I found Exotic Caye Beach Resort to be rustic and quaint. Although not posh, the staff more than makes up for that. I arrived to have Evalee know who I was immediately and call me by name. She and Rose were always there when I needed something or wanted to make reservations for an activity. Ali was at Crazy Canucks every night to make up our favorite drinks. Our room was cleaned up every morning and clean towels were left. The frig and mircowave in the kichenette were clean and dishes were available in the cupboard. India was always sweet and friendly when we stopped at Monkey Bites for breakfast or lunch and they had yummy food. All the resort units face the beach and the pool is right there in front, it's an absolutely beautiful view and the pool was pristine and refreshing. A little way out from the beach you'll run into some short seagrass. If you really want to swim, to the left you'll see Woody's Wharf...there's a deck at the end with chairs, shaded area and hammock. The swimming area is clear of seaweed, about 4' 10" deep at the stairs and roped off. We were lucky enough to see a sting ray swim in and out of the area one day. Look for sea horses clinging to the ropes dangling on the boat docks. Our second floor room had a real palm roof, which I thought was fun...even when we got a little palm debris on the floor one night after some really heavy wind. I would approximate Exotic Caye to be about 3/4 of a mile from town, it's an easy walk along the beach. You might consider bringing a flashlight to walk the beach at night because some areas are fairly dark. I never felt threatened or unsafe at anytime while I was in San Pedro. The people are smiling and kind and willing to help you. There are loads of shops and restaurants within easy walking distance and you can eat fairly cheaply. On the street side of Exotic Caye you'll find a grocery store a short walk down the road. If you're looking for fancy, schmancy, Exotic Caye is not for you, but it's down home and friendly as can be. Afterall, when you're in paradise why would you stay holed up in a hotel room? I would stay there again in a heartbeat. One last plug...if you want to go on an excursion, check out Sea-rious Adventures, they're located on the beach side of Wild Mango Restaurant. We went to Lamanai with Aaron and Carlos as our guides and snorkeled Hol Chan and Shark Ray with Martin John and Ralph before sailing on to Caye Caulker for the afternoon. These guides were amazingly knowledgeable, kind, friendly and rightly proud of their country and way of life. I felt like they existed just to impart interesting information and make sure I had fun. Safety was of the utmost importance and they made sure I was well fed and hydrated with water, soda, beer or rum punch. You can't beat it! So go on a Sea-rious Adventure!

We stayed at Exotic Caye beach resort from 2/24/08 to 3/2/08. We stayed in a Standard 1-bedroom, unit 5A (ground level); our friends were in 4A (deluxe 2-bedroom) and 5B (standard 1-bedroom). Everyone was extremely happy with our accomodations. Our unit was mostly hidden behind lush tropical foliage, yet we had a wonderful cooling breeze when sitting on our porch. We had a kitchen with a mini-frig, stove, microwave, coffee maker and dishes. There was a dining table & chairs and a sofa and coffee table in the living area. The air conditioner was in the large bedroom and cooled the whole unit. Our bathroom was small, with just a shower, but it was ok for us. It was spotlessly clean, and the housekeeping staff worked hard to keep everything fresh, clean, and always stocked with plenty of towels! We never saw any bugs, except some ants on the porch when we dripped orange juice (we washed them away with water). We had a grocery service stock our kitchen with beverages and snacks before we arrived, which was wonderful - we had cold beer when we got to the resort!

The resort is so nice - the staff is always grooming the beach to remove the seaweed that washes up. By the way, this happens everywhere on the beaches of Ambergris Caye, because of the barrier reef. Yes, some parts of the beach have trash on hem also, but not at Exotic Caye. There are hammocks and plenty of plastic lounge chairs on the beach, as well as loungers around the pool. The pool was clean, and we did not see any type of disrepair. Several of us in our group used the pool every day, and were very happy with it. The dive operator, Ocean Adventure Tours, was awesome! We dove 4 days with Bondy and Joe, and most of the time we were the only divers so we basically had a private guide. They offer all sorts of tours to the mainland, as well as scuba and snorkel trips. Even when the weather got rough toward the end of the week, they were able to take us to some nice dive sites.

The restaurant, Monkey Bites, was a great place to eat breakfast! The food was excellent - we especially enjoyed the One-Pan Ham Scramble and the Cinnamon French Toast. The average prices were $12-14 belizean, which is $6-7 US dollar. They also served lunch till 3:00 pm daily, but we never got a chance to try their lunch menu. The restaurant is closed on Sunday.

We went to Crazy Canuck's several times, but it never seemed to be as busy or active as we expected, except for Saturday night when Dennis Wolfe was playing, and Jerry Jeff Walker dropped in to sing with Dennis. That was the only time the bar was hopping. We saw more activity at BCs Beach Bar, and Wet Willy's (even on the nights Jerry Jeff Walker wasn't playing there!). It wasn't that big a deal - I bought 2 cases of beer for our condo because it was less expensive than drinking in the bars.

We rented a golf cart to get around the island. We went into town several times, and went to the ends of the island, so it was handy to have a cart. There were a couple of grocery stores near the resort, and an Internet cafe around the corner.

Without a doubt, we would stay here again. Its the perfect combination of a great beach for relaxation, enough space to unpack and live in the condo for a week, and close to town if you want restaurants and shopping. We love Ambergris Caye, and can't wait to come back to Exotic Caye!

They told us that they were a 3 star resort with a 5 star attitude and they lived up to their promise. The 2-bedroom villa came complete with a full kitchen and dining area and suited our needs perfectly. When we weren't taking advantage of the superb diving, we enjoyed the Crazy Canuck Bar onsite or the Roadkill Bar across the road. The tiny but friendly Monkey Bites Cafe was a must for breakfast. We would gladly return.

Stephen Burns
Toronto

Exotic Caye is in much need of repair. A list of pros and cons as follows:

Pros:
Monkey Bites Cafe a real treat for breakfast and lunch, staff very friendly.
The bar located on beach, great drinks and staff.
Rooms are clean.

Cons:
Peeling paint and rotten wood on trim and railings.
Ants in living/kitchen and bathroom (spray provided by staff).
6 plastic deck chairs (no cushions), 3 wooden chairs (1broken)for full hotel.
A very old, uncomfortable futon the only piece of furniture in living/kitchen area. No table or chairs. Ordered pizza, ate in our laps. Bedroom had an old dresser missing knobs.
No ocean view, blocked by the large plastic pool, (other rooms did have ocean views).
Grounds very unkept. I compared it with several other resorts, Exotic Caye by far the worst.
There is a newer building which appears to be much nicer. If you decide to stay at Exotic Caye, make it very clear you want the newer accomodation, or you will be very disappointed.
We were required to stay 7nights, at premium rates because it was Christmas. Upon check-in I told the clerk I just could not stay in these conditions for a week, her reply was, sorry its all we have. At no time during the duration of our trip did they attempt to move us.