My partner and I just returned from Cayo Espanto and it is, without a doubt, the most indulgent property we have ever experienced. We were only there five days and wish it had been longer. From the moment they sent us the Guest Preference Survey we had a feeling that this place was special.

On our survey, we listed our favorite music and, can you believe it, it was playing in our villa when we arrived. They had also made sure that our favorite non-alcoholic drink was in the butler's pantry in our villa (Casa Manana). I do not know how they did it, but they were able to have 3 six packs of Fresca for us. We only drank about 8 of them and suggested that they "share" it with the staff. On the survey, we also told them that we like to be spoiled, but really enjoy our privacy. They were able to pull it off without a hitch.

We kayaked around the island every day except for one because it rained in the afternoon for about 20 minutes and this proved long enough for for us to get quite a bit tipsy from the specialty drink, The Espanto Wave. We found the water to be fine for wading and we swam when we got about 200 feet from the island. Our houseman, Eddie, actually brought drinks to us out in the water (complete with white linen napkins and all).

The snorkeling at Hole Chan was the best we have ever experienced except for Australia (but it was a lot closer). On that note, we took a non-stop flight from Newark to Belize and returned via Atlanta to visit parents (they did not know where Belize was). Our flight was about 3.5 hours from NYC and the flight to Atlanta from Belize was only about 2.5 hours.

We also loved the private picnic on our third day. The staff ("our" Eddie included) was the advance team so when we arrived at the deserted beach they had already set up the umbrella, tent, chairs, Ipod system and an incredible picnic. They stayed for about 5 minutes to make sure we were comfortable and to lay out the picnic. They then gave us a cell phone and a hand held radio. We agreed that they would return at 4pm if we did not call them sooner. We, of course, did not call sooner. We did not see a soul the entire time.

The trip to the Mayan ruins was a long day and we would probably do it on a private charter next time, but it was well worth the time and effort. The ruins are nothing like the larger ones in Mexico and Guatemala. They are certainly as nice, but much more quaint. We found the experience to be much better than the larger ones where you feel like a "cruiser".

We regret that we did not go to the Blue Hole and will certainly do that the next time. Honestly, we spent two days doing absolutely nothing excepting relaxing and eating. The food was absolutely the best we have every had outside or New York and was easily better than most every restaurant in the city. The Chefs (yes there were two of them for 6 villas) came by every day to discuss the dinner menu. We totally threw them a curve on the last night and decided to only tell them a list of ingredients that we love. We left it up the Patrick to come up with the menu. We were blown away. Somehow we forgot to take a photo of it, but we did take photos of some of the other amazing meals.

We were very surprised to receive a call from the OWNER on our second day. He was in the US and wanted to know if there was anything he could do to make our stay even better or "more special". He told me that it is his goal to provide as many "ridiculosly wonderful" experiences as possible for each guest. I had to put him on hold and get a pen to write that one down.

On our last day, we finally found the energy to have massages.

We hated to leave.

Spoiled and Happy

We were supposed to stay in this hotel for several days in August 2007 during our travel around Belize. Unfortunately, these dates were the dates of hurracane Dean which struck Jamaica and was moving towards Belize. We were staying at another resort on the coast, not in the hurracane alert zone, but where tropical storm was expected. We tried to contact Cayo Espanto to discuss the situation with them but failed to get hold of them (it goes without saying that noone from Cayo Espanto contacted us though they knew our itinerary and were anticipating us.
Because of the storm the resort where we were staying evacuated all the guests inland on the house and we were refunded for the days lost (this is what's called excellent customer service and care for guests!).
Because of all the above we had to return to the USA and spend the rest of our holidays there waiting for the flight back to London. This unexpected change in itinerary cost us extra money for emergency return flight to America, accommodation and food. During all this time we tried to get hold of Cayo Espanto but in vain.
When we finally reached them, they refused even to talk to us about the refund for the lost stay! Untill now, four months later, we are trying to negotiate with them but they are rigid. They say this was force-major but so it was for us! We lost double the money and received only disrespectful attitude! What 5 star customer service are we talking about here?
PLEASE BEWARE AND THINK TWICE BEFORE BOOKING WITH THIS HOTEL NO MATTER HOW BEAUTIFUL THE PICTURES MAY LOOK - IF YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE FINANCIAL ISSUES WITH THESE PEOPLE, THEY'LL MAKE YOU PAY THROUGH THE NOSE!

From the time we arrived by boat and were greeted at the dock by the entire staff, we relished every moment. The casa was wonderful, the service (Eddie our houseman) was delightful and the comforts were exquisite. We were pampered and spoilt. We just had to mention once how and when we like our coffee; drinks; settings, and simply never had to ask again. We have traveled extensively, but for our anniversary, this is exactly what we wanted. If you are looking for a relaxing; do nothing and be pampered luxury vacation, this is the place.

The food was to die for. Every meal prepared for us by Chef Patrick was delectable and presentation superb.

Yes the "privacy" is not as private as we would have liked and the last day a family arrived with kids (this is definitely not a kids place) but other than that, we felt like royalty.

We keep looking at the pictures of our visit to relive the wonderful experience.

My wife and I went to Cayo Espanto after a friend who visited it last year recommended it to us. Every aspect of the resort was absolutely phenomenal. We have traveled to many world class resorts including: Aman, Viceroy, Banyan Tree, St Regis, Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons. We have also visited the new Bulgari Resort in Bali (loved it!), but we have never experienced the level of truly personal service like we had at Cayo Espanto.

The food at Cayo Espanto rivals (successfully) any restaurant in New York or anywhere.

We stayed in two different villas because we moved from a two bedroom to a one bedroom when our friends left. Both villas were exceptional in their own way. The beds had brand new mattresses (I think) and the linens were Yyves DeLorme. I priced them when I got back home and the same set up would cost over $3,000.00 per BED! I could not believe it.

The Chef and our houseman had actually read our guest preference survey before we arrived. They knew everything we had put on there by heart.

We did have one bad experience. I had requested a fly fishing guide and it was to cost about $400 for the day. I was disappointed when he showed up in a typical skiff rather than the preferred flats boat. I declined to go. I later found out that all guides use the same boat. I wish I had known this before.

We found the waters around the island to be delightful but not deep enough for swimming unless you swam out to the floating platform, which was great too.

My wife and I actually cried when we left this little jewell.