More about Cahal Pech Village Resort
the staff are what make it great
by TripAdvisor Member nathan_h
The staff is the high point of this hotel. They were always helpful, courteous, and polite. We stayed in a cabana. They are a little spartan, though they have been nicely done over with new tile and a/c -- though they don't have glass in the windows, so one has to close the shutters to get the a/c to work a bit. The only problem with the lodging's mechanics, however, is the hot water.
Several other guests noted, as well, that there was often no hot water during peak times (before breakfast and before dinner) so one had to plan bathing around that limitation. One would assume that the management will take care of that. They seem to be keen to constantly improve things.
I might recommend against staying in the main hotel only because, while we were here, there was a wedding, reunion, and concert on three separate evenings, and the sound was much louder at the hotel than down in the cabanas.
The other thing to note: Their package deals are good price-wise if you know before you arrive what excursions you would like and whether you want to get meals (I recommend at least breakfast, and probably dinner). Also, their transfer service (to and from the airport, to your next destination in Belize) is good, but be sure to arrange ahead of time and confirm, so there are no misunderstandings.
Location: Although they are officially in San Ignacio, they are not close to downtown, but rather a hearty 25 minute walk up a hill, out of town. So the view is great, but don't expect to be able to easily get to another location for breakfast, and doing so for dinner takes a bit of planning (and a taxi for those who are not so stout in the tropical heat).
Location and value
by TripAdvisor Member rnbnut
Loved the hotel, would not recommend the cabanas. We booked a cabana, had to move due to heat. The cabanas have wonderful large screened porches, but very small air-conditioned rooms, with no glass. So if you need to cool off, close all the wood slatted screened windows and sit in your cubicle. No thank you. The hotel rooms have a better view, are a lot closer to amenities, and have a perfectly fine, but smaller, view balcony. Tons of birds in the treetops directly outside, including parrots.
I agree with all who write glowingly of the staff, don't understand those who wrote bad reviews. This is an $80/night resort, your expectations should reflect that. Great swimming pools, full bar, wonderful restaurant with great food, view, and location. This is probably the closest 'resort' hotel to the town of San Ignacio. And don't miss the opportunity to walk from your room to the incredible Mayan ruins of Cahal Peche! Very cool! And you may be the only ones there, as we were one morning. About 100 yds from the hotel to site entrance.
Walking to town is not an option for any but the most hardy. So if you have a rental car keep it, if you don't, think about it. You can also save money on activities by driving yourself.
Great people, Great Location, Cabana Not So Great
by TripAdvisor Member WorldWideWonderer
There were many things about this hotel that were appealing, however we were so disappointed with our cabana we even thought about leaving to another hotel (we had it booked for 4 nights). After the first two nights we kind of got used to it, though I can't say I'd stay there again. The people were great, and that pretty much made up for everything else. When we arrived our toilet was broken, and it took them 3 hours to fix it, while we sat in the lobby waiting. Also, we paid $80/night and from the photos on their site I expected a nicer cabana (thatched roof, wooden floors, etc.) but instead we got a cabana at the bottom of the hill that had a tin roof, vinyl floor, and only one obnoxious flourescent cieling light....our bed was small too and we weren't able to sleep so well because of it. The bathroom was clean, but we didn't have hot water at what seemed to be the most crucial times (ie after a long hike in a wet cave all day)...We did have a screened porch with a hammock, but since we were at the bottom of the hill there really was no view to speak of. I do think that it was just luck of the draw and that there were nicer cabanas on the property, we just happened to get stuck in one of their "newer" ones (though it seemed more run down to me). The location was great...a few minutes out of town in a beautiful setting right next to the Cahal Pech ruins. The atmosphere was great, nice pools, pleasant evenings (though super buggy, but that's to be expected). The food at the restaurant was not very good. We had great breakfasts there (and it's beautiful in the morning when the jungle is coming to life), but the dinners were terrible--not recommended. I felt that $80/night was too much to pay for our cabana. I believe it could be a great place to stay if you could stay in the hotel itself or choose a nicer cabana than we had.
Pleasant stay at Cahal Pech Village
by TripAdvisor Member DFarmer
My husband and I spent 4 nights here and were very pleased with our stay. We booked this stay by email with Lenny, all emails were answered promptly. We found that everything was as we expected.
We were met at Belize International by William from Cahal Pech Village. Arranged through CPV - $85 + tax = $93.50 US. The ride was an easy ride on a very decent highway. William made our ride interesting and pleasant.
At CPV, we were met at reception by Maurice, who showed us a couple of cabanas and told us about the hotel. So we settled in the Tikal Cabana, which is closest to the restaurant, but set back a bit from the other cabanas, but directly below the hotel rooms.
The Cabanas are done in woods, which makes them a bit well - dark. However the huge acreened porch with a hammock and 2 comfy chairs was very inviting and enjoyable. The bathroom was cheery, with new tiles. The water pressure was weak and unpredictable at times. The room was clean. The bed a bit uncomfortable. The Cabanas have air conditioning, which we used at night and worked fine, actually had to use an extra blanket. Oddly there are TV’s in the room! Internet is available in the lobby. No coffee pot in the room, but coffee was ready around 6 AM. We took cups back to our porch and watched the birds flying overhead and the fog roll across the city.
Cahal Pech Village has what must be the largest pool in all of Belize. Seriously, they have the pool at the top of the hill, directly in front of the bar. And the new pool a few steps down, more in front of the dining area. And were just finishing up on an outdoor Jacuzzi.
My husband says that San Ignacio should be named “the city of 9 million dogs!”. Yes, you could hear dogs barking in the distance, at night once all was quiet. As you can guess the sound simply travels up that hill. But again the AC drowned out any unwanted noise while sleeping and you could not hear this from the restaurant. Each morning we opened everything up, to catch the fresh air and the sound of the birds.
We ended up eating most of our meals at CPV, sometimes a full meal and sometimes just snacks. Most of the food was good, nothing was bad. The chips, dip and salsa was good for a snack, as well as the nachos. The scrambled eggs and spinach was very good. The fry jacks were good; try them with a little syrup or jelly. The Sambucca (sp) shrimp and the parmesan chicken were both good. Oh and the refried beans, I know they are beans, so what? These were so good, don’t know if it is because they use red beans or if it was just the spices, but I never thought I would say I liked refried beans! The pureed vegetable soup, I could do without. Grilled shrimp was a little overcooked. Hamburger was huge! We were never around at lunch time, which is why some afternoons we just ordered a bar snack.
We booked our excursions through CPV, the prices were a few dollars higher than if we had booked in town. However, booking in town would have meant a cab ride for us. Down hill would have been OK, but I am not sure how many times I would want to climb that hill back up. Our trips were with Bruce and Alvin, both from CPV and were all very enjoyable and interesting.
We celebrated an anniversary during our stay here. My husband, with the help of Loranzo (sp) and the waitresses planned a little surprise. When we arrived for dinner, I was taken to a table reserved just for us. It had a beautiful arrangement of tropical, freshly picked flowers. We had dinner and enjoyed some wine. And then I received another bouquet of roses with tropical flowers, as well as a decorated chocolate cake! So we ate cake, shared cake, and visited with other travelers and drank too much wine!
We very much enjoyed our stay at Cahal Pech and our visit to this area. Prior to arriving at Cahal Pech Village, I wandered “just how good can a place be at this very reasonable price” $79 US per night. Very good, that is how good! The service was very attentive and friendly – not luxury and certainly not pushy or stuffy, just hardworking, eager to please, delightful people. Hopefully the prices stay reasonable, this is a good find. On our daily excursions, we did pass by many of the lodges that I had considered, in the end we were both pleased with our choice and would happily revisit this hotel.
The previous poster mentioned the new cabanas. Yes, we saw those also. They are built down the hill, below the older cabanas.
I will try to answer questions. donnatfarmer@aol.com
We'll Definitely Go Back
by TripAdvisor Member lhister
From the moment we got there to the time we left, we enjoyed every second of our stay. It started with a 5 hour shuttle ride from Tulum, Mexico to Belize City with our driver, Alvin, who's company we thoroughly enjoyed. What a character!! Then there was Lenny who recommended some fabulous activities while we were in Belize, including the ATM tour, place to stay in Ambergris Caye, guides for deep sea fishing, etc. The staff always went over and beyond for us. Maurice, the front desk host, had the connections in Ambergris Caye so he booked our hotel and arranged a fishing trip for us. All we had to do was sit back and relax. On top of that, my husband celebrated his birthday while we stayed at the resort and they even baked him a cake! What more can I say? The staff at Cahal Pach are absoultely wonderful!! I'm looking forward to our next visit there.
Great Place...!
by TripAdvisor Member nextadventure50
The rather "rustic" nature of the accommodations just adds to the charm of the place. I have to agree with everyone else in saying that the people were fantastic. Most everyone working at the place had a pleasant attitude and truly tried to assist in whatever way they could.
I loved getting up early in the morning to the sounds of the bread peddler down in the streets of the city .... and pass a few moments hearing about Lenny's exploits over coffee before his time would become occupied with accommodating the other guests. The only negative: the day trips are pricy. But considering what all you get to see, you might as well do it at least once.
Thanks again Lenny,
C
We loved this place!
by TripAdvisor Member barry1170
We stayed at this great resort from March 25 -29, 2007 and loved every minute! Everything, including day tours were arranged online with Lenny. We reserved a a/c cabana (Kohunlich) and were very happy with it. The view overlooking San Ignacio was fantastic and the cabana was clean. We had no problems with bugs or other critters. One small point: when taking a shower, the hot water would come and go, which made the shower "interesting" at times. The staff, food, location, guides, etc. were outstanding. Special thanks to Bruce, our guide for two tours. He was a fountain of knowledge and went the extra mile to help us. We highly recommend this resort to anybody and if we ever go back to Belize, we will stay here the whole time. Many thanks to Lenny and his wonderful staff!
Forum Posts
Cahal Pech Resort advice?
by keldebran
Has anyone stayed at the Cahal Pech resort? I'd like to hear all the good, bad and ugly about it!
RE: Cahal Pech Resort advice?
by ArtMeg
I have stayed there!
My husband and I were on an archaeological dig in Belize, and the Cahal Pech Village Resort was our weekend accommodation. We stayed both in the cabanas and in the airconditioned hotel.
The cabanas are wonderfully isolated and have spectacular views. Try to get one with a screened in porch if you do this. There is no a/c, but there are fans, and still a small TV.
The rooms in the hotel are comfortable as well, and still have pretty nice views. The a/c will freeze your pants off. It's great on a hot night!
Food is also excellent. What we ordered off the menu did not disappoint. There is also a bar, open almost all the time, near the pool (small, but nice) that serves up drink specials and stocks tons of bottled water.
The staff is nice, and the place is laid back. It's at the top of a pretty steep hill, but it is walkable, and an ice-cream shop sits at the bottom. The Cahal Pech archaeological site is also next door. Don't miss it.
RE: Cahal Pech Resort advice?
by clmetal
we were there this past week and thought it was great. it is high up and gives fantastic views. you can walk to the Cahal Pech ruins and their restaurant was much better than anything we tried in San Ignacio. Pool nice and rooms decent.
Or course, walking down into town required going up and down a very steep unpaved hill that, when we were there, had millions of giant beetles flying around banging into everything.
