My stay at the Belizean shores was nice. The 3 stars is an accurate judgement; nothing to write home about, but good if you're looking to get away for a 'nice' vacation.

My room was excellent, ocean view and the service was good too. The room was really big actually, but, it had a really tiny tv which was odd. Regarding the hotel and location: when you go to Ambergris Caye, you have to realize that no one stays in the town of San Pedro. If you're at a nice hotel, its always located, 'north of the canal' which Belizean Shores is. That said, if you want to go out at night and you're staying 'north of the canal', you have to take water taxis into town which is a pain in the [--], not to mention pricey ($10 each way). Belizean Shores is pretty good about taking you into town (for free) if they're on their way, but, they won't make special trips which was a bit of a bummer as I hated planning my night out around the community water taxi. That was the only aspect of the trip I didn't like.

Things I did like about the hotel were the pool (pretty cool swimmup bar although it didn't have a TV), location, food, drinks, and the people were friendly.

You get a large one bedroom condo with a pull out couch. Ours was very basic, some have flat screens with DVD players and more elaborate setups. The pool is by far the best pool I have ever been to. It is bad if you want to exercise, but great for lounging. I was there in late May and there were plenty of chairs and umbrellas. The restaurant is okay but not great. There are a few other restaurants you can walk to up and down the beach. We loved Capricorn, a little less than a mile away. The "road" to town is very bumpy and filled with garbage. You really never see it if you ravel on the beach or by water though. To get to San Pedro, take a water taxi for $7 one way or ride bikes on the beach. There are lots of misquitos so bring spray. It was also quite windy when we were there, which keeps them away, but they come in restaurants and rooms. Make sure you sign up with the trips leaving from the dock. Billy, Nigel and Rico will take excellent care of you and all of there staff are great. If you want night life, there is none outside of San Pedro, so plan on taking the boat into town. I enjoyed this hotel, it was very quiet. A little too quiet for me maybe. There is a very small minimart down the road at Captain Morgan's (another resort). You can get some staples for the kitchen there. No place near the hotel sold more than SPF 15 and it wasn't waterproof, so get sunscreen in San Pedro or bring your own. We looked at all of the other resorts while walking around and liked the Shores best. There is a lot of new construction though, so that might change. Remember that you can't go in the water near shore because of the sting rays, but we kayaked out to the reef and had some excellent snorkeling for free. The water is choppy, so you need to be able to swim well, as you can't just float, you get carried a bit.

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.