Paradise, With One Exception - We went on our honeymoon in Belize five years ago, and have been eager to return ever since. When we recently discovered a Living Social deal for Paradise Island... read more Eco Resort, we booked six nights in January and packed our bags.
We had some reservations about staying on an island without having found any reviews, but understood that there were none yet because the island was a recent acquisition of Isla Marisol, a resort we’d read positive reviews of. We did exchange emails with the resort, and took the leap of faith.
After flying into Belize City, we hopped on a puddle jumper to the little air strip in Dangriga, where Eddie, the resort owner/manager, picked us up in a van for the short drive to the boat dock where Captain Seth picked us up for the last leg of our journey. Even though we’d seen Belize before, just the trip to get to the island was a fun adventure.
When we arrived, we found that the pictures on the Web were quite accurate. The island is tiny, but beautiful. Despite overcast weather (even when cloudy, it was a heck of a lot warmer and more beautiful than January in Washington, DC), the island was indeed paradise. There are only seven buildings on the island – the boat/dive shack, the living quarters for the staff, the outhouse/shower building for the staff, the kitchen/dining hut over the water, and the three guest cabins which were also built right over the water.
The cabins were simple, but nice. They were furnished with two queen-sized beds, a futon and a couple of tables, with two deck chairs out on our own private balcony. The only inaccuracy we found was that although emails stated the rooms were air conditioned, they were not. There was only a fan, but in truth, we never needed the air conditioning. In fact, it got a bit chilly at night. But if you are going during the hottest part of the year, this is something to keep in mind.
This island is perfect for couples who don’t mind “roughing it” a little for some amazing SCUBA diving. Mora, the dive master, is in fact a master who knew exactly where to dive and made us always feel safe, and K.C. was a patient and fun dive instructor. Although already certified, it had been a while since we’d been diving, and both Mora and K.C. were very knowledgeable and patient with us, and treated us to some amazing underwater experiences.
Underwater experiences were limited to the SCUBA diving though, as there was no place to really go swimming. The water was only a couple of feet deep under the cabins, and for some distance around them. While this prevented swimming, it did provide exciting views as stingrays and even a baby spotted ray swam around just below us. The water was also deep enough that we were able to go kayaking around the island and see some additional wildlife. When walking in the water though, do remember to do the stingray shuffle – shuffle your feet instead of raising them and stepping on a ray buried in the sand. We came across a couple of these, and were glad we were doing the shuffle.
Back on the island, the self-serve bar was on the honor system. Don’t ask for ice though. When we asked for ice, we were directed to a cooler where the unpackaged ice was co-located with raw meat. We passed on the ice for the rest of the trip.
We ate well on the island, as Ezra and Rebecca prepared delicious meals. There was no menu – they prepared the same meal for everyone – but they hit the mark each time. Ezra prepared eggs to order each morning for breakfast. Everything was wonderful; especially the people who prepared the meals.
Seth (the boat captain who kept close tabs on us when we were diving) and Alex were always around doing maintenance on the island and helping us hang the sun shower in the cabin, and were also very nice.
With Mora, K.C., Ezra, Rebecca, Seth and Alex, there were a total of six wonderful staff on the island – equal to the maximum number of guests. One staff member per guest; not a bad ratio.
There was only one catch with our experience on Fantasy Island, resulting in the “exception” in our headline. The bathroom. Now, to be fair, we knew going into this that it would be rustic, but the truth is that after four nights of a bathroom that waswe’ll just say not as beautiful as the rest of the islandwe cut our losses, and left in search of flushing toilets and real showers. The advertisements were accurate – there were compost toilets in each cabin that were much like what you would find on a boat, and situated over a pit of wood chips that did a good job of not overpowering the cabin with the smell, but they did not have seats, leaving guests to either hover or sit on the rim. Although the sink and shower each yielded only tiny trickles of cold water, the sun-shower that was hung in the bathroom each day after heating up outside did provide some fresh water with which to bathe. However, four nights of dirty bathrooms with limited accommodations were all we could handle on vacation. If you are less squeamish than us though, and can get past this, you may in fact find that you are in paradise.
So, with the exception of discovering our personal limits when “roughing it,” we had a wonderful vacation on Fantasy Island, and do recommend it for couples a little less squeamish than us. Go for the diving. Go for the small tropical island experience. Go for the wonderful people. Go, have fun, and share your Fantasy Island review on Trip Advisor too. We’ll be interested to read how your experience compares.
Exotic and secluded - It IS like a tiny B&B on the sea. Three little cabanas, all painted bright tropical colors, hang out over the water in this secluded resort on a tiny caye... read more