I've stayed in many of the hotels in Belize, and Laru Beya is one of the best

First thing, I am a Belizean. Lived there all my life and I've been all around - from sandy San Pedro beaches to the ruins of Altun Ha. My family tends to vacation in Placencia every Easter, so I've been to almost all of the best hotels there. To mix things up, I took some friends to Laru Beya for Spring Break to try something new. Honestly, out of all the resorts in Placencia, Laru Beya is probably the best choice all things considered. Yes, I've stayed at Copolla's Turtle Inn, and I still prefer Laru Beya.

As the other reviewers have said, Sandra and Ferguson are wonderful. The restaurant is finished and I believe a tennis court is on the way (wasn't finished when I was there). The water sports are always available and free. Truth be told, we are probably heading back down to Laru Beya in June (2 vacations in one year to the same place) - it's that nice.

The perfect spot

Stayed in early April...my wife and I and our close friends shared a Grand Villa Deluxe, two bedroom, two balcony suite with a large kitchen/living room area.

I would HIGHLY recommend Laru Beya to anyone traveling to Placencia. We had no regrets about the choice. We made multiple meals in the kitchen, made good use of the blender...

The staff was amazing in helping arrange fishing, massages, etc. They went out of their way in all the little details.

Unable to comment on the food as we ate dinners away and all our breakfast/lunches in the room. Laru Beya did not feel at all crowded, the pool was large in comparison to most Placencia locations we saw and was not overly crowded. We were glad to be paying less than Robert's Grove for a new, clean, well maintained room. The breezes were wonderful and we often had doors/windows open when not outside, made good use of the hammocks...

A few notes...

Highly recommend local fishing guide Eloy (sp?), great knowledge of local spots and very kind. The staff at Laru Beya helped us contact him.

The food at the Robert's Grove Mexican restaurant across the street was excellent, Tuesday night buffet recommended. In contrast, we had a very below average meal at the main restaurant at Robert's Grove.

We had a rental car which we appreciated and used for many trips into Placencia for meals, groceries, etc. The staff did mention that they can have someone pick up groceries if you make your list out for them and ran a shuttle for folks without a rental car; bike trips into Plancencia would have made for an all morning or all afternoon experience from Laru Beya's location.

Have photos, unable to add currently but will either add later or make new link with photos...

Good value, would stay there again

This is a great hotel for the traveler that doesn't like to spend a ridiculous amount of money, but appreciates cleanliness, modern amenities, and an upscale atmosphere. Like another reviewer said, you won't get luxury, but it seemed like in Placencia, the only place you get that is at the Turtle Inn, which is ridiculously expensive (a foreign developer in Belize told us that they got really popular as soon as they bumped up their rates to become the indisputable most-expensive-to-stay-there resort in town to attract all the people who will only stay in the "best" places). Laru Beya has simple, clean, and new rooms, with bathrooms that are surprisingly nice. No tub in ours, but the shower was quite pretty. Their pool was always REALLY clean, and our favorite part about the place was their kayaks, hobiecats, snorkel gear, windsurfers - all complimentary. They pick you up at the airstrip and are pretty generous with impromptu drives into town (about 10 minutes by car on a bumpy, dusty road that is not the best to walk along). Their restaurant just re-opened with different staff, but we never went there due to the limited menu and atmosphere that didn't really attract us to it. We went next door to Robert's Grove for a lot of our meals, which was very convenient, and the best of both worlds - having seen both, I would choose the same arrangement next time (stay at LB, eat at RG).

Ferguson, the man who picks you up at the airport, teaches you how to sail, and makes your stay at Laru Beya better in general, was super nice and helpful - he really made us feel comfortable and taken care of.

There were a couple of small annoyances, but not really worth writing about, and things that can be corrected if you are proactive and clear about what you want. Especially after staying in some other hotels in the Cayo District, I would definitely recommend Laru Beya.

Came for 2 days and stayed 6

Great resort - pictures on web do not do justice= staff were great and extremely helpful = close to great diving ie whale sharks( near full moon) Came for 2 days and stayed six. Lots of free amenities ie hobi cats = kayaks. internet etc. Tried to get air extended to stay a few more days. A great bargain in a new resort. Bob and Tami

Great digs in placencia

We stayed for 3 nights at Laru Beya in March and would highly recommend it. We were two families with a total of 5 kids and everyone enjoyed the beautiful rooms with sea breezes. The pool is great and the use of the sailboats was fun for the kids. Sandra and Ferguson are so professional but make you feel like family. This is a great spot!

Fantastic place to stay!

We just came back to Germany from our trip to Belize where we have been for 14days. The first week we stayed at Roberts Grove, next to Laru Beya- than we made a trip to Ranguana Caye a small island 1,5 hours from Placencia in the Carribean Sea. The last 5 days we did stay in Laru Beya. The room was fantastic with fully equipped kitchen, two bedrooms and two bathrooms for an affordable price. The accomodation is very clean and comfortable. There is wireless internet access for free and the beach belonging to Laru Beya is nice and proper. They provide you with an drivers-service to Placencia or anywhere you want to go for free. As Roberts Grove is the hotel next door, it ain´t a problem to not have a restaurant belonging to the hotel.

We often went to Placencia to buy food for the breakfast which was much bettern than to go to restaurant. :-)

We can only recommend to stay in this wonderful hotel and very friendly service!!!!!

Paradise in Placencia

Brand new - gorgeous condos on the beach. What more could you ask for... the service was great and so was the pool. However, their restuarant was not opened yet. Definitely would go back there... considered buying but was too expensive for us.

Loved Laru Beya Resort

Everyone went out of their way to make us very comfortable. The service was wonderful. We felt especially pampered and valued as guests. Many thanks to Rene, Sandra, and Ferguson in particular.

We would recommend this resort to anyone. It's not the extreme luxury type, but it's clean, comfortable, and more affordable. We enjoyed having our own kitchen and being right on the beach. The hospitality could not be better.

Laru Beya--A peaceful paradise

The Laru Beya Resort, just north of Placencia, had just opened a few weeks before our visit however they were already operating very smoothly with caring and attentive managers and staff. The resort offers condos or efficiencies and is situated right on the water with beautiful views and a quiet out-of-town setting. The beach is perfect for swimming with a sandy bottom that extends quite a ways. All guests are offered complimentary use of catamarans, windsurfers and kayaks. They also offer bicycle rentals at a very affordable rate of $10/day. A restaurant is on site and some condos have rooftop hot tubs as well.

Lovely time

We stayed at Laru Beya for 6 nights (end of Nov) and had a lovely time. The condos are very spacious and have all the amenities of home. All the units have ceiling fans and a/c although we chose only to use the fans. The breeze off the ocean kept the place at a comfortable temperature and was lovely to sleep with the sound of the waves. Marie does a fabulous job on the housecleaning and even did our dishes if we left some. The only draw back is its a ways from the actual town of Plancencia, so you will need to take a taxi or you could ride the bikes that are free of charge (which we did) it's about a 20 min ride on a bumpy, dusty road. They have windsurfers and kayaks for the guests to use and will arrange any tours that you want to do while staying. Roberts Grove is right next door if you want to eat out (they have 2 restaurants) and the resort will also have it's own restaurant soon. We cooked for two of the meals and then had one meal out. The staff was very helpful, the condos are very clean and well done. We would recommend this place to anyone.