A Lady named Amanda Badger manages several homes that are for rent on the island of Caye Caulker. We rented a home and right off the bat we should have noticed that she was going to be very unhospitable. She charged us to take a golf cart ride to the house and after a while we realized that is was the most expensive golf cart ride that we paid for the entire week. We rented Casa Verde and the house had no Air conditioning which we didnt think would be a problem based on the picures and map that are on the her website. The pictures make it look like you are really close to the water but she actually took the pictures from the very top of the roof because there is no where else in the house you can get that view. So basically it was really really hot in the house and to make matters worse one of the screens were missing from the window so we had to keep it shut to keep all the mosquito's out. She said she would not put the screen back in for us, so even more air flow was cut off in the house. The Pillows were rock hard and there was only ONE floor fan in the house. Later we saw her in town and we said hi and she ignored our group. Actually the only time she was friendly was when we were paying for the room and when we came back to rent bikes because the house is way too far to walk into town through all the mosquitos. But renting the bike brings me to my biggest complaint with Amanda. My last night on the Island I was riding into town to eat dinner and my chain broke on the bicycle and it caught and launched me like superman over the handlebars of the bike. I was very cut up on my shoulder, hand, arm, and leg. I ruined my clothes with blood and had to go to the pharmacy to get medicine and bandages. I went to return the other 2 bike the next day on our way out of town and I explained to her what had happened and she WAS SO HORRIBLY RUDE about the situation. She actually blamed me for the chain breaking and when I told her that I had no intention of paying for the bike she got even more mad and started yelling a bunch of rude questions at me as people were passing by her office on front street... like how fast were you going that it would throw you over the handle bars...were you drunk when you were riding the bike...etc I told her that It didnt matter her bike broke and it hurt me regardless of how i was riding the bike which by the way was not in any way reckless...I told her she was lucky I wasnt an older person because Someone could have been hurt much seriously than I was, but she didnt care at all that i was hurt. All she could do was whine that she was not going to get her money for the bike. She did not even ask a questio nas simple as are you ok. All she could do is gripe that she would have to go get the bike herself, but I told her I was not going to do her any favors and walk the bike back to her house for her.

I would strongly discourage anyone from renting from this website. Everyone Else i came into contact with while in Belize was so friendly and hospitable and willing to give you all the information you ever wanted about anything without hesitation. So you can find a much more friendly person to rent from that will help get you set up with good places to eat and things to see during your visit and if you look around you can find much cheaper places with AIR CONDITIONING.
Caye Caulker Is Such an Awesome place I would hate for your experience with cayecaulkerrentals to put a damper on your time there.



[This message has been edited by aggies05 (edited 06-21-2006).]

Did I miss the beginning of the story? This seems to be the 2nd part of a travelogue.

I apologize... The message did not copy correctly into the box...it is all pasted in now

Aggies..thanks for the heads up!

Myself and a few friends were planning on renting from this same Co. in the near future. Of course we will now do it the old fashion way. This infor along with many old info in the past was very useful to others.
Hopefully we can continue to post personal experience in CC without being edited!

no problem glad i could help.

Hi Aggie,

I was very surprised to read your review. It is most uncharacteristic from my experience. I've had many dealings with Amanda and have never found her to be anything but the consummate hostess, very friendly, easily approachable, helpful and downright delightful.

In reading your complaints I began to wonder (since my experiences have been vastly opposite to yours) if perhaps the lack of air conditioning was the root cause of you becoming so hot under the collar. Or perhaps you were already unhappy having chosen an unairconditioned place and then the bicycle problem set you off.

Have you never rented a hotel room with a problem? Some can be fixed and sometimes you just have to either accept the problem or ask to be moved. One non functioning window screen in an entire house seems trivial at best, yet you carry on about it. The house has ceiling fans in every room so I'm not clear why you only used the floor fan. Maybe you are just someone who needs air conditioning.

I can't see her gouging you on a cart ride fee, that just sounds off. Did she send a cart taxi to fetch you from the airport or water taxi, did it wait with you to check in, then transport you to your rental house? That's more than just a regular ride and the fee would be higher.

I also can't see how the website pictures of the proximity to the water are misleading either. The water is in the distance, certainly not waterfront, though she does have waterfront rentals if that is your desire.

Since you felt the need to rent bikes versus walk 10 minutes maybe you are just used to more pampering than is provided with a rental. Amanda is a manager, not your private travel agent and the island does have several agents. I would not expect to be led by the hand by someone in her position. I must say however that whenever I have asked for assistance she has been very helpful. If you needed more services then perhaps you should have booked a full service hotel and paid that price.

Everything is prone to failure. A bike can fail. A chain can derail, a tire can go flat, etc. Same with rental cars. Did you call and ask for a replacement or load it on a cart taxi and take it back for exchange? No? Instead you seem to have blamed the failure on her and gotten angry about it. Still as your were checking out you didn't bother to return the broken bike but returned the other two? Expecting to not pay for a rental when all the other days the bike was serviceable is a bit much. Would Avis let you off the hook? Nope. Somehow I have a feeling it was you that started the yelling match as her demeanor has always been pleasant in my experience.

I'm sorry your vacation rental wasn't all you hoped it would be. My experiences with Amanda and her rentals have always been very positive. If you want beachfront, book beachfront. If you want A/C then book accomodations with A/C. If you need handholding on activities maybe an all inclusive in Cancun is more your speed.

i think you didnt read the bit about air conditioning - yes it gets hot there - and the heat can get to you and your patience. My family and friends of the family have rented different places over the past 4 years and we have never and we repeat never had a problem and in fact even when there was a prolem like getting a swarm of bees visiting everything was taken care off remarkably quickly and everything was kept under control which is so non carribean - amanda does not run her business on "island " time or the "what ever -when ever"principle of many island natives - i cant say enough of her business in this amazing little funky island - we have renated many a bike and got them back in tack we have all had a few falls but those big blu crabs at night get awefully ornery - but the best way to stay on that island is in a house and amanda offers a wonderful service and option - i just suggest you check into the best western in aruba next time and leave the real carribean to the rest of us

I can understand the person who had a problem because I had a similar one. I won't mention the restraunt but I ordered lobster in a pasta dish that was full of shell and they told me I still had to pay for it even tho I couldn't eat any of it. Then in the same restraunt, one of the plastic chairs broke and I fell over backwards. They told me I had to pay for the chair! $35.00 for a plastic chair that you can buy all day at Walmart for 15.00 US. Whoever wrote the "tourist bashing" reply to the injured bicyclist must have been someonw who's name starts with a W.....or a good friend of Amanda's. Those bicycles are a wreck to begin with.

I can clearly see the Agent's friends are on board. It is Great when we have members that keep it real. This helps. I have a feeling *socalgal* is Amanda :}

[This message has been edited by state of mind (edited 06-21-2006).]

Geez Amanda! Could you make sure that by Sept you have replaced that screen, gotten a second floor fan, taken out a few trees for the view, shorten the walk and please try to do something about those pesky mosquitos!!!