Secrets St. James Montego Bay

Our experience at St. James was overall above expectations. The accommodations were excellent. We had a swim out preferred and the amenities that came with that were worth the extra money in my opinion. The butler service was a pleasant addition to our stay. Our butlers, Dane and Tajae did an outstanding job of seeing to our needs and desires. Set us up every day on the beach and took care of our dinner reservations every night. The food was only okay. Some restaurants (Portofino and Teppanyaki Tables) were very good. Others, (Bordeaux and Altitude) were substandard. Blue Mountain was pretty good but certainly not great. Beach was beautiful. Pools were great. Service was outstanding. I would certainly go back.

They cancelled my reservation without any notice. I did not receive an email or a phone call, and did not get a refund. Just simply found out my reservation was cancelled on my own. Would have flown all the way to Jamaica had I not double checked my Hyatt account. You would think you could call and get it fixed, but their customer service line goes on hold for hours and no one ever picks up! Literally 3 hours spent in the hold queue and no one ever picks up.

This resort turned out to be one of the most disappointing vacations I’ve ever taken. I’m sharing this so others can avoid the same mistake. Don’t be fooled by the glowing reviews — many are incentivized, which hides what guests actually go through here. When we arrived, we were told our assigned room was “no longer available” and were suddenly transferred to another resort (St. Orchid). We were told it was because of “construction,” but that story fell apart when we discovered Secrets St. James was still open and guests were staying there. They had clearly overbooked and simply moved us elsewhere. The entire property is dated and poorly cared for, with visible wear and tear everywhere. Bugs in the rooms, maintenance staff soliciting tips, and people openly selling drugs on-site made us feel completely unsafe. To make matters worse, staff even asked to take drinks from our in-room fridge and cooler — something I’ve never experienced anywhere else. The much-advertised $200 resort coupon is a complete gimmick. It can only be used in small pieces toward hugely inflated spa prices, and staff constantly push spa services to the point of harassment. Do yourself a favor and book elsewhere — this resort is not five-star quality and is far from the relaxing luxury getaway it claims to be.

I had such an amazing time at secrets hotel. Big up to all the staff for their lovely services. The property is well clean and kept and very welcoming. The room were very luxurious, cool and clean. I believe this was worth every dollar that i spent. Big up to the chefs , bartenders, waiters for their wonderful customer service and making sure that i felt at home. Secrets is not a Secret because the world needs to know that this one of the best hotels here in Montego Bay Jamaica. :)

Nice hotel, staff was amazing, food was good. The spa was my favorite experience at this property. I didn't like that they tried to sell us wine on multiple occasions -at an all inclusive. You cant make a hibachi reservation in advance but when you get there, there are no availabilities. A good portion of the beach had seaweed so we had less area to swim.

My husband and I experience was interrupted by the hurricane category five. We had a couple of days Prior to the hurricane and I must say we enjoyed ourselves. The staff was outstanding before, and during, and after the hurricane. We could not believe how resilient they were. They were kind. They kept a smile on their face and went above and beyond to make sure we were OK. Even though our environment was not as it was before the hurricane, the staff made us feel really good in spite of the conditions. We did not miss a meal, and the food was delicious. Hospitality was outstanding!!!

All around great resort. Plenty of beach and pools for everyone to enjoy. Being a preferred member and having access to Breathless Altitude Rooftop restaurant had amazing food and a view. The Piano Bar was my favorite spot for drinks and a show. Beautiful views and the JERK CHICKEN MAN need to be experienced!

My star rating may be deceiving. Please read on. This is my third visit to Secrets St James. Overall, my visits have been pleasant experiences, usually with a small group of friends. This time, I was a little taken aback when I arrived at the preferred pool area to find that the only seating/loungers directly in front of the pool were “for rent” cabanas, with general seating behind and away from pool front. Aren’t we already paying quite a fee for this all-inclusive experience? And 6 out of ten of the cabanas were left un-rented, so what is the point? We also enjoyed, on past visits, visiting with staff known to us from prior visits. This time, there are almost all new staff, like the new owners took over and instead of renovating the buildings and rooms, they renovated the staff? Out with the old, in with the new. I guess the old staff was too friendly with the guests, because the new are not. To add insult to injury, my sister-in-law’s room has roaches. Yes, I said roaches. Like inner-city, come out in the dark, scatter in the light, roaches! She complained upon return to her room for two nights. Tonight, I went with her to take pictures and every light in the room was on, so no obvious roaches. But you know how children are, they don’t know all the rules, and there, on her table, was a baby roach crawling. I took a picture and went to the front desk to ask what type of extermination they would be doing, and I was told that they did a “deep cleaning”. Great, they should be doing that anyway, but what does the have to do with killing roaches? I explained that roaches, like bedbugs, are hitch-hikers, and I would hate for her to take any back home with her to the states. The young lady smiled at me and said “I don’t think she will take any home with her.” Realizing she was young and not knowing what her home life was like, I refrained from insulting her intelligence as she was doing mine. The offer of another room was not something my (elderly) sister-in-law was interested in, as it would be on another floor away from our room, she just wanted them to do SOMETHING. So the response I got tonight is “I will notify the manager-on-duty when he arrives.” I’m thinking that I won’t return for a fourth visit, and I will let everyone I know all about this visit. I still have my roach pics!