I've got an extra two days and two nights on vaca in Belize and I'm thinking of heading all the way to Blancaneax Lodge in the Mountain Pine Ridge area.

Is it worth the trip from Belize City for a couple days?? Any feedback from people who have been there?

What's the word on the street?

BL is wonderful, very well run, built, designed, great staff and restaurant. Nicest two bdrm villas in the country. They've done wonderful landscaping and great views. If you will be in Vaca, no need to return to BC, just move from one area to the next. Do Caracol, Barton Creek Cave and Mtn Pine Ridge from here then.

Katie Valk

I agree with Katie: Blancaneaux is a beautiful lodge, with excellent food and a lovely setting. The destruction of so many pines by the Southern Pine Beetle is a shame, but the grounds of the lodge are still beautiful.

I have stayed in both the regular cabanas and the villas, and the villas are by far, by FAR, the way to go if your budget can stand it. They are absolutely gorgeous. I would say that with the deluxe condos at Robert's Grove, the villas at Cayo Espanto, the villas at Caye Chapel Golf Club, the owner's villas at Victoria House and the suites at Hamanasi, they are the nicest accommodations in Belize.

--Lan Sluder
Belize books and publications by Lan Sluder:
Belize First Magazine (http://www.belizefirst.com)
Fodor's Belize & Guatemala Guide (new 4th edition coming this summer)
Adapter Kit: Belize (the first and only comprehensive guide to living, retiring, working and investing in Belize -- a best-seller on Amazon.com)
San Pedro Cool (the first and only visitor guide to Ambergris Caye)
Belize First Guide to Mainland Belize
UpClose Central America
Belize Book of Lists

As an alternative at half the cost, you might consider Five Sisters Lodge, which is up the road from Blancaneaux. Five Sisters has an even more beautiful view, overlooking 5 waterfalls that flow into lovely meandering swimming areas, some very deep.
It is not as fancy as Blancaneaux,and does not get as much publicity because it is Belizean owned and not owned by a fancy movie producer, but its a lovely place, the accommodations are nice (though not as fancy as Blancaneaux) and the food was absolutely great. We had friends who went to both places and they liked the food better at Five Sisters.

we chose duPlooy's, as our budget would not allow blancanaux. it looks nice too, just not as fancy. chaa creek looked nice too.

we reserved a new casita overlooking the macal, with king beds, a jacuzzi tub and all!

duPlooy's is an hour and a half or so from Blancaneaux. Nice place, but not really in the same area as Blancaneaux.

--Lan Sluder

If I had 2 more precious days in the jungle, I'd got to CHAA CREEK RESORT, hands down, no questions asked.....it is UNBELIEVABLY BEAUTIFUL...I actually went there by canoe, and told them that their website doesn't do the place justice! Staying on the Macal River, too, is a HUGE bonus, as the beautry and the birds and the cattle and horses drinking on the side of the river is just too much beauty for my mind to hold at time.
My gal-pals and I just got back from Belize and absolutely sobbed on the runway home...nver thought I could fall in love w/a country but did.
There were 3 of us girls: one HATED DuPlooy's (mostly, Mrs. DuPlooy), the other LOVED & really hit it off with Mrs DuPlooy, and I had some Catholic school/Nun-phobia stuff come up for me when dealing with Mrs. DuPlooy. However, the place is great if what you want is a truer, more raw beauty, that is to say, a lodge-type feel moreso than a resort/luxury type feel. We stayed in the "Pink House"...the best deal in the Cayo district in my opinion. The only drawback was that it was hot as a mo-fo, and they only have ceiling fans, and even they go off when the generator is shut off at 10pm.
I rode a horse, took out a canoe (paddled down to Chaa Creek Resort, which is simply the MOST GORGEOUS place I've ever seen, and the river ride down was glorious). I went on the Caving expedition (the one where you wade through the cave in water up to your waist wearing hardhats w/ flashlights -- awesome!), and did a llllooooooonnnnnngggg ride down to the ruins of Caracol. Four nights/ all my meals/ and all my activities came to $476.00 US. Not bad, eh? So I really enjoyed DuPlooy's, but I don't think it's for everyone. Chaa Creek, with it's individual villas w/thatched roofs, is much more "lifestyles of the rich & famous" and I know I would've loved staying there, except for the heartburn I would get once they gave me my bill. so that's my best, most candid feedback about DP....I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, and if you have further questions, I'd love to tell you more about it. We never went into the Blancaneaux Lodge grounds - and I'm sure they're gorgeous - but it's a longer haul down that awful road to get too, and the destroyed pine trees of Mountain Pine Ridge were really, really depressing. Do the cave tour with Renan (Pacz tours) which was featured on the cover of the NY Times travel section a couple of weeks back, and you'll know your sojourn into the jungle was more than worth the effort. btw, the name of that cave is Actun --- ---, 3 words, but you only need to know the first!

All the best -- Patricia