Villa Holidays In St James

St. James has long been patronised by royalty and film stars; it has a laid back vibe, white-sands and an individual cultural flair.

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Villas to rent in St James

Our villas to rent in St. James offer a laid back setting, access to white sandy beaches and all have an individual cultural flair.

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St James resorts and towns

St. James holiday guide

St. James parish runs along the central stretch of the island’s west—the Platinum Coast. Its white-sand beaches are backed by luxury hotels and villas including Sandy Lane, long patronized by royals and film stars. The seaside settlement of Holetown is at the centre of the parish: its bars, restaurants, and craft shops have a laid-back, local vibe. The Holetown Festival each February, one to catch on a St. James holiday, celebrates its status as the first British settlement on Barbados, with live music and a street fair.

Beaches

At Paynes Bay, a curve of soft, white sand slopes into clear waters. Generally calm, this is a good snorkelling area; spot turtles among the sergeant major and parrot fish. The beach at Fitts Village has a sleepier feel. Its short stretch of white sand is dotted with seagrape and palm trees.

Paynes Bay beach

Things to do in St. James

Barbados was known in the 17th century as the brightest jewel in the English crown, thanks to its thriving sugar-cane industry. Traditional machinery is on display at the Sir Frank Hutson Sugar Museum, where guides recounts the crop’s history and impact on the island’s people and economy. The 19th-century, cut-stone St. James Parish Church has an abstract, stained-glass window by Bajan artist Bill Grace. Its graveyard is the final resting place for several of Holetown’s first British settlers.

St. Michael Anglican Cathedral

Eating and drinking in St. James

Barbados’ culinary culture is diverse: chefs from Asia, India, Japan, and France re-create the dishes of their homelands with local fish and seafood. Tuna tartare, lobster thermidor, and crab cakes with Thai sweet-chilli sauce are just a few examples. Mount Gay, Cockspur, and Malibu rums—the latter flavoured with coconut—are distilled on Barbados. They are used as a base for punches and cocktails such as the Bajan Passion, dark rum mixed with apricot brandy, vanilla syrup, and passion fruit.

Lobster thermidor

Shopping

Holetown’s Chattel Village is a collection of stores housed in gingerbread-style buildings, and set in a shady tropical garden. Chutneys and hot sauces, T-shirts, crafts, steel band CDs, and hand-made coconut soaps are popular purchases. Across the border in St, Thomas parish, Earthwork’s Pottery has a small studio and shop where local artists make contemporary vases and plates using Bajan red clay.

Multi-coloured wool art yarn

Our St James Villas