Turtle Island Resort & Residencies — Hotel in Belize District

First, let me apologize for the length of this review. In preparation for my own trip I read many other reviews and became a little confused by the different perspectives and experiences. I even considered cancelling my reservation after reading a couple of the negative ones. Although I don’t write reviews often, I felt compelled to provide my own perspectives.||Short version: I am VERY happy I didn’t cancel my reservation and I would certainly stay here again. Turtle Island is beautiful! Now for the longer version (if interested)…||Our stay was from February 7-13, 2024. We are two medical professionals who travel extensively and both of whom have lived overseas. As with any medical publication we’ll start with a “conflict of interest” statement – we are getting nothing for providing this review, we have no “agenda”. ||LOCATION: |Turtle Island is just that – an island. It’s about 6 minutes away from San Pedro by boat. You exit San Pedro at “Storm Dock” (aka “Level Up Dock”). If you check a map of San Pedro, the dock is just off Tarpon Street on the west side of San Pedro. From my perspective this puts you near the center of what I consider the “tourist zone”, (which is about 3-4 streets wide and 1.5 miles long). You are essentially no more than a mile away from anything. Most places are a 5-10 minute walk from the dock.||Why is this important? |When making my choice of where I wanted to stay, I did consider hotels that were not on an island. I considered places on a beach, but all beaches are public which means less security and less privacy. I considered choosing a “private compound” where I would have rented a golf cart and dealt with that additional expense, parking, and worry about DUI (if I had too much fun) as well as damage/insurance. I could have stayed right in town and dealt with the noise. OR I could choose an island which provided increased security, less headaches than renting a golf cart, peace and quiet, a private plunge pool, etc. I was VERY happy with my choice. ||BTW: I was even happier after witnessing the headaches the golf cart people experienced with one-way roads, one lane roads used for two-way traffic, long lines of carts backed up, lack of parking, etc.||FERRY/SHUTTLE:|I remember reading a negative review regarding the ferry including safety concerns. OMG, I have such a different perspective! I LOVED the ferry and the captain(s). ||The resort offers a complimentary ferry that runs throughout the day from 0615 to 10:30pm. At busier times (mornings) it’s hourly, the longest period without is one is a single 3-hour block from 2-5 pm, and the evenings runs are every 2-hours. The boat is pristine and VERY safe. The ride is beautiful and over very calm waters (you’re over a reef and the break is miles away). We timed many of our trips to include sunset – which is just beautiful from the ferry/shuttle. I felt I should be paying them just for the beautiful ride. They always look after your safety. During daylight hours you use the “Welcome Dock” on the east side of the resort but if it’s dark you use the “Adventure Dock” next to the restaurant/pool since it has better lighting.||One reviewer mentioned late running shuttles. Occasionally we did notice the same and were unfortunately the cause of this once. The delay was never “bad”, maybe 5-10 minutes – think “island time”. In general, you use WhatsApp to let them know you’re taking a ferry at time “x” (not required but a courtesy). I did mess up once and told them we’d take the 5:15 shuttle into San Pedro but then changed our plans and decided to watch sunset from the restaurant/bar without notifying them. They held the shuttle for 5 minutes then called and texted to check our plans. So, I guess the occasional 5-10 minute delay issues depends on your perspective. I do feel horrible for the people we inconvenienced, (and they may have viewed it as poor service from the shuttle) – but from our perspective they went out of their way to provide excellent service. It was our mistake not their's. ||I did book two private trips and we also did the “Secret Island” charter. The private charters cost a fraction of what a cart rental would have been for a day (or a cab ride in the US). These included a trip to Amigos del Mar for a Blue Hole dive. We had to be there before the 0615 shuttle. The captain took us straight to their dock. The other was to the airport (since we had a very early departure) and we received excellent service then as well. I never had any concerns regarding getting someplace on-time.||The same boat offers transportation (for a fee) to “Secret Beach” and back. Worth every penny! We enjoyed a beautiful ride along the coast while those enduring the golf cart experience (for those staying in San Pedro hotels) had a hour-plus ride on bumpy/dusty roads to get there. Again… we were very happy with our choice. 5 Stars||THE RESORT:|Better than the pictures! This place is absolutely beautiful! ||“Suites”: There are 8 “suites” that are well designed. Each building is long and thin. They have king sized beds on each end with a kitchen in the middle. Your bedroom has a safe which you program upon arrival. Four of the buildings have plunge pools (recommended). Their set-up gives many options including: bedroom only, bedroom/kitchen, bedroom plunge pool, bedroom/kitchen/plunge pool (recommended), two-bedroom/kitchen and two-bedroom/kitchen with two plunge pools. For the bedrooms you can decide upon “sunrise” side which overlooks the water/lights of San Pedro (recommended) or ‘sunset” side that overlooks “Lucy’s Lagoon”. We had excellent privacy and it was very quiet.||“Villas”: Sorry I don’t know about these.||The community areas (restaurant, bar, infinity pool, lagoon, welcome center, dock, etc.) are beautiful. The restaurant/bar offers incredible sunset views.||RESTAURANT/BAR:|We ate at someplace different every night because we love to explore, but I imagine you could be happy eating every meal here. We certainly enjoyed our dinner here. 4-5 Stars||SPA:|While I went for some scuba diving my better half enjoyed the spa. She described it as very professional.||CONCIERGE/TOURS: |Just let them know what you’d like to do and they’ll take care of everything and bill it to the room. I had some experiences that I booked myself and some I booked through the resort. The main advantages of booking with the resort is dedicated transportation to your activity. The resort keeps a golf cart at Storm Dock and they will not only ferry you over but will give you a ride to wherever you need to go (even if only 2 blocks). They also offered pick-up service after the tour although we never took advantage of that. After our adventure we just did some shopping then rode the normal ferry/shuttle back. 5 Stars|||STAFF:|Just outstanding! I wish I could remember everybody’s name (like they could ours). Kaira, Ernesto, Janice (cook) were all great. I’ll provide a special shout out to Julie. Everybody did everything possible to make sure our stay was excellent. Since the staff also use the ferry to go back and forth you do have the opportunity to get to know them. 5 Stars||SOME OF OUR FAVORITE PLACES:|Blue Water Grill is almost directly across from Storm Dock (on the east side of San Pedro) and was excellent. We also enjoyed the Patio which is 2 blocks away walking towards the east side. Both had live music when we went. Don’t miss Neri’s Tacos which is essentially ½ block away from Storm Dock (great food/incredible prices). All three places are 5-8 minute walks from the dock.||BOTTOM LINE: |I/we HIGHLY recommend this resort. It’s probably best for couples looking for peace, quiet, and the increased security of an island. It’s best for people who’d rather walk 5-15 minutes to a restaurant/shop rather than drive/park a golf cart. The resort is absolutely beautiful. The ferry/shuttle is a huge plus (far better than the golf cart option)and the staff...

First, let me apologize for the length of this review. In preparation for my own trip I read many other reviews and became a little confused by the different perspectives and experiences. I even considered cancelling my reservation after reading a couple of the negative ones. Although I don’t write reviews often, I felt compelled to provide my own perspectives.||Short version: I am VERY happy I didn’t cancel my reservation and I would certainly stay here again. Turtle Island is beautiful! Now for the longer version (if interested)…||Our stay was from February 7-13, 2024. We are two medical professionals who travel extensively and both of whom have lived overseas. As with any medical publication we’ll start with a “conflict of interest” statement – we are getting nothing for providing this review, we have no “agenda”. ||LOCATION: |Turtle Island is just that – an island. It’s about 6 minutes away from San Pedro by boat. You exit San Pedro at “Storm Dock” (aka “Level Up Dock”). If you check a map of San Pedro, the dock is just off Tarpon Street on the west side of San Pedro. From my perspective this puts you near the center of what I consider the “tourist zone”, (which is about 3-4 streets wide and 1.5 miles long). You are essentially no more than a mile away from anything. Most places are a 5-10 minute walk from the dock.||Why is this important? |When making my choice of where I wanted to stay, I did consider hotels that were not on an island. I considered places on a beach, but all beaches are public which means less security and less privacy. I considered choosing a “private compound” where I would have rented a golf cart and dealt with that additional expense, parking, and worry about DUI (if I had too much fun) as well as damage/insurance. I could have stayed right in town and dealt with the noise. OR I could choose an island which provided increased security, less headaches than renting a golf cart, peace and quiet, a private plunge pool, etc. I was VERY happy with my choice. ||BTW: I was even happier after witnessing the headaches the golf cart people experienced with one-way roads, one lane roads used for two-way traffic, long lines of carts backed up, lack of parking, etc.||FERRY/SHUTTLE:|I remember reading a negative review regarding the ferry including safety concerns. OMG, I have such a different perspective! I LOVED the ferry and the captain(s). ||The resort offers a complimentary ferry that runs throughout the day from 0615 to 10:30pm. At busier times (mornings) it’s hourly, the longest period without is one is a single 3-hour block from 2-5 pm, and the evenings runs are every 2-hours. The boat is pristine and VERY safe. The ride is beautiful and over very calm waters (you’re over a reef and the break is miles away). We timed many of our trips to include sunset – which is just beautiful from the ferry/shuttle. I felt I should be paying them just for the beautiful ride. They always look after your safety. During daylight hours you use the “Welcome Dock” on the east side of the resort but if it’s dark you use the “Adventure Dock” next to the restaurant/pool since it has better lighting.||One reviewer mentioned late running shuttles. Occasionally we did notice the same and were unfortunately the cause of this once. The delay was never “bad”, maybe 5-10 minutes – think “island time”. In general, you use WhatsApp to let them know you’re taking a ferry at time “x” (not required but a courtesy). I did mess up once and told them we’d take the 5:15 shuttle into San Pedro but then changed our plans and decided to watch sunset from the restaurant/bar without notifying them. They held the shuttle for 5 minutes then called and texted to check our plans. So, I guess the occasional 5-10 minute delay issues depends on your perspective. I do feel horrible for the people we inconvenienced, (and they may have viewed it as poor service from the shuttle) – but from our perspective they went out of their way to provide excellent service. It was our mistake not their's. ||I did book two private trips and we also did the “Secret Island” charter. The private charters cost a fraction of what a cart rental would have been for a day (or a cab ride in the US). These included a trip to Amigos del Mar for a Blue Hole dive. We had to be there before the 0615 shuttle. The captain took us straight to their dock. The other was to the airport (since we had a very early departure) and we received excellent service then as well. I never had any concerns regarding getting someplace on-time.||The same boat offers transportation (for a fee) to “Secret Beach” and back. Worth every penny! We enjoyed a beautiful ride along the coast while those enduring the golf cart experience (for those staying in San Pedro hotels) had a hour-plus ride on bumpy/dusty roads to get there. Again… we were very happy with our choice. 5 Stars||THE RESORT:|Better than the pictures! This place is absolutely beautiful! ||“Suites”: There are 8 “suites” that are well designed. Each building is long and thin. They have king sized beds on each end with a kitchen in the middle. Your bedroom has a safe which you program upon arrival. Four of the buildings have plunge pools (recommended). Their set-up gives many options including: bedroom only, bedroom/kitchen, bedroom plunge pool, bedroom/kitchen/plunge pool (recommended), two-bedroom/kitchen and two-bedroom/kitchen with two plunge pools. For the bedrooms you can decide upon “sunrise” side which overlooks the water/lights of San Pedro (recommended) or ‘sunset” side that overlooks “Lucy’s Lagoon”. We had excellent privacy and it was very quiet.||“Villas”: Sorry I don’t know about these.||The community areas (restaurant, bar, infinity pool, lagoon, welcome center, dock, etc.) are beautiful. The restaurant/bar offers incredible sunset views.||RESTAURANT/BAR:|We ate at someplace different every night because we love to explore, but I imagine you could be happy eating every meal here. We certainly enjoyed our dinner here. 4-5 Stars||SPA:|While I went for some scuba diving my better half enjoyed the spa. She described it as very professional.||CONCIERGE/TOURS: |Just let them know what you’d like to do and they’ll take care of everything and bill it to the room. I had some experiences that I booked myself and some I booked through the resort. The main advantages of booking with the resort is dedicated transportation to your activity. The resort keeps a golf cart at Storm Dock and they will not only ferry you over but will give you a ride to wherever you need to go (even if only 2 blocks). They also offered pick-up service after the tour although we never took advantage of that. After our adventure we just did some shopping then rode the normal ferry/shuttle back. 5 Stars|||STAFF:|Just outstanding! I wish I could remember everybody’s name (like they could ours). Kaira, Ernesto, Janice (cook) were all great. I’ll provide a special shout out to Julie. Everybody did everything possible to make sure our stay was excellent. Since the staff also use the ferry to go back and forth you do have the opportunity to get to know them. 5 Stars||SOME OF OUR FAVORITE PLACES:|Blue Water Grill is almost directly across from Storm Dock (on the east side of San Pedro) and was excellent. We also enjoyed the Patio which is 2 blocks away walking towards the east side. Both had live music when we went. Don’t miss Neri’s Tacos which is essentially ½ block away from Storm Dock (great food/incredible prices). All three places are 5-8 minute walks from the dock.||BOTTOM LINE: |I/we HIGHLY recommend this resort. It’s probably best for couples looking for peace, quiet, and the increased security of an island. It’s best for people who’d rather walk 5-15 minutes to a restaurant/shop rather than drive/park a golf cart. The resort is absolutely beautiful. The ferry/shuttle is a huge plus (far better than the golf cart option)and the staff...

This resort is not what is advertised, at all. It looks like it once was a luxury resort but everything that made it luxurious was stripped off the island at some point. The pictures they post on Instagram and travel websites are not accurate and clearly taken when the resort was in it's prime. I wish someone would have warned us, which is why I'm leaving this review. It's a long review, but it's important for potential guests to know what is really happening onsite. We booked our trip earlier this year as part of a package within Muy'Ono Resorts (a family of luxury resorts in Belize). At some point this year, Turtle Island was no longer affiliated with Muy'Ono Resorts and new management took over the resort. Nobody informed us of this. It is clear why they are no longer affiliated with them - definitely not the caliber of luxury resorts that Muy'Ono Resorts is known for. They had no record of our reservation when we arrived - putting us in the wrong room even though I had called and confirmed our suite a week before our arrival. They also said we had a balance when we arrived, which is strange given they didn't have our reservation? They also told us prior to our trip that they booked our flights from Belize City to San Pedro and when we arrived in Belize City the airline had no record of our reservation so we had to re-purchase our tickets (we still have not received reimbursement for this from Turtle Island Resort). Nobody was waiting for us at the San Pedro airport, as indicated, and when the driver did arrive he was not friendly, dropped us off at dock and took off - no instructions or details on who to ask for/look for at the dock. The boat taxi driver was not friendly and the boat was in very poor condition. When we arrived on the island, we were greeted by an employee wearing a t-shirt with "Playboy" in large letters on his shirt - only 1 employee on site was actually wearing a Turtle Island Resort-branded uniform. We couldn't tell who was a guest vs. who worked there - and everything seemed very chaotic and low bar. On our way to the suite, we were told they only had one turtle, who was "sick" so we probably wouldn't see much of it or be able to feed it. We were also discouraged from using the gym and said if we did want to use it, we would need to give them plenty of notice to get it unlocked. The property was not maintained, there was very little vegetation and the suites did not look like the pictures on their website or social media - no artwork, decorations, flowers or anything in the room - very bare - a bed and a shelf for your clothes. The paint was peeling and coming off the walls. The curtains were wrinkled, stained, and wouldn't open b/c the curtain rod was damp, old wood. The suite reeked of cheap, high-chemical cleaning solution (think urinal cake smell) - it was overwhelmingly gross. We walked to the restaurant and pool area and they were stripped of any decor - again, very bare and rundown, smelling of urinal cakes. This was a special anniversary for us and everything from the start was inaccurate of what they advertise. When we went to the front office staff to complain, an employee said they were under new management and had received similar feedback from guests as of late. She also went into detail about how the new management is going to sue the old management, etc. As a guest, we don't need to know these details. We quickly booked at a different resort and left the island. There was no way we could stay there for five nights, especially after having such an incredible time at a Muy'Ono Resort for the first part of our trip. If you want luxury, do not book at Turtle Island Resort. The whole experience was incredibly disappointing. We were shocked by the contrast as to what's advertised online and what it actually is in person. Perhaps the new management will heavily invest in the resort and it may return to it's original state. But I would not recommend anyone book with them at this time. Absolutely not what they...