St James Bay Golf & Pickleball Resort

Great resort in the Panhandle. Would highly recommend this hidden gem! Great golf course and restaurant. Beautiful pickleball court and outdoor patio to relax. Loved playing pickleball with my family and then having an outstanding lunch at Crooked River

When it comes to finding hidden gems while traveling, this location exceeded our expectations. My daughter who is 10 and I were thrilled to discover new places to stay, and the natural beauty of this spot was a welcome surprise. The pickleball courts were a blast to play on, and we enjoyed plenty of laughs as we learned the game together. And the beautifully manicured golf course was a true delight. We're already looking forward to our next visit and experiencing the fantastic hospitality once again.

Beautiful resort. exceeded our expectations . Golf course is in great condition and nestled within a nature preserve setting . We saw a 10 foot alligator on the 17th hole and also saw a white squirrel which i think means 10 years of good luck. We stayed in a villa that was in great condition and food at Crooked river grill was great. Bourbon selection was unbelievable . Also ate alligator bites in restaurant . Highly recommend . Also they have 8 pickleball courts .

Awesome little hidden gem! The golf course is beautiful but also challenging-bring extra balls. The pickleball courts are in a great location. The restaurant has a great variety. The staff is friendly and helpful. The grounds are clean and the landscaping is stunning. Great resort!

Staff is very friendly and helpful. Accommodations were very clean, modern and spacious. Didn’t have a chance to golf but the course looked well maintained.

Oh. My. God. This was one of the worst experiences I’ve had in many years. I’ve been to many, many resorts in my life so I’m not new to the resort life nor am I looking for reasons to complain. I’m usually the over-tipper for my servers and keep my attitude happy as I understand the service industry how hard people have to work in this field- and I’m not one for leaving bad reviews but I just can’t let this one pass without comment. The resort itself is beautiful but you need to bring your own food, your own paper goods, your own libations- even though they have big signs that you cannot bring your own drinks and coolers, etc. The grounds crews and construction goes on throughout the day every day- they don’t have set times for those things. The restaurant is awful, the service is awful, you’ll wait over an hour + for anything. We got so disgusted that we got in the car and drove to subway over 7 miles to a gas station Subway and then drive back. I paid $1000+ for a 4 night pickleball clinic package and I truly feel bad upon leaving. The clinic would have been the best ever as the Pros were amazing HOWEVER- there were concrete cutters adjacent to the courts blasting all day blowing concrete dust in our faces and deafening is so we could not hear our instructors 90% of the time nor could we communicate with our teams and partners. They made it so difficult on everyone. I can’t imagine how frustrating it was for the instructors trying their best to give us the information we desperately needed. When we had an hour break for lunch it took 1.5 hours to get a cold sandwich which took away our valuable and highly paid for time in instruction. It caused so many problems for us all. Had I known any of this prior to leaving for this trip I would have cancelled immediately as this was not pleasant for me now my group of four travelers who all expected just a little more consideration from a resort that has to know how to do business at even a passing standard

What a cool place! Comfortable and great dining on property.

We came upon this while trying to book another property during spring break, otherwise we hadn't heard of it. And we had a lovely time. We were booked into a small villa with two beds and a full kitchen. Everything was clean and the beds were comfortable. All the appliances worked in the kitchen and it was well stocked with dishes and the like. And that proved to be useful as the restaurant closed early and not much is to be found on Sunday night in smaller towns in the South. So, especially if it's off-tourist season, plan on bringing your own food for backup. The staff we interacted with were extremely nice and helpful. The gentlemen working in the proshop was very nice and helped us out with everything we asked for. The shop was well-equipped and, even though we didn't use the pool or courts, they looked like there were in good order. My teenage son tried out the golf course, and although it's challenging for a beginning golfer, he had fun. I also appreciated the fact that the carts are geofenced, so you can't drive on the greens. All in all, it was very relaxing and I would go back. But this time probably closer tourist season when local towns like Carrabelle have more things open.

My wife booked our trip to Florida to play some golf. She decided on St James Bay since we had stayed there before. We had a villa which consists of a full kitchen, a living room, a bedroom with double beds and a bathroom. The room was clean and adequate, but needs an update. This is the reason for 4 out of 5. The staff is great from Coach at the clubhouse, Julie in the restaurant and James who waited on us twice. All of them were attentive and friendly. The food is very good and the servings are large. But golf is the reason we were here. We played 27 holes one day and 18 the next. The course is challenging, beautiful and in good shape. The tees and fairways were very good and the tee boxes needed some work (because of some tough grass). They are building several new villas and we will be back!