My husband and I have been vacationing in various parts of Central America (and Belize) for a number of years and in our opinion you won’t find a better beach resort anywhere in the region than Robert’s Grove. It is completely full service and first class. It is also unpretentious and very comfortable. We noticed while we were there that it was awarded “Hotel of The Year” by the Belize Tourist Board, and we can see why. Anyone who complains about the area, as a previous reviewer did, probably hasn’t spent much time in a developing country, which is what we find so appealing about Belize – and most especially Placencia, which thankfully, is still a quiet backwater in many ways.
This was our first stay at Robert’s Grove and we were very impressed with how well they have managed to integrate the natural, low key feeling of Placencia with the accoutrements of a full service resort. The entire hotel sits right on the beach and though some rooms do have better beach and ocean views than others (there are a lot of palm trees on the beach and around the hotel), none of the rooms are far from the ocean’s edge (The room descriptions on their website are very accurate). We stayed in a Beachview Standard Room and were more than comfortable. We were struck by the tasteful decorating and liked the original art that is to be found everywhere– even outside – and the attention to detail.
What attracted us to Placencia are all the land and sea adventures the area has to offer (If you are looking for lots of chic shops, trendy bars and clubs, then Placencia probably isn’t for you). Robert’s Grove not only operates all of its own tours, it also has a number of activities right at the hotel which can keep you busy all day. I’m a diver. My husband is a fisherman. So we were totally in heaven our whole trip as the Inn has a fabulous PADI dive operation and excellent fishing guides. We also like to play tennis, so we were happy to have the court available.
We found the other guests at the hotel interesting and enjoyable to spend time with. The food in both restaurants is quite good and there is no shortage of bars for enjoying the Inn’s delicious tropical drinks (our favorite spot was the bar at the end of their pier).
All in all, we can’t recommend Robert’s Grove highly enough. You will definitely relax and enjoy here.

We were looking for a relaxing location without crowded beaches and tons of tourist. And this is what you get in Placencia and at the Inn at Roberts Grove. The staff was great; we often had the same people at breakfast, dinner and helping us set up activities. Everyone was very friendly and accommodated all our needs. If you choose to stay at the resort for the day (instead of going on one of the many island activities) the beach is yours! The restaurants were really good, you can't beat fresh tuna and red snapper. I even enjoyed the conch, which usually isn't my first choice for seafood. Overall, if you are looking for a location without the crowds and sky high buildings crammed next to each other, this is the place for you!

We were disappointed with Roberts Grove when we stayed there last month. First let me say the food was very good. Always fresh and always tasty. But: Our room#13 was not a beach view as advertised, it was treetops and the pool view. When we upgraded for more $ to #29, we waited so long for our bags to be moved that I just went ahead and hauled them myself. This would happen again when we went to Ranguana. Room #29 was better. Their beach? Just a strip of wind blown sand and seaweed. No snorkeling at all, and just okay. Biggest peeve. I called 6 weeks prior to ask the dive shop if we needed reservations for diving and was told by Kristin: "no, just sign up the night before". I called again 2 days before arriving and asked if I needed to reserve a place to dive, because this was going to be the full moon of May, and again she told me,"Nope, we just decide that morning where we're going".. And when I asked if the dive snorkel combined trips saw WHALESHARKS she said:" oh.. you want to see WHALESHARKS?..well. did you SIGN UP FOR WHALESHARKS???" and I said WHAT THE %*&! do you think I'm calling you for and asking if I need a reservation!?!!
Someone should tell this stoner lane-brain that when a diver calls from the states and says they're coming specifically to dive during the full moon of May or June, that it would be smart if she informed them that they MUST SIGN UP FOR WHALESHARK DIVES, or they may waste thousands of dollars going to a hell hole called Placencia for no other earthly reason.

We went to Ranguana for two nights, owned by the Grove. We were charged an exorbitant amount to be stranded on a 2 acre island where a woman and her two sons were the caretakers. We were the only guests. Should have been idyllic, but was more like the second half of Papillion where they were condemned to the island. Our hostess cooked dried chicken breasts, and dried frozen fish that was always called snapper, but was tilapia, and iceberg lettuce and a mealy tomato as a salad. Rice on the side. The second night she just plainly announced " We decided to pass on desert tonight". Oh, did we ?..And at 7:30pm when the sun went down, there was no electricity. So all you could do was to go to sleep. The bathrooms barely had running water, the shower was a dribble, and the cabins were worse than a rundown girl scout camp. While I thought we would be right on the reef, we were actually a mile or two shy of it, and there was no boat at our disposal to get out to it. Roberts Grove didn't even have a lousy lounge chair on this island. There was one hammock, and if a passing boat crew decided to come over for the day, which they did both days we were there, and their captain got into that one hammock, you were left to pull up some sand for the day. not very relaxing. Actually a bit physically wearing on the butt. The snorkeling was okay there, not great, but allowed me to pas the time until we could return to the"resort".

The trips to the reef from the resort cost $150 for two people. The trip up the Monkey river cost $150 for two. If you wanted top rent a car, good luck. You would spend 2 hours just getting up the 23 miles to the better dirt road to begin your explorations, so you would spend the better part of the day on a dusty sand and dirt washout road, in a hot car. So we were sort of sentenced to the resort. The town of Placencia has little to offer except a few vendors selling the same carved figures, and a few rope hammocks for sale. So even those folks who get their jollies shopping are out of luck.

All in all If I wanted to see monkeys and birds I would go deep into the jungle, not to Placencia. If I wanted to have great snorkeling I would go to Ambergris. And if I wanted great ruins I would go to Guatemala or Mexico. Actually I wish I had gone to Costa Rica instead. When you get back from a vacation you should be able to say, "wow, can you believe where we were just a week ago"... We said.."Gee, we're so glad we're not there anymore"...I don't see why anyone would want to go to this part of Belize.

We’re back from another stay in Belize and I’ve been meaning to get on and give Robert’s Grove the super review they deserve. By way of background, my family & I went to the Grove 5 years ago and were so taken with the place, with the people and Placencia that we decided to buy land and build in the area. We stayed there for all the trips down while building and even now that we have our own house to go to, Roberts Grove is still a regular gathering spot for us.
The food is consistently great, the patio outside the dining room a perfect spot to enjoy some of our favorites like the chopped salad, conch fritters or Caribbean shrimp. Don’t miss the Saturday night barbeque out by the pool – there’s live, super, danceable local music and so many delicious choices you’ll keep refilling your plate to get a taste of everything. The bar and wait staff are professional and attentive - and fun too. One of our favorite waitresses got out late one night and taught our young daughters to punta – a local dance you won’t forget once you’ve tried it!
All of the property and buildings at the Grove are constantly being looked after, updated and improved and the grounds keep getting more and more beautiful. They’re lush, well attended and great to gaze at from one of the lounge chairs between the pool and the sea. Walk along one of the shady pathways when you were in a cold, gray New York morning hours before and you’ll see what I mean.
I also have to mention the local excursions which we continue to go out on. We’ve been on countless fishing and snorkel trips out at the reef, down to Monkey River to see the howlers and have a tour of the bush, to Blue Creek and its amazing cave and most recently on a whale shark watch. The guides are friendly, full of information and have shown us the fascinating, wild side of Belize that is so startlingly beautiful. While powering in at the end of the day recently our pilot spotted dolphins playing in the wake the boat, stopped and we giddy guests swam with them for a while. Truly unforgettable.
In February and April this year we enjoyed stays out at Robert’s Caye for a night and loved it there too. We had two cabanas – each facing out to the azure sea with their own hammocks and steps into the water – and slept lulled by the waves raking the shells along the sand. During the day we napped under the palapas, noodled around in the water, chatted with the affable caretakers and ate the really, really fresh grilled snapper sandwiches they made us for lunch.
Roberts Grove is unlike anything else I know on the peninsula – it’s full-service, accessibly friendly and they’re always doing their best to make the guests happy. I heard they recently won the hotel of the year award from the Tourist Board and I’m so glad they’re being recognized for the excellent job they do. Really, you can’t go wrong there – and you could end up like us trying to figure out how to get there as often as possible!