Matachica Resort & Spa, an SLH Hotel — Hotel in North Ambergris Caye

Ramshackle: Likely to fall to pieces; so poorly kept up that disintegration is likely; rickety||||We decided to re-name this resort the "Ramshackle Inn", and with good reason.||I was looking forward to the seclusion and quiet of Xamen Ek for my husband and I's diving trip, but we were sorely disappointed. First of all, the website (both pictures and information) are very outdated. It is very obvious that Mike (the owner) has let the place go. There was mold and dirt in the common areas (most of the light fixtures had dirt collecting in the bottom of them). Mike also passed on quite a bit of falsified information to us, both before we arrived and while we were there--we are both divers, and since his website boasts Scuba Steve as the local divemaster, we used that information to choose this resort. Mike told us via email that "we can figure out the diving when you get here" and upon arrival, we were told that Scuba Steve moved to a different resort because he wasn't getting business at Xamen Ek. Mike did recommend White Sands resort and dive shop, which was excellent, but we would have stayed there had we known. We both wish we would have rented a golf cart because the resort was very far away from town, but we were able to get there via the boat ferry, though that took about 45 minutes each way. We also discovered 3 nearby resorts that had menus significantly less in price than the resort restaurant. In fact, Portofino (1 resort to the north) actually let us use their swimming pool, towels, and snorkeling equipment at no charge, and we spent as much time there as possible. While the food at Xamen Ek was pretty good, they were often out of things because "it was the off season", and the kitchen was very unclean. We were able to find someone to get us a drink 1 time in the entire week we were there, and we eventually gave up and hung out at Portofino's pool and bar. The gardens are very beautiful, but the junk and trash that accompanies the plants do not exactly enhance the beauty. Finally, the rooms---we stayed in one of the poolside cabanas. Evidently, a couple coming to the hotel 3 days after us were much more important and got the more updated cabana--when we arrived, our cabana did not even have toilet paper. There were 3-4 leaky holes in the roof, including one that was nearly as large as my head. The staff had to be aware that they were there when we arrived, because the furniture was arranged in a fashion that made absolutely no sense...but avoided all the water leaks, so when it rained, the water simply pooled on the floor. The shower hadn't been cleaned in months, the bugs overtook everything, and the shower drain had pieces of metal shards sticking out of it. The website boasted queen size beds, and instead we were greeted with a full bed that was full of bugs and slightly softer than a piece of plywood. The resort boasted wireless internet, yes, but when we used it to stream music in the room, Mike asked us to stop because it slowed it down too much.||Mike recommended some excellent tours and experiences, and we very much enjoyed that part, but we tried to spend as little time at the resort as possible. I realize that the resort was relatively inexpensive compared to some other neighboring resorts, but I would have gladly paid extra to know that we didn't have to haul all of our valuables everywhere we went because we didn't feel safe leaving them in the room. I would have probably give this resort a "fair" rating (because the location is beautiful, even if there is no beach), if it weren't for the misinformation we were given before we left and during our stay. Perhaps once someone else buys the resort and fixes it up (give it at least a year, trust me), it will be a nice place again, but right now, stay away. When we told locals where we were staying, we were smirked and laughed at quite a bit, and with good reason. We didn't let our resort influence our vacation to Belize--the country is beautiful, and the people are very friendly. However, we could have found a much nicer resort for the same price. Trust me....go...

We stayed here 5 nights - four nights in Apricot, a sea breeze suite, and one night in watermelon, a beach front casita. The rooms are fabulous. Both were very comfortable. I understand there are 31 huts total on the property. As you land, the ones on the right are the newer ones and the left are the older. Apricot was a newer room. It felt slightly bigger but didn’t have the artistic flair (and symmetry) of watermelon. Apricot is very close the the pool and the lodge, which I liked a lot. Ending the trip with one night in watermelon was actually a fabulous idea, even though it wasn’t my own - it was the only thing available. It is magnificent having the sea breeze float into our room and our own private space in front of our casita. Watermelon cost us an extra ~$100. Worth every bit as a splurge for our last night / 24 hours on the property.

One unexpected delight - I didn’t wear shoes at this resort. I went to breakfast, lunch, dinner, the pool, the spa, the dock, the bar - everywhere - barefoot. There are only sand paths here, and I found it really fun to walk everywhere in the sand.

I swam laps every morning in the pool. It is roughly 25 yards. Not perfect for lap swimming but gets the job done. I swam post to post of the infinity pool. Don’t expect to do flip turns.

Our activities: Arrival day: just relaxing Day 1: Shark alley snorkel Day 2: Bike into town Day 3: Just relaxing Day 4: Mexico rocks snorkel and spa Day 5: Departure

The Shark Alley snorkel is a must if you have any inkling to snorkel. We saw three stingray, two turtles, countless nurse sharks, an eel, and lots and lots of fish. It is a 30+ minute ride from the resort and two stops for probably 1:15-1:30 total of snorkeling.

The bike into town filled a need for us - go into town and feel like we got some exercise. It was nice to feel like I saw more of the island. However, not the most pleasant experience. The first 2 miles into town is on a bumpy bumpy dirt road. The next 3 miles are paved. We got there in 30 minutes and arrived “glistening”. We stopped at the grocery (I always love seeing local grocery stores), ate lunch at Sandy Toes (great ceviche!), stopped by the market on the third street back from the beach (those were the instructions from the front desk). We enjoyed reading all the signs on the way into town, including the signs for Rojos, the beach bar next to our resort. “Our beer is as cold as your ex’s heart”

Relaxing at the resort is easy. They put out water by the pool, walk by regularly to ask if you want a drink, and there are lots of different spots to sit at - the pool, the pier, the beach. Our middle days were very windy and had showers once a day. The forecast all week was thunderstorms but in reality it was just 1 or maybe two showers a day.

But, when it is that windy, the snorkeling and diving groups don’t go out, meaning it is busy at the resort! The spa is booked and the chairs at the pool are near full capacity! (Not quite though) I was happy to have gone snorkeling the first day as it wasn’t available our second and third days thanks to the wind.

Dinner at Mambo really is the best option. Rojos is nearby but so so for dinner. We had the windiest dinner of our life there. Try the seafood. It’s the best. Quality on everything was great. Fish tacos at lunch are also delicious! Entrees range from 24-40. If you’ve had a big lunch and aren’t big people, they can be shared.

Breakfast was delicious every morning! I enjoyed everything I got - French toast, western omelet, veggie omelet, and huevos rancheros.

Mexico rocks was worth the outing - only 10 minutes away, less people, and ~an hour in the water. We saw a two sting ray, a shark, several barracuda, a lobster, and lots and lots of fish. It felt like there was a greater variety of fish at Mexico Rocks.

Also, beware walking north from the resort. A group of ladies who walked to our resort for dinner got attacked by a dog. It bit one’s leg. I read about a dog attack in a trip advisor review too so it is a...

If you are looking for a place where you will be waited on hand and foot then stay away! My fiance and I were looking for a honeymoon location to just relax for a few days and not be bothered by anyone...which was exactly what we found. When you want a beer you go in the fridge grab a beer and leave the bottle cap in your cup to be counted and paid at the end of the stay. ||The beer policy directly reflects Mike (the owner's) personality- he is laid back! If you have any issues he isn't going to come running immediatly to fix it. He will sit with you have a beer with you and chat about the island, but he runs a small joint where the cabanas have thatched roofs and back up to the bush- so if you see some small furry friends scurrying arund your roof or some bugs on the floor, he isn't going to say much other than- 'well we're in the wild out here' or 'I can maybe try to put some traps out.'||||If you are looking for a beautiful beach to lay on, stay away...the beaches aren't very big or particularly beautiful on the entire island because of the reef. Access to San Pedro is slightly limited. We had a water taxi pass included with our package, but the company had gone out of business. Mike did his best to accomodate us on that issue but it is about a 20 minute ride. We were happy with our one day that we spent walking around town and didn't need anymore than that. ||||So far the review sounds fairly negative, but my wife and I had an AMAZING time here. Bessie and Merrium in the kitchen were fantastic. The meal schedule was a little varied since we were the only two staying at the resort and occasionally the kitched staff would be working on other projects, but we never waited long and when we did wait the food was always worth it. For such a small operation we were amazed at the variety and quality available for breakfast lunch and dinner. Bessies homeade bread is not to be missed. My wife was partial to the homemade belgian waffles with banana's but my personal favorite was the french toast made with Bessies bread. ||||Ebony's spa treatments left me in some sort of elevated state of consciouness. Her little cabana sits about 10 yards from the ocean with a window facing that direction so that the cool ocean breeze lends a hand massaging out any ounce of stress that might be left after 2 days of sitting in a hammock on the ocean. Get some spa time included in your stay!||||We did have some time with Scuba Steve as well, a true Islander who took us on a little scuba diving adventure. After about 30 minutes in 3 feet of water Steve felt we were ready for the reef- my wife wasn't so convinced, so she waited on the boat while Steve took me to the reef for a 30 minute dive- I've never been before and I could not stop marvelling at the scenery! When we got back to shore we realized that there had been a miscommunication in regards to what was included in our honeymoon package. We were supposed to have paid extra for the scuba, but when I told Mike that I felt like he had made it sound like it was included he took care of the issue with no extra cost to us. ||||Steve then proceeded to take me out on the water kayak to fish for lobsters with him and his trusty harpoon- a truly local experience that you will never get staying at a big resort. After fishing my wife and I sat on the dock with him while he cleaned up 10 lobster tails and several conchs- he even offered us two fresh lobster tails even though I didn't do any of the work catching them.||||The weather was perfect while we were there despite consistently warm and humid days, the ocean breeze was pretty constant and made it feel cooler than Oralndo FL at the same time of year. The bugs stayed away as long as the breeze was present- the few times where it faded we needed to retreat inside or at least fight back with a little bug spray. ||||Overall we were very pleased with our relaxing...