We would just like to echo earlier positive reviews for the Maya Mountain Lodge. Without going into detail, we spent 6 nights here and went on 4 tours ...as well as the usual Tikal, we ventured to Caracol , the Barton Creek caves ( the canoe was fun and easy) Rio On pools, Rio Frio Cave, Xunanutich and the Pottery Caves (amazing ..short hike then exploring the cave with the man who discovered it..enthralling) We were so impressed with the quality of the tour guides ...each very informative and knowledgable and eager to share their country.
We really appreciated the food plan as it was healthy tasty and varied. i would definitely recommend it!
The "jungle" garden was lovely and we were able to see many plants in bloom.

Our family of 5 stayed at MML for 5 days during spring break (3/21-3/26). I had read the reviews and was forewared about the rustic nature of the facilities. Once again, my fellow Tripadvisors were very reliable and accurate in their description of the accommodations. The rooms are clean, if small and rustic. There is one very dim fluorescent bulb in the bedroom cavity and one in the bathroom. Although we had made reservations with 2 rooms with 3 beds each, the lodge took it upon themselves to give us 3 beds in one room and 1 bed in the other. The lodge then placed each room on opposite ends of the complex. This was a bit irritating since my husband and I had packed a suitcase together. He was in one room with our 6'2 son (sharing a very small and cramped full size bed) and I was in the other with our two girls. Because of large gaps under the door (which could be easily corrected with a few nails and a tread across the doorway) our rooms were infested with bugs. Ants were in the sheets every night, cockroaches were also in the beds with spiders. We had brought our own bug spray from home, so we were prepared, but finding a cockroach in your little girl's bed is an experience!

The grounds are beautiful and well maintained. The pool was clean and comfortable.

A word about the food at MML. The previous cook that earned all of the bravos in the past, Marisol, had not been at MML for at least 90 days before our arrival and no one knows when (if) she will come back. Bart and Suzi, of course, kept this fact from us and others. We (as a family) were not impressed with the food that was on the menu. We travel a lot out of the USA and we are not picky eaters (my 8 year old eats Sushi!) but this menu was very heavy on the fruits, vegetables and starches as fillers. Of the 6 nights that we stayed at MML, 4 nights consisted of a chicken dish as the main course and 2 fish dishes. No beef. Also, each dish contained about 95% vegetables/starch and 5% fish/chicken and their selection of food was way too bizarre for us (peanut and pumpkin soup??) To their credit, after we pushed away the first 2 dinners barely touched, they were very pleased to adjust the menu to suit our needs. Don't be afraid to ask! Its true that one family there had ordered macaroni and cheese for every night they were at MML for their 2 young kids. We are not alcohol drinkers, so the policy of not serving alcohol did not bother us, but very sugary juices at every meal was too much for us. We just ordered water with every meal. We paid $26/pp US for the meal plan (half price for the child).

The town of San Ignacio where MML is located is absolutely disgusting. The people of Belize do not know how to use trash cans, stray dogs with significant cases of mange/dermatitis were running loose whereever we went (don't let your kids touch the dogs!). I don't understand why travelers are so concerned about staying close to town - we went into town for 90 minutes and I wanted to leave after 10. Think Tijuana Mexico on a very very bad day. The place literally stunk so bad, it made me nauseous. Also, keep in mind that all of the tours are at least 45 minutes away from town. It makes more sense to stay closer to the tours (cave tubing, canoeing, horseback riding, hiking, etc.,) than pay an extra $35-$70 in taxi fees.

We girls stayed in the Trogan room which is close to the road that leads into town. The locals use this road heavily. From about 5:30 a.m. you can hear all traffic that goes along the road. Forget sleeping in! Also, there are dogs at the lodge or across the street that bark constantly throughout the night and day. On Easter Sunday, the people who live across the street had a party. It sounded like they were shooting off guns (and we were in a straw thatched hut across the street?!), but could have been fire crackers? My husband and son were in the Tapir hut. They had a much better experience with the noise issue than we did.

The staff at MML was outwardly very nice (especially Luis), however we got the feeling that their smiles were strained and ordered by the owners and not genuinely felt.

From the minute we arrived until we announced that we had booked our own tours, the staff and owners of MML aggressively pushed their own tours. Once MML discovered that we were not booking tours through them, they virtually ignored us. Booking our tours ourselves with Mayawalk and PacZ saved us about $150 - $200 per tour for our family. We went to Barton Creek on a canoe trip (5 thumbs sideways) and cave tubing at Jaguar Creek (5 thumbs way up) and horseback riding with Mountain Equestrian Trials (4 thumbs up, one sideways). You can book the cave tubing and Mountain Equestrian Trails jungle ride directly with the companies, saving even more by eliminating the middle man. Call Lanza Taxi for a ride to Jaguar Paw or anywhere in the area and MET will pick you up at MML.

MML charged us $174 to pick up our family at the airport and deliver us to MML. Call Lanza Taxi for a $80 trip or call any taxi service in San Ignacio, they will drive to the airport and pick you up for substantially less than MML.

While out and about, we discovered nice alternatives to MML, one that had exceptional was Mountain Equestrian Trials. Aaron and Allison who own/run MET have a great place. Along with their horseback riding facility, they offer excellent rooms and their grounds were breathtaking. MET is across the street from the infamous upscale Hidden Valley for a small fraction of the cost of Hidden Valley. No noisey roads or neighbors at MET! Also, there is a new facility, Rio Maya that looks very nice as well.

All in all we were not impressed with MML. We would not go back. After seeing the other places that charged less (MET and Rio Maya), we felt that we were taken advantage of. We were especially gauled by the extra 10% 'service fee' above and beyond cost of the room and and taxes., which pushed the room cost to $131/US plus 10% tax. MML implies that this 'service fee' was a gratuity that was paid to the staff. There was no evidence that the staff ever received this 'service fee'. This was very irritating to us. As a final note, when you settle your account, take a calculator with you, plus your original confirmation with detailed costs. We found several errors on our bill. They present the bill to you in Belize dollars and expect you to figure out whether or not they are correct in their calculations.

When we return to Belize, we will not stay at MML.

From the moment we stepped off the plane everything was taken care of for us. We were greeted at the airport by not just a driver but a fabulous guide, who took us to lunch at a spot in Belize City with great local fare. Our drive to the lodge was smooth and scenic and flew by.

My husband and I had booked the Lost World adventure package which is a great way to go. It was so convienient having everything pre-planned. Breakfast and dinner meals were consistently amazing and the staff was so genuinely friendly. I really appreciated that after dinner Bart and other staff would personally go over the next day's activities with us, what to expect and what to bring.

We stayed in Agouti cottage and had no complaints. No bugs, plenty of hot water and A/C (we didn't need it though). Simple, clean and comfy accomodations. Overall Maya Mountain suited us perfectly. It is very-laid back, personal but not fussy. The tours were well-organized with guides beyond compare. This was the perfect carefree trip, not to mention fun and exciting.

Our stay at Maya Mountain Lodge was lovely - I found it on tripadvisor and booked through Expedia along with our flights. The room rate listed on the back of the door was $119 per night plus the usual hefty Belizean taxes, for our very pretty cabana (thatched roof, porch with hammock, double bed and twin bed, terracotta-tiled floors, and local textiles), but we paid $117 per night including tax.

Nearby resorts are much more expensive, and MML was perfect for us. We stayed four nights, and MML provided a driver to pick us up at the international airport in Belize City and to take us back to the municipal airstrip, from which we flew via Tropic Air to Ambergris Caye for a short stay at the beach. Some friends we met at MML rode the bus from Belize City to San Ignacio, and their trip was more colorful and much cheaper than ours, although it took 3 hours compared to 90 minutes for us.

The room was comfortable and spotlessly clean, and staff cleaned thoroughly every day. (One day, I noted the smell of bleach in the bathroom when we returned - I liked that!) The windows have no screens, and some visitors kept the shutters open all day, but we kept them closed because I'd never been to central America before and was afraid of insects at first -- this made the room darker during the day, but we were almost never there in the day except to change clothes, so it didn't matter. We also never used the airconditioning, despite the heat, because the fan kept us delightfully cool.

Yes, the bedroom was lit by a single bulb hanging in the middle of the room, but there was also a good lamp for reading on the shelf near the double bed. And we typically fell into bed happily exhausted every night and were asleep in two minutes. There was plenty of hot water, after I followed the instructions in the booklet telling me to wait a few minutes for the hot water to arrive. The bathroom was separated from the bedroom by a pretty curtain with traditional Mayan designs on it.

The grounds are lovely, with lots of palms and dozens of different flowering shrubs and trees, and the calls of birds I'd never heard before. Our favorite place was the open-air dining room/breakfast room, which also has a small area with cushioned wicker chairs for gathering or just hanging out.. When we took a break from the sun, to play cards or a board game or while waiting for dinner, that open-air room was the perfect place to be.

MML isn't fancy, but it has a special coziness and friendliness that would be hard to beat. Its ambience reminded me of the wonderful, old-fashioned, family-run lodges I've visited in and around Yellowstone, Glacier Nat'l Park, etc.

Bart and Suzi take good care of their guests. And the meals! Absolutely amazing, focusing on local fresh produce and traditional cuisine. Each night, an appetizer, soup, salad, entree, dessert, and featured juice beverage. The food was delicious, innovative, and plentiful.

We signed up for the meal plan for breakfast and dinner, which (including taxes and gratuity) was $31 per person per day for two substantial meals. A bargain, highly recommended. And it was relaxing never having to deal with paying the check each meal, or even having to study a menu and place an order. The wait staff was so gracious and friendly -- they were eager to meet every need. (If I left some of the food uneaten, they quickly offered to have something else prepared if I had not liked it.)

For lunch, we were usually on a tour that included a meal, but we had lunch at the lodge one day, and it included delicious quesadillas and pitchers of fresh limeade, our favorite.

The kitchen will adjust or alter the menu according to your needs or requests. They'll provide vegetarian meals or accommodate a food allergy -- whatever you want. One family had grilled cheese or spaghetti served to their children who didn't want some of the more exotic choices provided. Just let the staff know in advance. Before we arrived, Bart emailed, asking about food preferences/restrictions, and we were asked again upon arrival. Be sure to let them know, because the chef is amazing and can improvise on the spot -- but will knock your socks off if you allow time for planning ahead.

Dinner is leisurely unless you ask for expedited serving. We sat down at 6:30 and did not get up til 8:30 - it was marvelous. A group who went into town for dinner one night said it was a mistake, MML was far better. One night, there was a Festival of Corn to honor the Mayan culture's focus on maize, and the array of entrees was incredible -- chicken and fish entrees, with a vegetarian option as well. If you don't stay at MML, you should at least plan to have a dinner there.

Soft drinks cost extra, I think $1 per bottle. The lodge doesn't serve wine or beer, but you can buy them in nearby San Ignacio, and there's a refrigerator next to the dining room where you can store any drinks that you've bought.

The pool area was nice, with a large area of wooden decking for sunbathing. My 16-year-old son met some teenagers from Canada at MML, and they had a great time. I was SO happy to see my son having such a fun spring break -- with no TV, no video games, no phones, and no complaining! Even though there was a computer in the lobby available at, as I recall, $1.50 per fifteen minutes, he hardly used it. There was also a phone in the lobby, where dialing to the U.S. was very easy, and the cost was 50 cents per minute. (I logged into my office computer most mornings to check email, sipping coffee barefoot while my son slept. Perfect. ) There were some families with small children, and the kids and parents hooked up for meals, canoeing, etc.

During the day, it's best to go on one of the adventures offered. The tour guides we had through MML were great. They also provide tours to guests at Blancaneaux, a luxury resort nearby, but we paid less for the same tours, they said.

We did the Barton Creek trip (canoeing into a huge cavern that was the site of Mayan rituals, highly recommended, followed by a visit to the river for picnic and playing in waterfalls) and we went on the day trip to Guatemala to tour Tikal. (You really have to see Tikal or Caracol - the Mayan ruins are not to be missed.)

However, if I had it to do over again, and if I'd had more time, I'd do the overnight trip to Tikal, to be able to enter the grounds earlier in the morning and also to visit the Stonehenge-like calendar temple site.

Keep in mind that there are great tours that MML does not include on its list (see their website) -- such as tubing on the river and ziplines through the jungle-- but you can book these independently of MML. Just hunt for a reputable tour operator on the internet, and they'll pick you up at MML. You could book all your tours independently and probably save a few dollars, but having Bart and his staff do all the coordinating and answering questions and making sure you have breakfast at the right time before leaving and have the right clothes and stuff with you, was worth the small administrative fee that they charge over and above the price you might get on your own. And Bart makes sure you have the best guides.

If you go to Belize during the Christmas or Easter holidays, you should book tours in advance. Also, you can go to a nearby resort for a massage and spa afternoon, which I didn't learn about til it was too late. But that was fine, because it meant that we had one lazy day doing nothing but swim and lounge by the pool, take the nature walk through the forest on the grounds, nap in a hammock, and play board games in the dining room when we'd have enough sun.

My only regret is that we didn't book the cooking class in advance -- it takes preparation time and must be arranged ahead.

Overall, we LOVED the Maya Mountain Lodge. I'd go back in a heartbeat.