aerial-view-belize-jungle-lodge
10
Mar
Accommodations

4 Rave Reviews and FB Vote is in

I apologize for my absence, been busy planning and facilitating an event on Caye Caulker. It went fabulously and there’s more to come on that after all the official reports and press write-up are closer to being done. Meanwhile, back to this post – the FB votes are in plus I received a couple of emails on four award-winning hotels from around the country of Belize, plus a Caye Caulker restaurant review. It’s a rave review for sure and no surprise either, that ViVA BELiZE Hotel Group and Adventure Company recently received nine 2017 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards between three of their properties in The World, Central America & Belize categories. Congratulations to the following winners.

ViVA BELiZE Award Winners

The three ViVA BELiZE Resort Winners are The Sleeping Giant Rainforest Lodge in Belmopan district, Jaguar Reef Lodge & Spa and Almond Beach Resort & Spa both Hopkins in the Stann Creek district. Honored to add these nine awards to the ViVA BELiZE Hotel Group 2017 list of achievements, these properties worked hard to earn their titles:

Top 3 Hotels for Service in Belize – Ranked 1st

Sleeping Giant Rainforest Lodge (click through for trip advisor reviews) More Awards for 2017: Top 20 Hotels in the WORLD for Best Service – Ranked 18th. Top 10 Hotels for Service in Central America – Ranked 2nd. Top 10 Small Hotels in Central America -Ranked 5th. Top 10 Hotels for Romance in Central America – Ranked 6th. Top 3 Small Hotels in Belize – Ranked 2nd. Top 3 Hotels for Romance in Belize – Ranked 3rd.

The official base camp for National Geographic Expeditions in Belize, Sleeping Giant Rainforest Lodge’s extravagant setting welcomes a multitude of opportunities for adventure. This jungle resort features 20 spacious rooms, consisting of hardwood furnishings, all designed and handcrafted in Belize. The Casitas feature an espresso machine, stylish showers, open-air bathtubs, rooftop electric opening skylights and hammocks on the balconies. In order to best experience being at one with nature, you will not have a TV in your room. Available for use are kayaks and mountain bikes. Poolside dining is also a popular activity. Sleeping Giant Rainforest Lodge is a sanctuary for nature lovers, and is dedicated to Sustainable Tourism. (Featured image courtesy of Sleeping Giant Facebook page)

Top 10 Bargain Hotels in Belize – Ranked 8th

Jaguar Reef Lodge & Spa (click through for trip advisor reviews) Staying Jaguar Reef Lodge has been the choice of travelers for over twenty years. Guests enjoy the central location, beachfront dining, and their comfortable suites and cabanas. This tranquil and laid-back beachfront retreat has panoramic views of the ocean and is minutes away from Hopkins, a well known Garifuna fishing village.
Amenities include an onsite full-service spa, lounge bar, a kids’ pool, and a heated infinity pool with a swim-up Tiki bar. Kayaks, bicycles, paddleboards, Hobie cats, and a PADI 5 Star Dive Center are also available.

Top 10 Bargain Hotels in Belize – Ranked 10th

Almond Beach Resort & Spa (click through for trip advisor reviews) Almond Beach Resort Spa is settled along a five-mile stretch of sandy beach and is very close to the Village of Hopkins. Their intimate 25 room beachfront resort offers luxurious accommodations, and excellent amenities.
From this resort, you can view both sunrise and sunset as well as amazing views of the ocean. Amenities include a restaurant and lounge bar, a heated infinity pool with a swim-up bar, a hot tub, and an onsite spa that is the ultimate for peace, rejuvenation, and relaxation.

Top 25 Hotels in Central America – Ranked 11

Coco Beach (click through for TripAdvisor reviews) It is no surprise that Travelers Choice Awarded Coco Beach among the top 25 Hotels in Central America. Situated 3.5 miles north of San Pedro this 4-star luxury beach resort is a perfect location for romance and relaxation. It offers two large swimming pools, a waterslide, a swim-up pool bar, and a hot tub. To suit a variety of needs, Coco Beach Resort offers a wide range of accommodations from hotel rooms that sleep two to sea view penthouse suites that sleep six. Daily housekeeping is provided with all accommodations. In their spacious casitas, you will enjoy many amenities such as appliances, Rattan furniture, a luxurious private bathroom, and an LCD TV. Each room is also equipped with air conditioning, ceiling fans, and an in-room safe. The resort also features three great dining options. Cocoblanca Pool Bar is open daily from 9:00 am to 11:00 pm. It is very refreshing to have a cool drink and/or a meal while sitting in a swim-up heated pool. Open daily for breakfast from 7:00 am-12:00 pm, The Coco Cafe serves specialty coffees, pastries, and sundry items until 5:00 pm. Cocoblanca Restaurant offers fine dining inside an elegant restaurant for dinner from 5:00 to 9:00 pm. Room service menu is also available 11:00 am – 9:00 pm.

taco Reviews

Now for a couple of my own reviews. These ones are both Caye Caulker based and the second one I had a little help on 😉 First off Sub-Away gets a gold star. This was our chosen place for lunch in Caye Caulker last Saturday. As soon as I saw the menu I knew the bacon sub was it. The six other sub orders got gobbled down fast by their owners, unfortunately, I was too busy with work to eat it. Ok, truth be told partly work partly pizza rolls and cookies that had me saving my sub for later. After carting it back to Ambergris Caye in my supply bag and a quick toast in the oven, my lunch sub was still fabulously yummy over 7 hours later for dinner. Now that is a good sandwich 😀

Country of Belize
Sub-Away Subs passed the travel and longevity test
Caye Caulker Restaurants
Over 7 hours and a boat ride – the sandwich was fresh n tasty (note: my hollow leg stopped a better sub picture)

The Facebook numbers are in – Between my personal page (53) and tacogirl business page (589) people gave a total of 642 likes, loves, ha ha’s and a few oh my’s votes of agreement that Caye Caulker boys are cuter than Ambergris Caye. 😀 There was one frowny face in the bunch too – perhaps a sad SP boy 😀 (just kidding)

Country of Belize
Not surprised at the agreement levels for Caye Caulker Boys being cuter
tacogirl

Laurie Norton grew up dyslexic and was very challenged by the school. She never dreamed she would move to Belize and become a writer. A year after her move to Ambergris Caye, Laurie became an entrepreneur and professional writer starting tacogirl blog in 2007. Since then she has helped many people plan their vacations or move. She also has been published in Great Destinations Belize Guidebook, Moon Guide to Living in Belize, Insight Guides, Island Magazine several times and USA Today. Currently Laurie resides in downtown San Pedro and enjoys being a "city girl" on a tropical island.

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