Villas At Banyan Bay A Resort Bookings Member San Pedro

Shannon and Dave Beyak, Calgary Alberta, Canada. April 8-19, 2005

It was tough choosing a resort over the internet but Banyan Bay Villas. exceeded our expectaions. Beautifully kept grounds, expansive beach area with lots of chairs. By far the nicest pool on the island. Our 2 bdrm condo was excellent. Rico's restaurant overlooking the ocean serves first rate food. Everyone raves about Victoria House but honestly I can't see how it could be better than Banyan Bay, the pool and beach area doesn't even compare. The island itself is wonderful, a step back in time. I can't say enough good about the locals, the most kind warm hearted people I've met yet in all my travels. We ventured to the north end of town on Sat. night when they close off some of the streets to traffic and have sort of a market night. Ate dinner at a place called Jambal's Jerk on a dark side street that if found on any island in the Carribean we wouln't of dared to venture down but boy were we glad we did. We had an amazing meal and inexpensive! The jerk fish is to die for! Again the locals were so welcoming. The food on the island is delicious - everywhere. You won't be disappointed, be adventurous. We definately will be returning to Ambergris Caye in the future.

Our family stayed here April 18 through the 25th, 2005. The villa is a short ride from the airport and convenient to visiting the town of San Pedro via rented golf carts. The villa was very spacious, refrig, microwave, coffee maker, dishes etc, 2 tvs, living and dining area, 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms with hair dryers. A well stocked market is easily accessed by golf cart for soda and snacks and meal needs. Water was provided daily in large containers in the refrig. We had some fantastic meals at the Victoria House, south of Banyan Bay, Capricorn (reservations required) north of Banyan Bay reached by a water ferry from Fido's Dock in San Pedro and Elvi's Kitchen in San Pedro on Pescador Drive. We found the people extremely helpful and friendly. The dive shop can arrange excursions to Hol Chan for snorkeling or Belize for cave tubing and the ruins. Both are long days from 7 am to 6 pm and invlove boating on the rivers in Belize for some distance. We found this little island to be a great experience and were pleased as to how well maintained the property was. The only drawback was that there was no phone service for the length of our stay, so we went to the internet cafe to use their eamil services. You may want to bring along a flashlight as electricity is sometimes interupted.

My family and I stayed for a week at Banyan Bay. The resort is well cared for and the villas clean and comfortable. The service at their beachside restaurant was terrible. This is a great place to bring young and older children since their pool is three tiered with a depth at two tiers appropriate for non-swimmers. The older kids hung out at the deep end and used the water sport rentals by the beach. The poolside bar is (aghast!) not manned so you have to get your drinks by walking to Rico's. Tours all around are expensive but fun, including Hol Chan, Shark Alley, Jungle Spa, and Ruins. Skip the Manatees since you can barely see them from the boat (and it's a ways from the resort). San Pedro is rustic, at best. The meals we had at Elvis, Caliente, etc., were good but more expensive than we would have thought given the fourth world feel of the place. Caliente's tortilla soup is quite worthwhile.

Don't go, however, if you have any kind of medical needs. The island has no medical facilities for emergencies, for example. Belize City, a 15 minute flight away, also has no real medical facilities.

Plenty of space...friendly staff who take meticulous care of premises...Rico's restaurant handy and well beyond decent fare. Also visit Elvi's and Blue Water Grill (relatively new but our favorite - linen tablecloth service but you can get pizza for kids). Definitely take Tanisha Tours trip to Mayan ruins - they will arrange it for you at Dive Shop. One of our best vacations !!

We stayed at Banyan Bay for 5 days around Christmas time. The room

was exceptionally clean and spacious. For a standard accomodation:

2-bedroom, 2-fullbath and a fully-equipped kitchen are something more

than one could ask for when away from home. We had a beach-front

unit. The ocean view from the balcony was just gorgeous. My wife and

I enjoyed so much sitting in the balcony watching the sunset. The

beach was also clean. There were hotel staff frequently picking up

debris or sweeping the sand. My two kids loved playing with the sand

on the beach. We really enjoyed our stay at this villa.

My family just spent a week at banyan bay and it was unbelievable. The room's where spectacular, we had a oceanfront condo. The restaruant, Rico's was great they treated my six year old son like he was a king! The pool is wonderful if you have kids, It has three different levels. The staff always had a smile on there faces and could not do enough for my family. I have traveled the carribean and The vilas at Banyan Bay are the closest to paradise that I have found!!!!!

July 04

We recently returned from a vacation to Belize and four days at Banyan Bay. We found the property well maintained and service very good. The beach at Banyan is one of the better areas to swim as it is not covered entirely with sea grass. The villas are open and provide plenty of space for a family of four. Our room featured a king bedroom, a second bedroom with twin beds and a fold-out sofa in the living room. Maid service is great and they even wash your dishes. Restaurant is fairly priced considering the cost of groceries on the island. Dive shop is very convenient and they work with very good vendors. Kitchen is well furnished including a microwave, full size stove and frig. Only suggestion would be to furnish each villa with a full size coffee maker. The hotel sized machine (4 cups only)left us making many pots. It would be tough to walk to town. We found the taxi service ($5 US one-way) a better deal then renting a golf cart for $60US a day. There is a small store just off the property that has basic needs and is not as pricey as the larger grocery stores.

We stayed at the Villas of Banyan Bay from July 21st though July 26th. Upon arriving into the tiny aiport at San Pedro, we were promptly picked up by the Banyan Bay shuttle and taken to the resort. The driver was very friendly and helpful in recommending places to eat and things to do around the island.

The rooms at Banyan Bay are very nice and spacious and are cleaned on a daily basis. The only issue we had while on our vacation was the power went out two nights and we had some water pressure issues but they were both island-wide problems, not specific to Banyan Bay and rare.

The resort itself is located about a 20 minute walk from San Pedro (where most of the restaurants and shops are). Personally, the only reason you need to go in there is to do these two things - all other activities can be planned and organized at the dive shop at the resort.

We ate at Caliente's, kind of a seafood mexican resaturant - very good, the barbeque at BC's on Sunday is excellent and the pizza at Pepperoni's was awesome - they will deliver also. I'm sure there are other good restaurants as well but we didn't get a chance to hit them all.

I did some scuba diving and the marine life in Belize is wonderful. Again, all activities were planned through the dive shop and the dive masters did a great job. My wife did some snorkeling and said the same thing.

The beaches in Ambergis Caye are not that great, lots of seaweed so there really isn't a good place to get into the gulf from the beach. If that is what you are looking for, don't come here. The pool at Banyan Bay was nice and seemed to have plenty of lounge chairs if you get there before noon. There are lounge chairs on the beach as well but you just don't want to get into the water.

Things not to forget: Off - expensive on the island, flashlight - just in case.

One last thing, the people are extemely friendly and leave you alone on this island. For the 5 days we were there, we only had one person ask us to buy something.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your stay.

Brian and Jen Newton

The rooms are very spacious (AND COOL) with a great kitchen(including a variety of utensils and appliances), dining area and t.v area which includes cable. The maid service was great and they provide fresh bottled water daily. The pool area was very clean and usually quiet. If you're looking for a more relaxing place the beach is where to go. Plenty of seating and even some shaded areas are available. Rarely are you approached by vendors (I was only once in a week) which is a nice change. The dive/snorkel shop is located right on the beach also as well as a restaurant which was decent. There are several convience stores/fast food joints within 5min walk from the resort. San Pedro is about a 20 min walk or a 3 min cab ride. There you will find a bunch of great souvenir shops and restaurants. I would personally recommend trying "Elvis' Kitchen". By far the best food we had there. Excellent seafood!

We have been to Banyan Bay several times. The rooms are spacious and clean. There are full kitchens with most of the basic cooking utensils. They provide full maid service. drinking water and cable TV. There is a bar and restaurant on the beach in front of the villas. The food has always been good. The front desk can arrange for a golf cart for you drive around the island. They now have an internet setup, however it is not always working. The cost is above average. There are less expensive hotels on the island but Banyan Bay keeps a very nice establishment.