We took two rooms at the Tides in July and I recommend this place to some travelers. Keep in mind this is not a resort. The Tides has a pool and is located within five minutes of the center of San Pedro but that is all. It is on the beach and right across from Patojo's Dive Center. If you are looking for fancy go elsewhere. The rooms and pool are very clean, if worn. The AC works and the people are very friendly and helpful. Patojo is a great dive master. For a clean and convenient room on a budget I don't think you will find better on Ambergris Cay.

The Tides was a pleasant place to stay. This isn't a five star "resort" by any stretch of the imagination but if you are looking for a clean place to sleep and don't care about ambiance, it is a great value for a beachfront location. The pool was great, the bed was comfortable and the location is right on the beach.

We arrived by water taxi and walked down the beach to the resort. A word of warning in April, 2012, there is no sign identifying the hotel from the beach and we just happened to stop and ask if someone knew where it was or we could have walked a long way before realizing we had passed it. The hotel is very close to the ferry terminal and the pool is between the beach and the hotel.

We stayed at this Hotel last week of March 2012. We had primarily booked it because it had a pool and most of the little hotels along the beach dont have a pool. The location was great because it was close enough to the center of town that we could easily walk to everything. We did not rent a golf cart, which is the main transportation on the island. We walked a lot, a couple of miles each day, just checking the whole island out.
The room at the hotel was large and clean and but modestly furnished. There was no table and chair to sit at and only a very small closet. I left my suitcase on the floor with most of my clothes in it for the duration of the stay. The maid service was daily. We could not get much on the TV, mostly kids channels. We did not spend much time in the room anyway.
Wi-Fi was spotty. Walls were very thin. Often woke up thinking someone was in the room walking around. There is a fridge, a microwave and a coffee maker in the room. The bathroom was small with no space for toiletries.

The pool was nice to have as it gets very hot there. Cold, Clean and Refreshing. I saw it being cleaned several times while I was there. Lounge chairs were scarce and could be updated. The pool bar was never open. The closest bar is Wayo's only 3 minutes away.

The family were very friendly and accomodating. We lost our room key on one of our days out and when we got back they sent out to get a copy cut. It was done within half an hour.

Rooms are on three levels. We were on the third floor. The view was great. The stairs going up are narrow, you have to be careful at night after a few drinks!

Lots of little restaurants to try out. We tried to go somewhere different for each meal. For a special dinner, walk or take a taxi (golfcart) to Ramones at the other end of San Pedro, past the airport. Lobster was out of season everywhere but they apparently pay for a special license. We had an assortment of steak, shrimp and lobster which we cooked on a hot rock at our table. The meal was for two and cost $54. The lobster was huge and delicious. A bottle of wine cost us 30 BZ$ ($15US). This was the same price that all the liquor stores sold it for. Wine generally sells for an average of $30 - 40 BZ$ on the island. Local Rum and Liquor is cheap but other liquor is at least twice what we pay here.

Currency is 2BZ$ to $1 US.

We did not dive but we heard from other guests how wonderful Patojo is. Apparently the most experienced guy on the island.

We paid $65 per night and feel the value was there.

This is a great place to stay if you want to go diving. My girlfriend hadn't dived for a few years and Patojo (hotel owner and dive master) could not have been more helpful and easy to deal with. She felt very comfortable and really enjoyed both dives.

Our room was on the ground floor, right next to the rather odd reception area. This meant that we could hear everything that went on in reception and when anybody was in the pool. The TV also didn't work in the room properly.

We asked if we could move upstairs, but were told that the spare rooms upstairs were being saved for people checking in later! Not sure why these people were deemed more important as the rooms were all the same price.

The pool was quite relaxing until about 3pm on Friday afternoon when 8 local kids suddenly turned up and started using the pool. Very strange!

The room cost $82 per night which, for what we got, seemed expensive. That said, San Pedro generally seemed very expensive so maybe we paid the going rate.

Location was good - a quick walk along the beach road and you would be by the main bars and food places in 10 minutes.

Most people will know this already, but worth repeating that San Pedro doesn't really have a beach and you can't swim in the sea because of the grass.

Generally, San Pedro is worth visiting for the diving and to spend a day or so in the chilled out town (what we did) but if you are after a beach holiday then look elsewhere.

Helpful staff and a good location. We would definitely recommend the Tides as somewhere to stay if you are looking for diving.