and misrepresentation from arrival at the airport, being...

Secrets St. James Montego Bay Montego Bay Disappointing & a waste of money 998533673 We paid for a 5 star all inclusive Virgin Adult only get away from it all vacation to Montego Bay. An £11k+ holiday which was fraught with disappointment and misrepresentation from arrival at the airport, being informed by the check in staff never to travel to Jamaica without a shrink wrapped cases due to prevalent thieving until the faulty electrics on the Business Class seat on the return journey. Dirty bathrooms, ripped curtains, stolen items from the room, discrimination because we weren't US tippers, facilities only available to Preferred members, not advertised, toilets that didn't work, jacuzzis that didn't work, 1 cup left in a 2 person room, every day, 1 towel left, repeated calls to house keeping, appalling pick up from the airport, 2 hr wait for a taxi transfer in an antiquated over subscribed mini bus with toppling cases hanging over our heads. A massive misrepresentation of the real deal. Having then checked the reviews, there was so much more of it on line. Naively we assumed, incorrectly, that a 5 star Virgin holiday wouldn't need checking....if only we had. A week before our arrival the staff had had a massive walk out protesting for better pay and working conditions. That was very obvious in their attitudes. All of this has been raised with Virgin in an ongoing saga since our return along with ABTA. We've been offered an insulting £200 in compensation. I have videos, photos, emails, official complaint etc. Along with a disclaimer from the hotel to sign prior to leaving negating them of any wrong doing. So much to say so very frustrated and don't want anybody else to waste their hard earned cash on a holiday of a lifetime and be disappointed as we were. You can't get that time back. I've waited before adding this review in the hope that Virgin would accept some responsibility and demonstrate some decent customer care service, unfortunately that has not been the case. This has also been raised with BBC Watchdog and legal action so far. I always regarded Virgin as a good honest, care about their customer, organisation , but I would never ever travel with them again or recommend them. Very poor.

We stayed for 5 nights in preferred section. Our stay was OK overall; and we survived extremely long lines in the resort's restaurants for dinner and having to get up at 6am to get a palapa (I cannot sit in the sun at all). It was not as relaxing as...

We stayed for 5 nights in preferred section. Our stay was OK overall; and we survived extremely long lines in the resort's restaurants for dinner and having to get up at 6am to get a palapa (I cannot sit in the sun at all). It was not as relaxing as we hoped. For context - we have been coming to Caribbean for 25 years, usually 2 times a year in the winter/early spring months and usually (but not always) stay in high-end adults-only AI resorts. But this is just our 3rd Secrets; previous 2 being Secrets Playa Blanca Costa Mujeres and Secrets Cap Cana. Unfortunately, after having very high expectations set by the previous 2 Secrets resorts, we were disappointed in the food and service. Service is for the most part slow and with a lot of attitude. Even my husband (who I would describe as a person with infinite patience, unlike me) refused to go the their buffet for our last breakfast after being ignored and then served incorrectly at the omelette station for 2 mornings in a row; he asked to go to the Breahtless breakfast buffet again (we found that service there was much more personable and it was much less crowded). To get a seat that you prefer at their restaurants, you had to queue up around 5:20pm or earlier during the time we were there (beginning of March). In absolutely none of our previously visited AI resorts, which did not require dinner reservations, we had to queue up more than 5 min before opening; we would usually arrive a couple min before opening and be first in line to get our choice of a table (we always like to eat early). Here, people who we met at check-in told us to arrive no later than 5:30 if we wanted to get 6 pm sitting. Our experience on the first night at Bordeaux: arrived at 5:25pm and saw a big line (Portofino was closed on that day); we wanted to sit outside, but did not get an outdoor table - they were all gone by the time we reached the hostess, but we got the last table for 2 inside. The food was good and the (older) lady serving us was very nice for a change - warm, friendly, funny and with zero pretentiousness (so sorry, forgot her name). So, the next day, we arrived around 5:20 and were able to get the last table outside. To get our preferred outside table at Portofino, we had to arrive at 5:15 the following day. You should have seen that h-u-g-e line at 6pm just before they started seating people. Never, ever have I seen a line like that at an AI resort in my 25 years of Caribbean travels. Ever. I do not know what the problem is here - it does seem like they just have too many people competing for not enough seating. Note, that there are 2 Resorts - Wild Orchid and St James which are served by the same restaurants. In addition, there are now guests from the 3rd resort - Xhale guests from Breathless have access to these restaurants. One night we went to Breathless Altitude restaurant (by reservation only) - both of us did not like the food at all - I ordered lamb chops and there was nothing to eat - 3 extremely small chops - fatty and gristly; we left without finishing dinner. Next night we went to Breathless restaurant Culinaria - and had one of our best meals there - we arrived at 6:30pm and we were the 1st people to arrive (!!!). We had a nice and (more or less) romantic dinner. We left an hour later and there were only 3 other tables occupied. To be fair, I have to mention we stopped by the Altitude again - for lunch (the intention was to take pictures during the daytime as the views from the 7th floor are drop dead gorgeous) on another day and had a better food experience - the food was not great, but good, and we were able to finish our lunch. I am not going to complain much about the necessity of coming out very early to reserve a palapa on the beach, as this seems to be a common theme everywhere these days. But, here it was actually even worse - because here you not only competed with other guests, you also competed with butlers who reserved several palapas at a time at the crack of dawn. And you cannot compete with butlers. There were bright spots: even though the sea was very shallow in the roped off areas intended for swimming, we managed to actually swim next to the ropes, but you have to be extremely careful not to touch the grass growing on the sea floor, as there are sea urchins. The water was clear, no seaweed and very warm. The appearance of the resort overall is nice, grounds are gorgeous; because this is a peninsula, you have wonderful views of the main coast. The resort is very big and there is room for nice walks after dinner and you can also go to Breathless. Entertainment was pretty good - you will not be bored. Overall, OK stay, but to us, the food quality and variety was a level (if not 2 levels) below our most recent food experience in Secrets Playa Blanca and Secrets Cap Cana. Having access to Breathless is a definite plus.

Best resort ever!!! We have been 6 times and it just keeps making wonderful improvements. The rooms have been updated and all of them have an ocean view. We were on the first floor and basically had a direct ocean front view. All rooms have double sinks and a jacuzzi...

Best resort ever!!! We have been 6 times and it just keeps making wonderful improvements. The rooms have been updated and all of them have an ocean view. We were on the first floor and basically had a direct ocean front view. All rooms have double sinks and a jacuzzi tub. The fridge is always stocked with cold beer, water and soft drinks. You can have wine or spirits brought to your room at any time. Turndown service every night. Plenty of room at both the beach and pool and they never run out of towels. The water is crystal clear and while it’s not a long beach it is enough! The restaurants are endless! For lunch alone you can eat at two sit down restaurants, the buffet, beach bbq or the cafe! There is also a jerk chicken cart open from 12-4 every day. For dinner you can enjoy one of 6 restaurants every evening. Our favourite was the French. I recommend getting there before 6:30. The entertainment is the best part of this resort and a big reason we keep going back. The piano bar is roofed but also has outdoor seating which faces an outdoor stage. At 6:30pm they always have a singer perform until 7:30. At 7:30pm the house band PACE plays for an hour. We danced to their music but you can simply just sit and listen. At 9pm the show begins and every show is awesome and again very interactive with the audience. The last night they had the Bob Marley Tribute band and fire show. Amazing!!!!! Truly!!! After the shows the piano player starts until 11:30pm. It’s a sing-along. If you have any energy left head to the disco which is just beside the piano bar. This resort brings people together. Entertainment staff are incredible and many of them are in the shows. We went kayaking and paddle boarding which are free. We played pickle ball at the tennis court and bocce ball and corn hole. You could never be bored! They have two great bars just off the beach with comfy chairs and couches but if you prefer you can sit at the bar. A great place to watch the sunset. There are always pool games and entertainment going on but we chose to sit at the beach. Foam parties, pool volleyball, fashion shows etc. A special thank you to Orville at the Italian restaurant! He is the best! Kimberly at the French restaurant and Romaine at the Teppanyaki Grill. The staff everywhere are wonderful. We are headed back for New Year’s Eve and the event they out on is spectacular!!! It’s a short drive to the airport. It’s worth it!

From the moment we arrived at this incredible all-inclusive resort, we were treated like family. The staff went above and beyond to make every part of our stay perfect — always smiling, genuinely warm, and ready to help with anything we needed. Special gratitude to Torrey at the bar Bar-racuda...

From the moment we arrived at this incredible all-inclusive resort, we were treated like family. The staff went above and beyond to make every part of our stay perfect — always smiling, genuinely warm, and ready to help with anything we needed. Special gratitude to Torrey at the bar Bar-racuda who made amazing drinks with an incredible smile Shoutout to entertainment team for keeping the party going - West,Cassie, Kenzie& Trixie !!! Soso at the entertainment events team went above and beyond to give us an unforgettable warm experience at Secrets St James

The hotel is very clean. Service is impeccable. Staff are friendly. The food is good. However, the beach is small and deceiving. The chairs are too close (no privacy whatsoever). This hotel was not for me. Too loud. Music too loud. Party at the pool, etc. I wanted a quiet...

The hotel is very clean. Service is impeccable. Staff are friendly. The food is good. However, the beach is small and deceiving. The chairs are too close (no privacy whatsoever). This hotel was not for me. Too loud. Music too loud. Party at the pool, etc. I wanted a quiet place to relax and rest....well, that is not the place. You have to get up early to get a chair at the beach. Same story for the pool. If you want a cabana, you have to pay. I would recommend to take a concierge room. You have private parts of the beach with better chair, access to your pool, etc. If you take any excursions be aware that they live on tips, tips everywhere for everything. One of my friends bought a coconut to drink and they charged her $9 US dollars. The rooms are clean and nice. Overall it was okay but will not return for it is too loud for me.

UK visitor from the 22nd - 29th March, staying in a Club Preferred Junior Suite with Sea View, Balcony or Terrace and Whirlpool Bath Club Mobay Would 100% recommend this, we arrived with 2 other flights and the queue for immigration was so long, not what I would have wanted...

UK visitor from the 22nd - 29th March, staying in a Club Preferred Junior Suite with Sea View, Balcony or Terrace and Whirlpool Bath Club Mobay Would 100% recommend this, we arrived with 2 other flights and the queue for immigration was so long, not what I would have wanted to wait in after a 10 hour flight! We just sailed through with our helper and she was so sweet! The return journey didn’t give us any benefits as such as the security line was empty, but it was nice to sit in the lounge and have a bite to eat and a few drinks before the flight, very nice atmosphere. Tipping We weren’t really sure what to do when it came to tipping, we gave our waitress $1 every-time they bought us a drink over at the beach, tipped $5-$10 in the restaurants and tipped the housekeepers $20 at the end of our week. Not sure how this compares but all of the staff seemed very appreciative of it regardless. Service We couldn’t fault the service we received, everyone was so incredibly friendly and delightful, they really made us feel welcome! Beach We were early risers and down at the beach for 7:30am where we stayed until about 4pm each day, at that time in the morning you could get a lounger, but by 9am the sun beds on the beach with parasols were all taken, you could get some without shade though. Sun loungers with parasols around the pool were plentiful all day it seemed. Food We went down for dinner around 6:30/6:45 and were able to walk into every restaurant straight away, the only one we had to wait for was Italian when we were seated around 8pm, this was fine as we just sat at the piano bar watching the entertainment! We ate at the Jamaican, Mexican, Italian, French, Asian and the rooftop over at breathless. I can’t comment on the world buffet as I never made it in there as we had breakfast in the preferred lounge every morning. Plugs - both types of US plugs are in the room Mosquitos - I got bit at the coco cafe on the first day as I hadn’t worn any spray, my partner had zero bites though! The spray was in the bathroom in our room, not sure if it is in standard rooms as well. Overall we had a fantastic stay and would return in a heartbeat!

Just an average resort.. this resort was highly recommended. I would not put this in a class even close to Luxury. Top amenity- while maybe the rooms were dated, housekeeping kept our room beautiful. We didn’t have to fight for pool/beach chairs, but I really think they were not full....

Just an average resort.. this resort was highly recommended. I would not put this in a class even close to Luxury. Top amenity- while maybe the rooms were dated, housekeeping kept our room beautiful. We didn’t have to fight for pool/beach chairs, but I really think they were not full. I don’t like worrying about getting to the communal restaurant area to get an outdoor table for dinner. That is not a luxury experience in the least! Breakfast buffet-good. French restaurant was our favorite. Italian also delicious. Hibachi was just too loud. Buffet-Just please don’t introduce me to rock buns and then not serve them again! We had a few great servers, but overall, service was lacking. Concierge-definitely felt like we bothered them. I don’t know. It would have to be a killer price for us to go back.

This visit was our 7th time to Jamaica but our first time to Secrets StJames Preferred. The resort was recommended by an acquaintance. The resort is listed as “luxury” sorry this is 3 ⭐️ at best, there are other better options in the area. As per our usual winter break...

This visit was our 7th time to Jamaica but our first time to Secrets StJames Preferred. The resort was recommended by an acquaintance. The resort is listed as “luxury” sorry this is 3 ⭐️ at best, there are other better options in the area. As per our usual winter break our visit was for 2 weeks. Room 4208 nice view of quiet pool but building 4 is far from restaurants and bar area, so if you have walking limitations not great. Asking for shuttle service seemed to be an inconvenience to staff vs a service. Shout out to Arelene in housekeeping who really took care of our suite (we missed her on her days off!). The StJames Preferred Lounge area in building 4 consists of a dining room setting where food and beverages were available. Breakfast buffet was limited and “hot” items were most cold. Shout out to waitress Stacy and beverage service Chelsea who were pleasant additions to our days. Restaurants were meh but that maybe due to fact that all restaurants are serviced by a massive kitchen vs individual kitchens by restaurant. Seemed more like a cafeteria rather setting rather than restaurant. Dress codes are not enforced, women in denim booty shorts, flip flops, men inside restaurants with swim shoes & baller shorts, luxury? Best meals were at Altitude in Breathless Resort. A peeve, there are not enough palapas on the beach as when not reserved by butlers there were only 1-2 available if you got to beach by 6am. Best beach server Kerry Ann! Shout out to Bellman Chris he is truly an Ambassador of service!

We were taken to this hotel following the cancellation of our Virgin flight home and ended up having to stay for 3 nights. Although it is much larger than the hotels we usually chose we had a pretty good stay in the circumstances. Our room was fine with a very...

We were taken to this hotel following the cancellation of our Virgin flight home and ended up having to stay for 3 nights. Although it is much larger than the hotels we usually chose we had a pretty good stay in the circumstances. Our room was fine with a very comfortable bed although it was a little dated. We had no issues with cleaning and most of the staff were pleasant and helpful, particularly the ladies at reception who helped with booking our room for extra days. The food generally was very good although the restaurants (particularly at breakfast) tended to be very busy. The evening entertainment while we were there was excellent. The main thing I disliked and found annoying was the competing piped music throughout the resort . It would be much better without it.

Super relaxing and enjoyable vacation! My wife and I went to Secrets after our honeymoon and the accommodations and people made it what it was. Special shout out to Ricky Ricardo and Janice at the spa on site who made our experience above and beyond - truly the epitome of...

Super relaxing and enjoyable vacation! My wife and I went to Secrets after our honeymoon and the accommodations and people made it what it was. Special shout out to Ricky Ricardo and Janice at the spa on site who made our experience above and beyond - truly the epitome of customer service in their kindness and warmth. Excellent experience - we would book again.

Dear Jodian Bucknor (sales person at Secrets responsible for Trip advisor responses); Please pass this honest review along to management and any Hyatt representative that is associated with making decisions at this property. As you are aware, although the grounds on this property are beautiful (kudos to the hardworking landscaping...

Dear Jodian Bucknor (sales person at Secrets responsible for Trip advisor responses); Please pass this honest review along to management and any Hyatt representative that is associated with making decisions at this property. As you are aware, although the grounds on this property are beautiful (kudos to the hardworking landscaping staff) with a lovely beach, this property is in need of desperate repair. The holes in the roof on multiple buildings, mold on walls,room furniture in need of repair,dark dingy lobby, St James side pool with missing tiles and filth surrounding the tile coping, do not categorize this as a "luxury resort". The QR code system of resort map, etc only works if the WIFI works. It did not. The missing "tablet" in the room also did not make having to navigate this property easier as well. The check in was very undewhelming with no greeting, resort tour or welcome drink. Not a very good first impression. Regarding the MISMANAGMENT of the restaurants; Closing restaurants without notice that results in exhorbitant wait times with some guests becoming OUTRAGED, mediocre food, limited premium alchol options, over worked restaurant staff, and culture of appeasing guests with untruths regarding such; contribute to a postive guest experience. Surely, someone can calculate your occupancy rate and determine the number of restaurants that should be open and available and the staff needed to provide adequate service. Perhaps an investment in adding dining infrastructure would be a valuable rate of return. That being said, the breakfast option (more fresh vegetables should be included in the omlette station) was the better dining experience and most of the staff were friendly and kind. Although the breakfast hostesses were not very welcoming or hospitable when asked for an outside table. Same, as for some of the evening restaurant staff that waited on us at a NINE pm dinner seating. Understandably they wanted to go home. My question last week was "Who died in Jamaica?" A smile was very hard to come by. The jerk chicken shack was a welcome lunch option, with delicious food and engaging cooks. Give THOSE guys a raise! The room service breakfast we ordered prior to departure was also very good and delivered by a personable young woman. The option to have takeaway containers or lunch including salads served at the beach would have been great and prevented us from having to leave the beach, get dressed, and sit in a restaurant just for a salad. BIG miss there. The practice of upcharging/overcharging for amentities that should be provided at a luxury resort, including; pool loungers, and drinkable table wine are short sighted. I can't imagine the revenue created outweighs the general emotion of feeling taken advantage of. Because of the majority of negative reviews, we elected to add Butler service to ensure that we could secure a beach lounger and have dinner reservations. It was a cost that we should not have had to incur just to make sure we had basic amenties like a place to sit at the beach and a table for dinner. Also the constant attempts to upsell overpriced spa services, vacation clubs etc is downright insulting. The "coupon' program is a joke. My suggestions to management and Hyatt representatives are to spend the resources to overhaul this property, add dining options, LISTEN to your staff complaints ( their morale is low and they feel unheard. ASK THEM.) and then charge the appropriate rate. But enticing guests with advertised lower rates under the guise of a luxury resort, is a recipe for guest dissatisfaction. I would have gladly paid more to vacation at the type of luxury resort you advertised. Cleary this business model is short sighted and not working. I am not a returning Secrets guest but I met many who were. The repeated complaint was, this resort has gone downhill especially since Hyatt took over. To trip advisor readers; spend your money elsewhere. This resort is actually 3 resorts, Secrets St. James, Secrets Wild Orchid, Breathless and it does not have the infrastructure or capable management to handle to amount of guests. If you already have reservations, add the butler service. You can do this without booking a preferred club room. We did. The preferred club doesnt offer much anyway as all guests move about the resort freely regardless of which room they book. Otherwise, be prepared to be aggravated. The Hyatt Zilara is a better option but Sandals Resorts does a much better job.