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Hotel overview
Location
Montego BayProperty information
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Hotel details
Hotel advisories
General policies & fine print
Check-in Policy - Hotel requires a credit/debit card authorization or cash deposit upon check-in for incidentals; this will place a hold on your funds.
Convention Policy - Individuals attending a convention cannot book this property for their stay. If found attending a convention, guests may be subject to higher room rates upon arrival.
Hotel Spring Break Policy - Spring Breakers are not permitted at this Hotel. A student group consist of those that travel without parent or a responsible adult in each room. This could refer to but not limited to high school or college students booking multiple rooms. The hotel reserves the right to deny lodging to any reservation of this type.
Transfer Policy - A price may display when children stay free, if your vacation includes transfer to your hotel.
General Information - Room taxes and service fees are included in vacation price. Minimum night stay restrictions may apply. Reservation changes may not be permitted unless authorized by the hotel.
- No Show Penalty: 100% of balance due Applies: Sunday - Saturday 05May16 - 31Dec50
Ratings & reviews
TripAdvisor traveler rating
10101 reviews
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Jan 27, 2025Feels like you are in America, not Jamaica
I will start this by saying I did not select to stay at this resort. It was a reward trip earned by my partner and selected by his employer. The property is very pretty. The restaurants are decent. The staff is very nice. This is a very American resort catering to American tourists. While I am an American, I like to experience the culture and cuisine of the area where I am staying. If you want limited exposure to Jamaica and her people, this is a great resort. If you prefer the pool to the ocean, also a great resort. If you want to see anything other than American tourists, don't stay here.
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Jan 25, 2025A 2 star at best
The entertainment is lacking a lot. It’s dj music 90 percent of the time. No shows at all. Not enough chairs or lounge chairs. I would say that alone would make me not return. You’re stuck sitting on the cement or the sand. The young me. At the piano bar are extremely rude! Shangjai and Philip were the best!! If not for them it would be a one star! Food was average at best. Wait was about a hour for dinner- buffet was repetitive. Pool water was cold. Rooms dated but clean
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Jan 25, 2025
Not anymore.
Desperately needs remodeled. Not a fraction of the beach chairs or pool chairs for the number of people that would like them. Poor bar service and selection. We’ve done many all inclusives. This was the poorest. I would bet this facility is going to be completely replaced soon. I would hope so.
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Jan 23, 2025
Disappointing
Expect less than 1st class service when here. Wait staff at the pool and beach are few and far between. Several restaurants had rude staff too. I was highly disappointed - just not what I’ve come to expect of the Secrets name. This one trip ensured we will never buy into their resorts.
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Jan 23, 2025
Christmas at SSJ in 2024 vs 2022 - moving in the wrong direction.
This was our 7th time in Jamaica and 2nd time visiting Secrets St James/Wild Orchid. The first time at SSJ/SWO was Christmas 2022 and it was such an amazing experience that we returned for Christmas 2024. We noticed that a lot had changed in 2 years and not for the better. In 2022 the resort was decorated to the 9s for Christmas vs this year where decorations were quite sparse. In 2022 Christmas Day was a big celebration with a parade leading to an afternoon beach party complete with food, bar, and lining up to sit with Santa for a photo. This year, there was a parade and Santa wandered around the 2 pool areas. In 2022, there was a whole courtyard party on Christmas eve and this year that didn’t happen at all. The worst was that in 2022, you could make a reservation for Christmas Eve dinner and/or Christmas dinner and enjoy a lovely experience. This year in order to partake in the Christmas Eve Dinner, you had to purchase a bottle of wine for $150USD or more and to have a non-buffet Christmas Dinner you had to purchase a bottle of wine for $75USD or more. The other big negative was the UVC Club sales pitch. BEWARE! We had been through the pitch previously but wanted to meet with them again as we were reconsidering. We said we only needed a condensed version as we knew all the basics so maybe 60 min vs the usual 90 min. The manager, Shenice, said that she would only give us $100 room credit not $150 if we were only going to be 60 min. Well, low and behold she had her salesperson hold us there for the 90 min and if we walked out without them checking us out, we wouldn’t get anything. When we asked to get the full $150 since we had given the full 90 min of our time, Shenise refused, despite 2 of her employees saying it was the right thing to do. Shame on Shenice for that - I hope the $50 credit she wouldn't give us was worth UVC Club losing the sale. NOTE: the sales pitch is 90 min but they want you to go for breakfast and a tour so be aware that you are giving them almost 3 hours of your time. Generally speaking, the resort was decent. It is in need of a refresh inside and out, but was clean. We did notice there were way fewer grounds keepers and maintenance staff so they likely can't keep up with the work that needs to be done. The beaches are great and the sun was shining. The food was generally good (some better than others) and the bars were decent (although premium brands were more scarce than on our previous visit). The staff are lovely although we did notice less joy and positivity from them compared to 2022. Hyatt works them hard and does not pay them well (you would think they would with tourism being their #1 industry but they don’t). Our check in with Tiffany was great - she managed to move us to a higher floor without any fuss and we really appreciated that. Dayona the conceriege was lovely and so helpful – she even made it possible for us to have dinner at Altitude at Breathless (twice!) and surprised us with wine and a cheese plate in our room one night. Ernel at the Baracuda Bar was great too, making sure everyone was looked after. We went to Altitude at Breathless for dinner twice and both times were amazing (can't say enough about both Troy and Andrine whose service made both nights very special). We liked that there were more sun chairs at the beach for people to use, however, there were way fewer at the pool and all the cabanas are lined up pool side so block the view for those using the few chairs at the pool. To use a cabana, you need to fork over $100+ for the day (another money grab) so they sat mostly empty taking up prime space for the 10 days we were there. It may seem like I am complaining and I guess I am a bit. Did we have a terrible vacation? No - we lowered our standards and found ways to enjoy and have fun. Did we have an amazing vacation (like we did in 2022)? No. Would we go back to this resort? No, I really don’t think so. We will go back to Jamaica again but will stay somewhere else. We have always been loyal Secrets customers but it seems that Hyatt is turning the Secrets brand into lower end properties with money grabs everywhere and so we are likely to turn our loyalty elsewhere for the future. If you haven’t travelled a lot and/or don’t know what Secrets used to be like, you will likely be fine at this resort but go knowing that it is not a premium experience (and bring extra money for the upsells!).