From M.B., a Boston resident who visited Belize with her husband and two young children for spring break in April. Her family flew into Belize City, then spent a few days at Chaa Creek, followed by a few days at Turtle Inn, a Francis Ford Coppola property on the coast.
We were so impressed by Chaa Creek... the place, the facilities, the staff… everything. The manager, Ben, was great—so helpful and kind. They left so many treats in the room for us upon our arrival. The Orchard Villa was phenomenal—beautiful, and yet understated. I loved the fact that they didn’t have any tv, radio or even clock! If you want to be woken up, they will knock on your door and bring you coffee/tea.
The food and drink was super and really nicely presented. They were so thoughtful with the kids and we really really enjoyed all the trips that they organized for us. We felt a wonderful combination of edgy adventure and total comfort.
They have some 365 acres of land, which had trails all over it. We went horseback riding through a fair amount of it… and then canoeing through a lot more of it. It felt pristine and quiet.
The owner and his wife were often around. He is originally from England and such a wonderful old character. We had a lot of fun talking with him about all their adventures building Chaa Creek up from nothing. I would recommend this place without hesitation to anyone who likes adventure.
Turtle Inn was (the hotel) was totally beautiful. Our room was absolutely amazing and right on the beach. Unfortunately, while in Chaa Creek there were masses of families with kids, there were no kids at all at Turtle Inn. Also there was a cold weather front that seemed to linger for our entire stay; it manifested itself as extreme wind. It was so windy that we couldn’t swim in the sea, as it was too choppy and filled seaweed. It also meant that we couldn’t go snorkeling or do any water sports. It also meant that it was kind of hard to sleep as the huts rattled like mad. When they put the canvas curtains down they rattled even more. Obviously this was nothing that they could do anything about… but it was a bummer.
The Turtle Inn is on a peninsula which is pretty well developed… and what is not developed is something partially developed (and then stopped). The town (Placencia) was kind of depressing—touristy shops, not very friendly/happy people.
I guess it was pretty hard to go from a place that is seemed so rich culturally and with pure nature… to a place that was very developed and then have poor weather…. All this said, we did have a nice time at Turtle Inn, it just wasn’t what we expected.
Ed note: At Indagare, we were also very impressed by the involvement of the Chaa Creek manager, Ben Awe. When we checked in to make sure the family had arrived safely, he responded with a note that showed real thoughtfulness and enthusiasm for caring for his guests: “The adventurous family has just set off to visit the Maya temple site Xunantunich (Shoe-nan-tu-nich) and had planned to go horseback riding after lunch. After we suggested a visit the Iguana Breeding Project in town, they quickly changed plans, postponing the horse ride for tomorrow and opting for the Iguana Hatchery visit instead. I thought that was a good call after noticing the kids’ enthusiasm over a millipede—there will be lots of iguana hatchlings that they will actually get to handle! They’ll still have plenty of time to cool off in our swimming pool after lunch.”
Read Indagare’s Belize report
Read about Authentic Ecolodges Around the World
Read about a family tour of Costa Rica
Discover a magical eco resort in Egypt
Read about an eco resort in Costa Rica
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