Phyllis' beautiful world is inviting, comforting, fun and absolutely delicious. We realize now, after being home for a few weeks, that our stay at Ek' Tun is indescribable. It is impossible to articulate the numerous ways my wife and I were positively affected by the experience. Ek' Tun is a place that will consistently remind us of peace and happiness and a place we will look forward to revisiting in the future. With an open mind and a good attitude Ek' Tun offers limitless possibilities.

From the moment we turned off the Western Highway we started leaving the rest of the world behind. Ek'Tun is truly a magical place away from everything. From the first landing on the banks of the Macal River and up the path to the cabana, we fell completely under Ek'Tun's spell. This is a very special place. Phyllis is the perfect host, and we were totally spoiled. We spent everyday with a new adventure either on the hundreds of acres of the property, or exploring archealogical sites in Belize. Phyllis knows the best of the guides and we had superb trips out. Meals are perfect, and we began looking forward to each breakfast and dinner with great expectation. We were never disappointed! We cannot wait to return and experience this special place all over again.

P.S. The Howler monkey is gone to live with it's tribe in the jungle and we never heard them!

It has been a few years since my wife and I stayed at EkTun and I would like to mirror the positive reviews.
We stayed there for three nights in April 2004, the only guests, so we had the place to ourselves.
Absolutely beautiful, in a genuinely interesting area.
We spent our evenings , after delicious fresh home cooked dinners talking local politics, world affairs and anything else that popped up until late with Phyllis (who had opinions about everything much to my delight ) and awoke each morning to the delightful aroma of fresh coffee by our door.
During the day we kayaked into San Ignacio and hiked into the mountans but only after Phyllis gave us a "machete just in case" which seemed odd but on second thought made sense.
The gardens, property, spring fed pool, guest palapas, and all the complementing infrastructure was so well managed that it was hard to believe she took care of it all with only the help of a few very industrious workers. I could not even begin to understand how they hauled all the materials across the river and managed to build the place in such a short time, especially the swimming pool... I guessed magic.
At that time Phyllis had two dogs a few cats and the monkey which was still a baby. The monkey, like most pets , was adorable then, she ignored me but loved Samantha. Phyllis treated the staff and the animals like family.

If we were to visit the area again, EkTun would be our first choice for lodging.

I write about Ek'Tun from the distance of a couple of years, but it is still on the top of our list when we think of memorable vacations. From reading recent reviews, it is clear that Phyllis is still operating an amazing B&B in lush, natural surroundings. Yes, it's rustic roads all the way but once you reach the river and toot the horn for the boat, then climb a hill to your perfect thatch-roofed cottage, you're likely to want to stay for awhile. That, and toss out the bathing suits -- to swim in a natural mineral pool so pristine and scenic is to feel like pre-fig leaf Adam and Eve. We traveled to Ek'Tun after several days in Placencia, then a week sailing among the coral reefs, and couldn't bear the thought of traveling to the resort island which was to be our next stop. Once we heard about Ek'Tun, we were on our way and are happy to this day that we made the decision. It was an opportunity to live simply and naturally -- and even luxuriously -- for a few memorable days.