The Lodge at Jaguar Reef

The Lodge at Jaguar Reef exceeded all of our expectations! From the gorgeous views and beaches, to the amazing and attentive staff. This was our first ever visit to Belize but it won’t be our last. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. It was as if we had stepped in to a time machine that took us back to when customer service was important. Something rarely found in the US resorts and hotels anymore. The room we stayed in was a Deluxe suite with a private plunge pool. It was fabulous! The food and drinks were spectacular! The staff from Shantel who greeted us, to our waiter Gabriel, and our Bartenders Irwin and Lucas were all so friendly and treated us like family! Captain Larry was also so warm and welcoming! He got my wife a coconut so she could have a special drink made. I highly recommend staying at The Lodge at Jaguar Reef. You will not be disappointed.

The Belize Collection does very well with the floor plans and amenities in the suites with the plunge pools - but there so many details are overlooked that undermine the overall experience that really, you're paying for the private plunge pool (which is great) and the location (which is also great). For example, you order room service, but there is no place to comfortably eat a meal in the suite. The front porch is a bit better for room service because at least there is a cocktail table, but if you leave your tray outside for housekeeping to collect at 3:00pm, don't be surprised to see birds eating the crumbs when you wake up in the morning. The food is hit or miss, and not cheap. The worst was the very loud construction project in the restaurant that continued well into dinner time with the workers using lighted drills so they could see well enough to keep working while we're spending $100US for dinner. The Paddle House is definitely convenient. The breakfast was delightful, and they did a very good citrus fish filet - but a vegetarian entree was served so cold that it seems like it was made the day before and nobody stirred the noodles in the microwave. Best to take a taxi into town and have a more authentic Hopkins experience. The front desk is very helpful at helping with these arrangements. The whole staff is helpful and eager to please, but it seems like Jaguar Reef is a training ground for recent grads from hospitality school. Everyone expects service to be on beach time, but you should have to repeatedly flag down waiters to get more water, especially when there are only a few other people in the restaurant. It's easier to walk up to the bar and order your own drink that to find someone on the wait staff when you're paying the prices the Paddle House charges. I read enough reviews that said booking snorkeling trips could be unreliable through the front desk, so we used a local dive shop that was just a five minute walk away. They were great. Also - you can get from the Dangriga airport using a local transportation service for half the price. We've stayed at Sleeping Giant as well as Jaguar Reef, and both times we've asked ourselves the question: Swanky or Janky? Again, the floor plan is good, and the private plunge pool is a distinct treat. Very likely, the homes in the gated communities that they advertise as you walk into the reception areas have great floor plans too. I had to wonder if they were as interested in selling little houses to American and Canadian retirees as they are in selling hotel rooms at a certain price point. I still don't understand why they put the towel bar for the whole bathroom in front of the sink so that I had to stand on my tip toes and bend over 6" of towels to brush my teeth, and the plants in the courtyard by the pool had not been tended well. The little tree made a decent drying rack, another overlooked detail which would have been helpful a beach resort. They definitely needed a fan to circulate t

This resort was amazing!!!!!! Very relaxing and accommodating. The staff was so welcoming and friendly. The views are breathtaking, and the plunge pool is a nice touch to relax in if you don't feel like getting into the wonderful, warm ocean at night. If you stay here, you have to meet Captain Larry. He is hilarious, and his energy is contagious.

We visited Jaguar Reef to celebrate my partner's vacation, but what should have been a delightful experience turned into pure disappointment. Upon booking, we requested birthday decor, which was ignored. From the start, the guest service showed no care or concern. Our room had a cockroach and smelled musty, but we ignored it and stayed the night. The next morning, we ordered room service, receiving cold food without utensils. This treatment made us wonder if this is how they always treat Belizeans. Upset, I requested a refund for our second night. Initially, the staff refused, but after I persisted, they finally agreed. As a Belizean, I am appalled by the poor service and subpar food. This has been my worst resort experience, and I expected better.

Just sent these comments to hotel: Hello - A friend and I just returned from a 4-night stay at Jaguar Reef using a Travelzoo voucher I'd like to share our comments about the stay in the hope you will take note and be able to improve from our experience. My friend booked transfer from Belize City to your resort by car for 2 people through emails with your resort for about $100US each. We gave our flight information and arrived separately but on time. The contact on site then told us we had to wait for 3 other people which cost us over an hour of our vacation time. The others ultimately did not show up and, despite our frequent requests to depart, we were forced to wait. We had never been told we would be with other people and didn't appreciate the delay. The voucher provided a Deluxe Suite with Private Plunge Pool. My travel companion emailed with Araceli in your office to confirm we would have twin beds and Araceli did confirm that would be provided. When we arrived, we were taken to a room with a King bed and, when we asked for the twin bed room, staff offered to put bedding on the couch or bring a rollaway. We declined and stated we would not have booked this with a couch or rollaway and had confirmed the twins by email. Ultimately, we were shown a 2 bedroom unit but told we would have to pay to upgrade. I pushed back because the resort was not full and this was not our fault. We were then given the 2 bedroom unit for no additional fee but should not have had to negotiate this or waste an hour to settle it. We certainly didn't want anything for free and weren't trying to take advantage so we didn't use housekeeping service the entire time. The "plunge pool" is not swimmable but simply a small warm water square tub to sit in. At check-in, we were encouraged to do the snorkeling trip the next day for a 10% discount as there were no other days with space available (they said). By evening, we agreed to do this and confirmed the US price with the front desk of $106 per person total. The next morning as I tried to pay by credit card, I signed the payment slip but was told to come back after the tour to run the card in the office. I noticed that the total was in Belize dollars and higher than $106 x 2 so I commented on that and she said we'd work it out after the tour. When I followed up to pay later, a different person told me I had to pay the GST (tax) and resort fee on top of the $106 each which was never told to me. That was 28% higher than quoted and I was not happy but I was also tired of arguing about every issue with your very nice people so I let this go. We had already paid a 10% resort fee and 9% in tax to the hotel before arrival. Nowhere at the front desk is it posted that everything we book or eat has a resort or tax on top of the price for every single thing. We definitely felt scammed on the pricing. The snorkel trip only had 2 other people on it, half the lunches (which we filled out a form to request) were wrong, and the boat ret

Our stay at Jaguar Reef Lodge was simply amazing! All the staff were superb and could not do enough to ensure our stay was unforgettable. The room was luxurious, from the extremely comfortable king size bed, to the spacious bathroom and even our very own private plunge pool with internal courtyard to truly unwind after a day of site seeing. We also had a huge front patio with hammock and daybed to relax and enjoy the view. We ate at both The Paddle House Restaurant and Don Tonito's Pizza- both were incredible cuisine. From local seafood and garden specialities and an amazing pizza that rivalled ones we have eaten in Italy. They also have plenty of beach lounge beds, activities including their own pier with a ceviche bar up stairs and chill out areas below if you just want to unwind and read a book enjoying the ocean views. Honestly, we highly recommend this property as the place to stay in Hopkins and the whole of Belize. It is such a fantastic place to stay!

We traveled to Hopkins for a destination wedding at Jaguar Reef. Vern at check in was great as well as other staff members who helped with our bags. We checked in on April 17. All staff were equally cordial but Vern did go above and beyond. Great people at Jaguar Reef Resort.

Overall this was a great stay. The rooms are large and comfortable. We had a small pool and it was very clean and a good temperature Waitstaff is great. Captain Larry super friendly. Breakfast was very good. Ceviche bar very good. Cons were housekeeping. What is going on here? Never have experienced this before in a nice resort. They didn’t come until 5 or 6pm. Also concierge service was confusing. Didn’t make promised dinner reservation. Not good communication. Check your bill upon check out. We found errors.

First, we understand that our visit was last minute but from the time we arrived it was terrible. The front desk ladies were unenthused about working and seemed annoyed at our questions regarding room options. I should have sensed things where headed south because after we paid for our room and sat in the lobby, we watched several guests angrily ask for the manager. The room was ready around 3:30pm and the young lady walked us to the room, said nothing, and then went back to the lobby. Later, we found out the key to the outer door didn't work, so we went back to the lobby for assistance. The guy that helped was really nice. The Room: was not properly cleaned, and we had long blonde hair all in the bed and on the pillows (I'm not a blonde nor do I have long hair). Stool reminents were in the toilet. At this point I was ready to go!