Bella's Backpackers Hostel — Hotel in South Caye Caulker

Bella's Backpackers is what made my stay in Caye Caulker so amazing. This was my second time coming to the island, although this time I was solo traveling. It wasn't until I made this trip that I realized I did not get the real deal the last time I visited. Staying in a hostel, you never know what your going to get, but at Bella's, you are getting an authentic experience of Belize. The minute I walked through the gate I was met with a warm welcome by Shenaia who works in the front office. The office sign read "Our home is your home" and that really set the tone for the next two weeks I would spend at Bella's. Their booking process is very easy and convenient and after I got all checked in she gave me a detailed tour and told me all about the hostel rules as well as the covid restrictions that are currently in place. Any time I had questions or needed something she was more than willing to help. The owner, Simone, is an amazing person. She treats you like family and will make sure you feel as comfortable as possible during your stay. I spent most of my time hanging around the hostel. I got to relax everyday, which is easy to do because of all the provided hammocks and chairs. The place is nice and clean, with a fully-equipped kitchen, laundry service, free wifi, outdoor dining table, and an amazing tour agency, all in one spot!! Bella’s Backpackers is in the ideal location. It’s only a 5-7 minute walk to The Split and other popular bars, amazing local food surrounds you, and The Seven Days store is right at the end of the street. Every night the hostel will get together and do something fun. Whether that is having some drinks, playing games, cooking the catch of the day, or just dancing around to music, the nightlife at Bella's is active. For some that may not be your thing, but for most this hostel has something for every person to enjoy. This hostel has security for the night to watch the place and be of assistance if needed. The wonderful people who work at Bella's are really what makes it so great. They are all so welcoming to each guest, ready to help, and always laughing, making Bella's a safe and fun space. The environment at Bella's teaches you how to go slow, enjoy life, and live in the present moment. This place makes you feel like you are apart of something so much larger than yourself, they truly leave an impact on your life. By the time you leave, you're going to have a hard time saying goodbye. It wasn't just my experience, I watched the way that Bella's touched other traveler's souls as well. I will never forget this trip and will be back to pick up where I left off. This time knowing I will always have a home and family at Bella's. Hands down, this is the best hostel you will find on the island and I fully recommend trying it out. It may just change your life as well. Hope you enjoy your time on Caye Caulker,...

Overall, we were disappointed with our stay at Bellas and would not stay or recommend Bellas to others.

The positives: great location, very laid back, awesome backyard.

The negatives: We originally booked a "private room" (or at least what I thought was). I was exploring the website after booking and noticed they have a "private" peak room. I emailed them and asked them to change my reservation to that one from whatever I had originally. They did and I was thrilled about it. When we arrived, the private room was through two parts of the dorms and then the stairs to the attic which were directly above a two twin bedroom. There were two girls staying there and we had a moment where we all acknowledged how awkward this is and how none of us thought this was what our room set up would be, as we had to walk through their space. I mentioned my confusion about the room & how it is listed/described on the website to the woman working at the front desk. She said it is in fact a private room and that Hostel World must have a wrong description. However, on booking.com and their own website it says nothing about how the room is in an attic, no lock to close the attic door, walking through two sets of rooms, etc. Plus, she would NOT get off her phone playing some game the whole time she checked us in.

The second negative was about the lack of intentionality in setting up our snorkeling tour. We informed the front desk mid-afternoon that we wanted to do a tour the following day. They mentioned they would wait to see if others from the hostel would join before seeing if they needed to book us at another tour company. Okay, totally fair. However, later that evening, we asked them about the tour since we had no confirmation or info. They said don't worry. I had to ask for information about what time we needed to arrive the next morning. It felt like we were pulling teeth to get ANY information. The next morning, we had to remind them and that is when she went off into town to find us a tour. Long story short, the tour had to wait 45 minutes (including ALL their guests) because we weren't ready and didn't have information about where we were supposed to be. The tour told us the hostel came to them that same morning. (the tour ended up being incredible-Salt Life Eco Tours, definitely check them out!)

TL;DR - this hostel feels like it is more for the young and single backpackers. I'd have to say the staff made this one of the worst hostel experiences we've stayed at and we've traveled around a lot. The only comforting thing was others mentioning they've had some frustrating & interesting interactions with...

Was very disappointed with my stay at this hostel. I was expecting a private beach, it is a back yard with little dock that stores the boats for Good Vibes Tours, you cannot go swimming here they have alligators in the mangroves. This was a deciding factor in choosing this hostel, I would have went with another one knowing this. The back yard is also a public Bar and is not isolated from the hostel, so people can access the hostel from the bar by going up the stairs to the kitchen, and some of the dorms are not locked and the one I was in B dorm was a shortcut to the bathroom so people constantly walking through the dorm. They currently have only 3 bathrooms for most of the dorms and private room so as soon as you lock the door someone is knocking or trying the door. 2 of the bathrooms didn't even have hand soap and I told them but still 2 days later no soap, thus it felt that they were not really cleaning the high traffic bathrooms and showers. The whole time I was there no hot water either, it didn't matter what time you had a shower either. They also ran out of drinking water, so make sure you water bottles are always full. Be prepared when staying on Sunday, they host Sunday Fun Day, so in my dorm I had a lot of people throwing up all night in the dorm or waking naked to the bathroom leaving all doors open so you can hear them. One door wouldn't close properly so it kept banging or making a lot of noise with people trying to open it or closing it. I really wish they did have a woman's only dorm also. The staff were friendly, but I never saw any security or staff present after 9pm until early morning. They are renovating and adding more toilets and showers and private rooms. I wouldn't...