We stayed at Belizean Shores from March 29 - April 12/08 and had a great time.

I had been a little concerned about the quality of the food after reading some so-so reviews on Trip Advisor, but we found the onsite restaurant "The Upper Deck" to be really quite good. The chipotle pasta was especially good.

The pool and swim up bar were also very nice and we enjoyed just relaxing around the pool a number of days. Very nicely done.

I had read some people that were worried about the distance to town from this property, but we didn't find it to be a problem at all. The resort had on-site golf cart rentals that we used several times, the Island Ferry also makes regular stops at the pier, so we never had a problem getting to town or back to the property. The location was actually a plus, as it was nice and relaxed without too many people around.

We stayed in an upper level suite with the loft and felt that we made a good choice. It was nice to be able to sit on our balcony and just watch the day go by. The room was spacious and a good job was done by the maids keeping everything tidy and even doing our dishes for us. We had ordered our provisions from a company in town so that when we arrived at the resort the place was stocked with food; the wine and Belikins were chilling in the fridge. A great way to begin our vacation! It was nice to not have to worry about shopping or hauling heavy beer and groceries from town.

We used the on-site dive shop (Tuf E' Nuff tours) for several of our tours and activities, as well as experimented with other tour companies for some of our activities. Tuf E' Nuff tours did a good job handling the tours that we booked with them and we would use them again. We especially liked George for the Cave Tubing / Belize zoo tour. They flew us back to the island for no extra charge to save the long boat ride at the end of the day too! So don't forget that you can fly if you wish -- it is nice to get back to the island without the long boat ride after a day of activity.

I had also read on Trip Advisor some people that complained of the water pressure at this property. We had no problems at all with water pressure - it was more than sufficient. We did experience a power outage one day that lasted for all of 20 minutes, so that was no big deal either.

I recommend this property as a great jumping off point to explore Ambergris Caye and San Pedro - we would stay here again!

...Belizean Shores is still a great place to stay on Ambergis Caye.

The property is really a collection of individually owned condos. There are 4 unites per building - the downstairs are 1 bedroom, 1 bath; the upstairs are 1 bedroom, 1 sleeping loft, 1 bath. Each has a small kitchenette (get your groceries in San Pedro town). Other amenities include air conditioning, cable TV, phone, etc. But since you don't go to Belize to hang out in the room let's get to the important stuff.

Staying at Belizean Shores you are right on the water, like most places. The Island Ferry has this place as a regular stop and you can book a water taxi to getting to/from town is easy. You can always bike (4 miles) or take a golf cart if you book a day in advance. The dive shop and Tufenuf Tours will book any type of excursion you want - diving, snorkling, fishing, sightseeing - at reasonable prices. I also recommend you contact Seaduced by Belize (talk with Rebecca, the owner) for excursions.

The pool is the focal point of the "resort" itself. Plenty of seating, though a shortage of shade. It features what the locals call the best swim up bar in San Pedro, open from 11 am to around 6 pm (happy hour at 4 pm). The bartender on our trip knew each kid's name within an hour or two, which they all loved.

Service is good and friendly. The staff makes it a point to know who you are by room number if not name, who your kids are, what you like to do, etc. They are attentive to requests, even fetching a doctor to look in on my mother at 2 am one morning (food poisoning). But again, because this is not a resort in the typical sense of the word there are some service gaps. They don't keep enough money on site to allow you to cash a traveler's check, for example. The resort guide didn't include any emergency info, so while they went to fetch a doctor it took nearly 30 mins to figure out who to talk with in order to make that happen. We learned upon check out that they are undergoing a management change - a local friend told me it was the 3rd in 3 years - so some of this may be addressed.

The real downside of Belizean Shores is the restaurant. It's just plain bad. The only decent meal is lunch - burgers or a sandwich. Breakfast is bad. We never attempted dinner. The same local friend who told me about the frequency of management changes runs the restaurant Luna up the beach and says he sees lots of Belizean Shores guests every day. That's telling. You would be much better off cooking breakfast for yourself or going into town to eat at Estel's; and always go out for dinner.

All that being said, my family and I loved being beach side particularly first thing in the morning and in the evening. The property itself is clean. And the pool is first rate. I'd recommend Belizean Shores for families, particularly taking your first trip to Belize.

Amazing resort!!! We went to Belize in Nov 2007 and stayed here 1 week. (Also stayed a week at Inn at Robert's Grove and a couple nites at Ian Anderson's/Cave Branch -- see those reviews).

This was the best part of our vacation. The suites were massive! We stayed in the upperbeach front suite -- think every unit is called beach front but we were literally 10 steps from the beach! The rooms were clean, kitchens well equipped including a blender (great for making pina coladas!), and the cleaning staff even washed your dishes. The pool was very nice, unique design, and never busy. (Maybe it was the time of year but we never saw more than 4 other people at the pool area at once so it was VERY relaxing.)

Overall we found the staff were the friendliest here of the 3 resorts we stayed at.

If you are going for snorkeling, which was why we went then THIS IS THE PLACE TO STAY! They have good kayaks for free that you can borrow for an unlimited time and kayak out about 5 minutes to the coral reef. They have bouys set at good snorkeling points that you anchor the kayak to while you snorkel. Note: be sure to stay NORTH of town if you want to snorkel off the beach/by kayak since the reef gets closer to shore the further north you go and there is way less boat traffic to worry about. Its 3 miles from town but there are water taxies that run up and down the island as well the hotel has a boat that goes to the airstrip so you can sometimes catch a free ride with them.

Also, they have a dive shop at the end of their pier with great staff & prices. I highly recommend their Beach BBQ day trip (which included 2 snorkel stops, a couple hours of reef fishing, and then a beach BBQ of all the fish + lobster caught during the day!

We will be back to Ambergris Caye sometime in the next few years and definitely will check this resort out again!!!

Note: we also enjoyed walking through the town of San Pedro, enjoying some of the cultural stuff, but I think it would be too loud/crowded to stay right at town.

It wouldn't be enough to say the Belizean Shores Resort is a beautiful, private and relaxing vacation location (though it is), we also want to give accolades for the above and beyond customer service we received while experiencing a medical emergency during our week stay. General Manager Jim Henry never hesitated when informed of our situation and made arrangements to accomodate our needs without adding to our worry. This made a potentially scary and nerve wracking trauma as stress free as possible, and we are extremely appreciative of the quick response. We not only highly recommend the resort for a wonderful get away destination (especially for divers, and good for anyone who enjoys a pristine and natural setting), but also for the wonderful people we were fortunate enough to encounter during our time there. The pool is fabulous!

We also want to extend our sincere thanks to Phillip "Billy" Leslie and the Tuff E Nuff Dive Shop on the BS connecting pier. He made himself available to us whenever we needed him without question thus alleviating further anxiety (and we loved the convenient dive set up and his personalized attention!)

Heartfelt gratitude to Cullen's generous assistance, Dr. Tina & Dr. Rodriguez and Ray of course!!

Aggie & Tim