The Lodge at ChaaCreek — Hotel in San Ignacio & Santa Elena

Chaa Creek truly deserves all the five star reviews here - so I will add my voice to all the praise! My husband and I splurged for the Ix Chel villa for the first three nights, and since I booked last minute we had to switch to a different room the last night. It was all done seamlessly. The Ix Chel villa with the private plunge pool might have been the most luxurious accommodations we have ever stayed in (we have traveled a lot) It was stunning, with floor to ceiling windows facing the rainforest, huge outdoor area with dining table, comfy loungers, plunge pool and the sounds of the river floating up from below. We spent more time than we planned at the villa, because it was so inviting in every way. When you book the Ix Chel villa, you "also enjoy the unobtrusive yet attentive service of a personal butler..." We've not encountered that level of service before, we weren't sure what to expect, but then there was Candy! Oh what a lovely person - she really made our stay at Chaa Creek extra special. She set up romantic dinners for us, greeted us at breakfast each morning, brought us lunch to our villa, arranged tours, helped me procure some things I forgot to bring from home, really whatever we needed. She was so gracious and kind and we really enjoyed her company as well - thank you Candy!! On our last day there we did the day trip to Tikal - incredible and an absolute must in my opinion - when we returned Candy had arranged for all our bags to be moved into our new room so we didn't worry about a thing. Although not as large, the Macal Riverview Suite was beautiful as well, and we did not have a problem sleeping with the multiple fans in the room (Ix Chel does have AC) The grounds at Chaa Creek are beautiful and lovingly maintained, The entire staff is friendly and helpful, we enjoyed the constant sounds and sights of tropical birds, the butterfly house, and amazingly we did not have any issues with biting insects. And the food - Outstanding!! Some of the best food we have encountered while traveling (and we are from NYC and DC to boot!) I really don't have a single negative thing to say about Chaa Creek- just...

This review is for the Macal River Camp. Great experience! The camp hosts are amazing, the food is local and delicious, you have full access to the resort (pool, museum, hikes, bird watching, canoeing), and you are right in the jungle with the wildlife. Howler monkeys make their presence known, toucans are nesting in a tree in camp, and you will hear and see so much more. We went on several excursions to a Mayan site and cave tubing. The guides here are fabulous. Every single person I spoke with on staff had been there for years or decades. Some even had their adult children now working there. Chaa Creek really supports their staff and offers ways for them to expand their knowledge. ||The camp tents are basic, but the beds and linens are fine. The bedside rechargeable lamps work really well. They provide towels and bathroom amenities. Showers are nice and hot and the camp bath house is very clean. Laundry facilities are available, but we did not use them. We met some wonderful guests in camp. ||I believe any negative reviews regarding the camp were made by people who did not research what they were booking. The camp is a fantastic value, but it is a camp where you will be staying in a cabin with no electricity. The Lodge is a 10 to 15 minute hike on a well maintained trail, but notice I used the word hike and not “walk”. ||One suggestion to enhance the camp experience; some sort of fans. The lights are rechargeable, are there similarly chargeable fans available? While we were there it was unseasonably hot, so sleeping was sometimes a bit uncomfortable. ||I didn’t love the butterfly farm. It was ver informative, but there are A LOT of butterflies in a very small space. I met someone in camp who had worked with butterflies, and they confirmed this was a very stressful environment for the butterflies and that crowding numerous butterfly species in the same space made it even more stressful. I was also confused about why they aren’t releasing any of the butterflies. It seems that butterflies are crammed into a small space for the enjoyment of the guests, not the sustainability of the...

My wife and I stayed four nights at Chaa Creek and had a fantastic time. We booked a treetop villa. The villa is enormous - a large living room, bedroom area, bathroom, and shower room. There is a deck that wraps around the villa with several seating areas and a private splash pool. The villa is not a "treehouse" per se. It is at ground level at the entrance but is set on a hill - behind the villa, we were perhaps 50-70 feet above ground with a beautiful view of the river below. We were visited once by a family of howler monkeys, and saw several colorful birds and iguanas in the trees outside of our deck.||The grounds are very large and beautifully landscaped. There are many hiking trails, a gorgeous pool, and a pretty common area with the restaurant and bar. The resort offers many activities at no extra charge. We did the morning birdwatching twice and the night tour once. We would have liked to canoe on the river, but it had rained a lot recently and the current was quite strong, so we passed.||We booked an all-inclusive package that included all meals, a full-day tour and two half-day tours. The food was fine, although not exceptional. The tours were outstanding - we visited two of the Mayan ruin sites, and canoeing in Barton Creek Cave. We loved all three tours, and canoeing in the cave was especially interesting. The package also included transportation from Belize City and a stop at the Belize Zoo, and we arranged for a Chaa Creek guide to take us to our next destination (Placencia, via the Hummingbird Highway). Both road trips were very nice and the zoo was surprisingly fun.||All of the staff were wonderful. Everyone (desk, dining, concierge) was very friendly and very helpful. In particular - the guides are amazing. All of our guided tours, onsite and offsite, were led by very knowledgeable and...