We settled on the St James Apartments having read another positive review in Trip Advisor. We were very impressed. We had a 2 brm seaview apartment which, along with all the other seaview apartments, have stunning views of the Caribbean, beach and the sunsets. I could not recommend the annex rooms unless you are really on a budget as these look out over the carpark and are closer to the main west coast road. You could be anywhere really, although you are still only a few steps to the beach of course: it depends how important a view is from your apartment!

Cecile promptly and efficiently handled all our enquiries from our first contact by email to when we checked out. She arranged car hire through Corbins Car Rentals who were excellent: not only was the car virtually brand new (in my experience a rarity in the Caribbean!) but despite our flight being several hours late they were still waiting at the airport with our car (a small 4WD as requested).

Because of the late arrival of our flight Corbins were good enough to "pilot" us from the airport right to our apartments (45 mins trip) on a wet, dark night, and took the car promptly over from us when we returned it at the airport 7 days later.

Back to The St James: the 2 brm apartments are huge and well-equipped with great terraces complete with chaise lounge and table and chairs. The beach can get a bit hectic during the day what with Turtle viewing day trippers, and cruise liners using it as a shore-tour (possibly only temporarily as we heard they were using Paynes Bay only as a substitute for another on which there is some building work going on). Very little noise from motorised water-sports though so that is not a problem.

Note that there is no swimming pool at The St James.

There are restaurants, one or two bars and grocery shops within easy walking distance of the Apartments so you have the option of eating in or out without necessarily having to drive. Within easy driving distance there are lots of eating/drinking options.

NB: It is worth contacting the Apartments to see if they can offer any discounts depending on occupancy.

Barbados has more history than the other Caribbean islands we have visited so there is lots to see apart from the beaches. The people are very friendly and helpful everywhere you go, and even the occasional beach vendor readily accepts "No thanks" and moves on without any hassle.

Loved Barbados and loved The St James.

This luxury apt hotel has 2 studio and 3 2-bdrm beachfront units, 3 1-bdrm Annex units and an Annex Penthouse. It's small, quiet and exactly what we were looking for!

I emailed Nigel to ask about dates, and was able to book. Was told that they had a Studio Apt available, so we took it. Found out later we were the only ones in the builidng the whole visit, so it would have been nice to be given the option of the 2bdrm on the beach just for the extra space. But for 4 days the Studio did just fine!

The Studio Apt has a full kitchen less dishwasher, and the only complaint I had was the leaky tap. But wtih the a/c and fans on you couldn't really hear it. Very clean, comes with everything you need except food! I would suggest bringing Shampoo since they don't provide. Daily maid service except on Sundays, and she even did the dishes (I felt bad for that!). Cecile the manager was very polite.

View from the balcony was amazing. You're right on the beach, and a sea turtle even laid eggs on the beach in front of the building. The water was calm and beautiful, and going in the off-season meant there weren't many people around so we could enjoy the quiet time.

About a 2 minute walk away was a tiger express where we picked up some bread and eggs for breakfast, but i would suggest you get your alcohol and any other food items a bit south at Jordan's. It's much cheaper, and has everything you need - including a free shuttle back to your hotel!

We will definitely be going back to this place as it offers the freedom to cook your own meals and enjoy some quiet time without being surrounded by 150 rooms+ like at a hotel.