I just can't believe that beachlady (review 10 February) stayed at the same hotel. We were there from 5-9 Feb staying in the main house and thought it very good indeed. It is in a superb position, at the head of the Knysna lagoon looking out towards the Heads, and has lawns down to the water, with a good pool and spacious well maintained gardens. The service was fine - OK, sometimes at quiet times you might have to look for someone - the food very acceptable, and we had good service at dinner regardless of the time we arrived.
The staff were good and pleasant, and receptionist Sandy was outstanding, friendly and helpful to a degree. We spent four weeks on the Western Cape, staying at some of the best hotels, and the St James was one of our favourites.

On first arriving at the hotel it looked wonderful...but sadly it went down hill after that.
May be it was xmas i dont know but still... its a five star and there wasn't five star service while we were there on many occasions... but this was just staff training i feel which was a shame .. receiving the wrong orders at dinner and there were only half a dozen eating.. but after that said the food we had there was really very nice including room service ..there was no one hardly on hand if you fancied a drink outside... and the turn down service in the rooms was all over the place... which leads me on to the rooms, the room itself was really nice, we had one over looking the lagoon, however, there are two parts to this hotel the main and an individual block next to it , which when anyone enters there room as the doors didn't seem to fit properly had to bang all the time ... these also lead to concrete stair to a pool area which was filthy and needed a re vamp and not able to swim.. it reminded me a bit of a butlins old style look.. chalet doors and concrete stairs and not tidy at that!! This hotel could be so much better in my opinion it was a bit tired...with a bit of staff training and a revamp who knows.

This hotel is beautifully located right on the Knysna lagoon. Breakfast on the terrace with lagoon views is especially stunning and a great start to the day. A nice British breakfast is served and I especially recommend the filling omelette!

We were upgraded to a very spacious suite with distinguished looking furniture and lagoon views from the main room. The hotel consists of several smaller buildings and looks like a colonial estate. There is a bar and a restaurant with excellent food. Overall this has a very cozy hideaway feel.

Service was very efficient and attentive. For example one of the gardeners cleaned my car after an off road trip.

We stayed here for a weekend mid November at which time the hotel was very quiet. Our large deluxe room overlooking the lagoon was very comfortable and had the weather been good, would have been perfect for enjoying the views towards the Heads of Kynsna. The hotel is located just off a busy major road and quite a distance from the centre of town and the newer waterfront developments on Thesens island. However I am told there is a path alongside the lagoon if you did feel inclined to walk to town.
We arrived on Saturday evening after a long and tiring journey via the Prince Alfred pass. After a quick shower we made it to the restaurant around 9pm to find we were the only people eating in the hotel which we found a little intimidating. We selected oysters followed by line fish and both courses, although not spectacular were quite acceptable. We also remarked to the waiting staff that we are non meat eaters. Possibly because we were tired we failed to notice that the menu was very meat oriented with only a very small number of fish or vegetarian options for both starters and main courses.
The following morning we ordered omelette for breakfast which was fairly disappointing. We were also asked if we would be dining in that evening which we found odd but as we had not had the chance to investigate any other dining options in Kynsna and it was a Sunday we agreed to eat in. As only 3 couples were dining the staff decided to set up tables in the bar with a lovely fire which was very welcome as it was quite chilly and this did create a much more appealing atmosphere. However it would have been helpful if they also made sure there was a sufficient supply of fish to feed all those dining. Our orders were taken last and at the point of ordering, not when we were given the menu, we were told that they did not have any fresh fish. The vegetarian starter and main course dishes on the menu were very similar and both contained blue cheese. After a very tortuous negotiation where we finally decided to have the seafood platter which we did not really want as we were not that hungry, our waiter advised that we could have line fish after all. On enquirying about the source of this new supply we were told the kitchen had obtained supplies from another hotel. Eventually we had mussels followed by line fish. Desserts were complimentary to compensate for the problems we had. Monday morning, we passed on hot breakfast and ate from the buffet which was absolutely fine.
Despite the problems with the menu, there is much to commend this hotel. Our absolutely filthy car was washed by the grounds staff and the room servicing was excellent. All the staff were friendly and eager to please but it seemed to us that they lacked experience and direction. To qualify for its perceived 5 star status, much more effort is needed to get it right. We would recommend to others but with a cautionary note.