One of the best Secrets we have been

Secrets St.Lucia did not disappoint. Beautiful lush grounds, super clean room, restaurants which are kept open , even if it is not the vacation high season, choice of food and fine dining in the evening, easy, fast and prompt check in and out, an amazing clean beach with excellent service and calm waters if you are a beach lover, and mostly service to its best with funny staff who are doing everything in their power to make you happy, served and content. I would strongly recommend this resort, h [... read more]owever if you have mobility issues this will not be the resort for you: the entire island sits on layers and levels and Secrets did the best possible accommodation to place villas and restaurants to everyone's reach, but there is some light climbing wherever you go and there are no elevators in the buildings.The swim up is the best choice being on the main level with or without ocean view. Another thing to mention is that you are landing in Vieux Fort on a small in reno airport which is south of the island and all resorts are located on the north western coast of the island in Castries, consequently there will be at least 1.5 hours driving to any resort. Don't be upset, it is scenic views along your drive and it is extremely safe.There are no bracelets of any kind here and no reservations for dinner a la cartes except the tapayaki counter , but they do their best to accommodate your preference.I would recommend this resort to everyone who loves a perfect beach, and top service.

It was ok........

The resort was clean and the rooms were nice, though the layout of the resort felt dated. We wished that there was a buffet for dinner that we could quickly grab hot food. Service at the restaurants was very slow. We often didn't leave until after 8pm, even though we started our meal at 6pm. The food quality wasn't consistent. We ate at Ocean twice. Once the food was good, the 2nd time it was not. The spa service was good but the young lady who checked us in was rude and not very knowledgeable [... read more], and because of that we were left with a credit on our account because she didn't understand how to book the services we were requesting. We missed out on our manicures because of this. The water therapy and back massage was good. #1 annoyance. Activities at Secrets catered to VERY small groups. The craft painting only has 8 people allowed to register. THAT's CRAZY. with a resort with over 500 people you only allow 8 people to an activity. Most people at the resort were nice! The beach was nice. but I wouldn't return to this resort

Hot, Hilly, and Haute Cuisine

To book a vacation stay with Secrets St. Lucia, make sure you understand the terrain of St. Lucia and you're comfortable with the longer route from the airport to the resort. All we knew about St. Lucia was that it was perfect weather and the place was exquisite. We had an excellent driver, Akim, who navigated the winding roads expertly. It took me awhile to warm up to Secrets because of the first impressions I've had at other resorts where someone who greet you with a cold beverage and the l [... read more]obby would be cool and inviting. Secrets was lacking this and it deflated me a bit, especially after a long bus ride, and a long plane ride. We were given a quick explanation of the activities and such, but what I really would've liked was an orientation on how to use the switches in my room or the shower setup. Thank goodness our room wasn't far from the action because it was hillier than expected and waiting for a golf cart to do pick up and drop off would've meant for a long wait. But, I embraced the extra exercise since I was fresh off of a hip surgery. The Entertainment Team were great for my rehab! I would give the cleaning staff some advice about cleaning out the broom or mop after each use because we had way too many hairs from other rooms or left over from the previous tenants. That made me question the cleanliness of the whole room even though it looked wonderfully presented. Our swim out pool was a great refresh after a long day. I didn't quite realize that it wasn't connected to anywhere though. In other resorts, it's part of a lazy river that takes you to a bigger pool. Again, do your research on this part. The tree leaves were also in abundance in the pool everyday. I would've enjoyed a lounger instead of 2 small chairs and a table. The curtains always got in the way too every time you went in and out of the door. Just little things but they add up over a week. We met some lovely fellow Canadians and Brits and Scots-always a good time. We went on the Joy Cruise excursion for the volcano, waterfall, and lunch and it was delightful. Terry.5 could be a bit crude and opinionated. The second day we did the sunset cruise with them and I strongly suggest you eat beforehand because it was not an actual meal for the sunset cruise. The views were wonderful though. There are 2 big pools on the resort and unless you got early and got a spot with an umbrella, you were out of luck. If the resort is reading this, I wish you would add more umbrellas so people weren't fighting over them. All of the food places were 5 star except for when the Market Cafe turns into the Seafood Grill at night. It was a big let-down. And I don't know why the chef at Le Petit is always grouchy that you come in for food. She needs to hang out with Agnes more from the Market Cafe, she was the sweetest lady making omelettes every morning! Ronnie is a wonderful singer so don't miss getting to hear him sing. And if you want great drinks service, ask for Crystal!

Lovely Resort

Please don't pay attention to the naysayers who didn't like this resort! We were glad we put our faith in the positive reviews we read! This is not a brand new resort, but it has been quite extensively updated by Hyatt since they took it over. The grounds were lovely and lush with lots of floral hedges, trees and bushes. The beach although not very wide, is well kept and not rocky! You can wander out into the water easily, and it is a fair distance before it gets deep. Almost NO sargassum,  [... read more]and mostly very gentle waves. There are tons of loungers at the beach, however there are not enough palapas or umbrellas to provide shade for all guests, thus the need to get up early, around 5:30am, to get your choice of location! We were in room 355, a deluxe partial ocean view king room. It was not a preferred club room which we usually do select, however once we arrived we were happy we didn't pay the extra for one as there really was not a lot of extra value with it. Our room was a bit smaller than we had expected, and the hanging closet space was very limited, but the room overall was nice and was cleaned daily with towels and water refreshed daily. The restaurants were good overall, with our favorites being Morgan's Pier where the lamb shank and the beef bourguignon were our favorites, followed by the Seaside Grill for their shrimp and steak (steaks are much thinner than Canadian cuts though!) The biggest plus at the resort was definitely the staff - can't give them enough praise for their pleasantness and helpfulness, always smiling with a hello and have a great day!

Secrets OK, not great

After being on a plane for over 5 hours and then a 90 minute drive to get to Secrets, we were delighted to arrive. We were greeted with a cool towel, lovely, but no offer of a drink, even water. We were then told we were Preferred Club and were instructed to follow someone…We had to go up a hill, climb a number of steps all while exhausted and carrying our carry on’s. We were brought into the lounge, told to find a seat, still not offered a drink, and were given paperwork to sign while being to [... read more]ld at least 3 or 4 times that if we broke anything in the room we would have to pay for it…A Concierge told us we had coupons but since we were tired, we could discuss the next day. We never heard from her again? Our Butler then walked us to our room, down a hill and up a lot of stairs still dragging our carry on’s. He explained the room features very well. We had asked to be close to our friends, (at the time booking 6 months earlier) but that didn’t happen, we were two buildings down from each other.  We were told they would look into getting us closer together but it never happened. The view from our room was beautiful, but it was quite small. It was the best water temperature we’ve ever had with a swim out. Our friends were upgraded to a suite, again when asked why given we booked at the same time and paid the same $, the response was “sorry”. Getting to and from the beach can be difficult if you have mobility issues. It was very difficult to get a ride down from our room. We went to the Preferred Club one morning to request a cart and were told none were available because they were picking up luggage. Again we received the standard response of “sorry”. We tried to call the concierge as per our Butler’s instructions and couldn’t get through. Honestly, very few of the concierge were of any assistance at either the preferred club or in the lobby. The Preferred Club beach portion is very small without enough shade so we ended up on the regular beach each day. Special events during our stay blocked off the entire preferred club section and a large portion of the regular beach. Overall, the beach was well maintained and we enjoyed our days there. Our friends had to be down before 5 to secure a spot for us, if we wanted shade. The Preferred Club itself was small. The bartenders were fabulous. The food selection in the preferred club was extremely limited and not really appealing. I don’t think I would book the preferred club again if I were to go to another Secrets. It really didn’t seem to be worth the extra money overall unlike other resorts where there is a marked difference in service. The people who work in the restaurants, bars, beach staff, coffee shop, cleaners etc. were absolutely fabulous. I can’t say enough about how lovely they were. The food was good overall at all the restaurants and better quality than many of the other islands we have been to in the Caribbean. I would return to St. Lucia, and stay at a different resort.

Ultimate Relaxation

It was our 35 wedding anniversary and we wanted to go somewhere special. We were delighted with our choice of Secrets St. Lucia. It was everything we wanted. The room was spacious with all the amenities you could want. An anniversary sash on the door along with a fruit plate, pastries and a bottle wine awaiting us inside. The Preferred upgrade was definitely worth it with excellent attentiveness from our personal concierges (Rochel and Titus) that made our stay extremely comfortable. Lots o [... read more]f great choices for food, fantastic dinner on the beach, choice of pools and night life if you want it. Just be prepared for lots of stairs if in the Preferred section but lots of golf cart assistance if you need it. Second to none.

Amazing resort

Very modern facility. Had an ocean view. Large room with adjoining ensuite. Very private. Good linen..Lots of Restaurants for gone dining. Excellent poolside and evening entertainment. Very helpful staff.

St James Cluc St Lucia

The resort was nice and had great potentail however when we arrived we found out that the club was closing permenantly the day we were scheduled to leave. So many of the services, like restaurants and entertainment were not available daily as the resort had few people staying obviously due to it closing after being bought by the Secrets organisation to create a 5 star resort on the same grounds.

St-James Club “average”

I will say this, when it comes to serving there clients we had no complaints because they were very efficient. But the food I would not even give it a three star. After I came home I came down with a bug (which I was told most probably came from the resort), thank god it’s closing down, I would never go back especially for the money I paid. Jocelyne Marguerite Dupre

Looking forward to new hotel

It was a nice quiet hotel, not to big. Staff was amazing. Looking forward to the new one, hopefully we get first dips on the place. 👍 Could improve on the entertainment Plenty of food Fantastic and relaxing

A Happening Place! 7 Days of Action

There is so much to say about this trip I took with a very good friend of mine. 1. Staff were amazing. Shout out to lady program director, Sam, Activity lady, Kenya, overall energetic and pumped enthusiast, Dexter, ladies in the buffet serving area, guys in the watersports building (Shane, Aloycia), guys in the BBQ hut serving up delicious jerk, chicken, fish, fries and salad fixings and our main man John serving up delicious cocktails always with a smile :) So many more people but I don't [... read more] recall their names. Great job everyone! 2. Water sports (free): paddleboards (didn't try), kayaks (yes!), Hobie (lesson taken first @ $45 and then out on our own for free). No cost water skiing if you know how to water ski ($50 for a lesson). 3. Beach & Activities: honestly not the best water for swimming but the activities and pools make up for it. Pool and beach volleyball (go Kenya!) 4. Sunset Lounge Entertainment: Nightly entertainment including a country singer, female singer who was amazing (I said she should try out for American Idol), band singing great songs like Kool and Gang (yes!) and other reggae songs, karaoke night (this was a bit of a fail but I think they have learned from their errors now). 5. Grounds were very well kept. Those guys are out there every day in the sweltering heat picking up dead palm leaves etc! 6. Rooms. Not the most luxurious you might hope for but clean towels and sheets and our tropical view had a nice little balcony to sit out (facing some lovely trees/lawns with singing birds) and have your morning coffee. Let's face it people, I'm not there for the rooms! As long as the plumbing, showers and air conditioning work well and rooms have coffee maker, kettle and mini fridge and they are neat and tidy, I'm fine with it! And these rooms had those. 7. Excursions: we took a catarman trip to the Pitons which included food, drinks (beer & rum), mud bath, snorkeling, waterfall and educational volcano tour (choice of tour or mud bath, not both). $138 US Took a local bus ($1 US or 2.5 EC) to Rodney Bay then hopped on a water Taxi with Quincy to be dropped off at Pigeon Island. He picked up when we asked. It cost $10 US each way and $10 US to enter the park. Have a beer just outside of the park gates for less than inside the park. Guinness Smooth and Mackeson is what I had (the bottles are smaller than ours so I had one of each!) 8. Food! Before going to the resort I was a little worried about always having to go to the buffet so we made some reservations at the a la cart restaurants on our 2nd day. I don't think they have enough staff to have all of the restaurants open at the same time so each one had their specific days. We thoroughly enjoyed all of the food in every restaurant except for one night at the Pier. The second time we ate there, though, it was delicious. We had mahi mahi over this tasty buttery slaw or sauerkraut with rice/lentils. And, the buffet, had wonderful variety and some at home favourites like oatmeal, cream of wheat. There was an omelette station, a smoothie bar, huge wok of bacon, sausage, peppers and onions, smoked salmon, cooked salmon, cold meats, blue cheese + others, pineapple, local fruits and THE BEST BANANAS! These items mentioned were just the breakfast items! Plus I am not listing everything as I would be typing much longer. 9. Wonderful frozen cocktails: Bob Marley (rum tri coloured frozen strawberry, pineapple and pineapple mixed with Blue Caracao to make the green on top!), BBC (banana, Bailey's and Coconut Rum), frozen mango + others. 10. Tennis courts and pickleball! Our main gal, Giselle, was amazing. She not only gave lessons in the early morning for tennis or pickleball, but she also was there later serving behind the bar until 11pm and serving and collecting glasses on the beach in the afternoon. Some of these people just never stop! Giselle, Sam, Kenya and Dexter seemed to always be around day and night! Hint: The fitness room (which has a lot of good equipment) has the best water refill station.

St. James December 2022

This was our first trip to St. Lucia and the St. James club. Overall we had a great time. It is quite far from the airport so was about a 90 minute drive after a fairly long flight. You need to hire a driver or go by bus as the roads are very winding. The food was good and the staff work really hard to please the guests. The property is beautiful and we had a beach view room that was close to both the pools and beach. The Joy boat cruise was the highlight of the trip and well worth the mone [... read more]y. The property is a little dated but is scheduled for renovation with new owners. The restaurants are good and are all open air except for La Jardin. The hotel was only 45% capacity so was pretty quiet in the evenings and very low key entertainment with single performers. For those who like to stay up later visit the Red Door bar. Great service from Harold. Overall good holiday for our first post pandemic trip.

Good and bad

The destination is absolutely beautiful. Location of the StJames Bay Club is very good. Our Oceanview room had a direct view of the resort and the ocean.The bed was comfortable.The resort needs to upgrade. The resort was not super busy and had a laid back vibe.Most of the staff was friendly but there were some who were quiet rude. Food was average.A'la carte was better.Most restaurants were closed which was disappointing. All the water sports were included which was nice. It seems that they need [... read more] to train the staff more. They should have some drinks and water available in the in room fridge.Ours was empty and to buy a crate of water was expensive.Overall we enjoyed the trip but for the amount of money we spent the resort left a lot to be desired.

AWESOME vacation

The location, staff and services were fantastic. Because of COVID, there was still reduced staff and capacity, but on the flipside, the resort was more quiet and felt more intimate. Plenty of room at the beach and pool, no wait for water sports, and generally a choice of times for dinner reservations if you made your reservations when it became available. As soon as we arrived, someone offered us drinks and check-in was a breeze. Paul drove us to our room and helped with bags and the manager c [... read more]alled within 10 minutes to make sure everything was ok. A dinner reservation had been made for us already because we arrived late afternoon. The concierge, Calixta, was SUPER helpful - the orientation with her was also helpful. Every staff member was friendly - from the servers to the pool staff in the early morning to the water sport staff. St. Lucia in general, but the resort particularly was very COVID cautious - which we really appreciated. Masks were required to be seated for all meals and to serve yourself at the buffet, and each person was requested to use hand sanitizer upon entering the food areas. All staff wore masks indoors. If you didn't have your mask, you were instructed to go back and get it! The water sport staff were great. I tried water skiing... unsuccessfully... they were patient and helpful. When a young girl tried, they were so great with her and all cheered when she got herself up and on her skis. They seemed to really enjoy themselves and enjoyed interacting with clients. Lots of things to do on the resort and if you just want to chill and relax - lots of opportunity to do that too! Food: breakfast was awesome. Lunch was ok. Dinner depended on the evening, how busy it was and which restaurant was open. Always had options and always at least "ok". Le Jardin is excellent and worth the extra $. I would imagine when they go back to normal staff numbers that the food/options would improve. Would really recommend doing the Joy boat tour - so easy and such a fantastic day!!! Overall, I tend to not repeat locations for holidays... I would go back to St. Lucia in a heartbeat, and would likely go back to this resort.

Vacation to St-Lucia

March 10 2020 Dear Carole Williams/Tripcentral I am writing to you to express thanks from our group of 3, for your professional help in planning our trip to St-Lucia / St-James Club Resort in early March 2020. Maybe the best advice was to book our daughter on the bigger plane for her connection Ottawa to Toronto as it was the very last to depart since all others were cancelled due to upcoming nasty weather. The next morning we left together for St-Lucia without problems. The Tripcentral [... read more] gift card to pay for the park & fly hotel was greatly appreciated. The shuttle to our hotel was a windy hilly one hour drive which enabled us to see the island. The resort itself was very upscale and the staff was very friendly and genuine. The food was excellent specially the buffet with breakfast smoothies and so many fresh fruit choices and custom omelettes. The 3 restaurants were very good with some hit and miss menu choices but the resort did many extras for my wife’s birthday on their own, including a room cake delivery, the best table at the end of the wharf and more. The beverages we had were fresh and tasty and the local rum was excellent and not watered down like many resorts. Our room was adequate with many steps. There is a newer section of rooms on the hilltop side. We enjoyed the Gros Piton and Pigeon island hike and snorkelling and visiting Castries, the latter ones on our own by taxi. We participated in sailing, kayak, paddle board, stretch and aquafit classes, peloton bikes, the music shows, the beach festival all included in our package. We did not wait in line for these or food services. We paid extra for spa treatments and a scenic helicopter ride back to the airport which was very picturesque. Even if resort vacations are not always our first choice when travelling, this was one of the best considering the beauty, the cleanliness, the services, the food, the staff and the people of St-Lucia. We enjoyed this vacation very much Carole and your advice, information and booking choices is certainly a big part of it. Thank you: Claudette, Christine, Richard Sudbury & Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Amazing Resort

St. James Club Morgan Bay was an excellent resort! It was very clean. The rooms are a bit dated but were sparkling clean, the bed linens and towels always smelled fresh. The public bathrooms were always clean. Never had a dirty bathroom. The food was really good and I am pretty picky about food. Always many choices. The buffet had a different theme everyday for lunch and dinner and the a la cartes were all good. Great hamburgers at the beach grill and the Plum Tree restaurant for lunch. The [... read more] layout of the resort is great. Everything was only a few steps away. You could go from beach to pool in a few steps. Staff was very friendly. The sunset from the hill top adult pool was breathtaking! Another bonus was the water sports at no charge. Catamaran sailing, banana boat, water skiing, peddle boat. Nice bonus. Around the back of the sunset lounge was another lounge with red doors. It was open from 6:00 pm until 2:00 am and they served premium alcohol and some nights had some entertainment. Nice lounge! Great place to meet up for drinks before dinner and after 11:00 pm when the nightly entertainment was over. The evening entertainment were all musical acts which were very good. Fun for dancing and the Wednesday night beach barbecue was great and fun. Not to be missed! I will definitely return to St James club Morgan Bay. The only downfall was the drive from airport. It’s about 1 1/2 hour by bus, but this would not stop me from returning. Loved the resort. Had a great time!

Amazon Resort and Island

Great resort offering many water activities, great evening entertainment. Rooms are spacious bright and airy. Good dining opportunities. Great views with a fabulous sandy beach. Not recommended for anyone with mobility issues.

Perfect Holiday

Wonderful resort. I loved all the activities available, fitness classes, peloton bikes, catamaran, paddle boards etc. The food was very good although the portions at the restaurants were too large and led to much food waste. The smoothie bar in the morning at the buffet was a nice special touch. The staff was friendly and always smiling and willing to help. The weather was perfect. The resort is clean and well maintained. I couldn't imagine a better place for a break from our hash Canadian winte [... read more]rs.

Beautiful Resort

The grounds on this resort are a plush green and kept very well. The food was very good and a fairly wide variety. The service was friendly with very few exceptions.The night life is pretty low key except for the Beach Party which the staff take alot of pride in. The rooms are a bit outdated but kept very clean.

Fantastic Resort

I recently visited St James Club Morgan Bay and was delighted with my experience. The food was always fresh and delicious, with a variety of different items daily, definitely Some of best food I have had at a resort. Service was fantastic staff were always helpful and friendly. The beds were very comfortable and water pressure was good and always hot. One of the most outstanding different experiences I had was the ease of access to all amenities, towels, beach chairs were available with no rushi [... read more]ng to find a place on the beach. The beach is a little smaller that I typically prefer for walking but they definitely made up for it with water sports very well organized, this was the first time I truly got to enjoy the water sports on vacation without a lot of pre planning, simply pick a time in the morning of any equipment you wanted to use that day. I was able to use one or more items daily. Staff were able to adapt quickly with changing weather moving an out door shown inside quickly when it rained. This resort is on the smaller side but did not lack anything. Worth checking out great place to relax.