Cheryl and Jeff's place was an absolute dream. The cabin was decorated simple but tasteful. The bed was comfortable. Shower had great water pressure and plenty of hot water. The deck was very spacious and comfortable. We enjoyed having breakfast there. My son loved to read in the hammock while listening to the birds and cicadas.
During the last 24 hours of our stay, my son got sick and couldn't keep anything down. Two weeks of traveling in extremely hot Belize finally took a toll on him. On the morning we had to fly back to the US, Jeff called around for a doctor and ultimately drove us to the local hospital after we checked out. Even when we had to make a couple of inquiries to the tour company, because unable to make phone calls, he called and communicated for us.
Pros:
Beautiful location
Comfortable room for two
Shampoo, conditioner and body soap provided
Kitchen was fairly well stocked, great space to cook up simple meals
Drinking water provided
Kayaks/tubes - although we didn't have time to utilize it
Washer/dryer available - Shared with the hosts, make sure to give some monetary donations since water and electricity is expensive in Belize.
WiFi connection was best during our entire trip in Belize
Friendly and adorable rescue dogs that greet you when you come "home"
Knowledgable and kind hosts - Although we didn't get to meet Cheryl because she was out of the country, but she communicated with us to check in with us after we checked out. Jeff was always available to help and give suggestions. He even drove us to town to get food.
Definitely book with the tour company they recommend. Not only they were efficient, they were flexible when we made several changes, tour guides were top notch but also gave us a little discount for making multiple bookings/shuttle service.
Cons (more like suggestions):
San Ignacio/Cristo Ray is HOT. Much hotter than the cayes. If you're not used to the humidity, just be ready. After being gone all day, you return around 4pm, it was excruciatingly hot until about 7pm. This is when I really wished we were able to jump in a pool or had air conditioning to just relax. We're city folks who aren't used to the humidity so this proved very challenging.
Bring ear plugs. Monkeys, birds, bugs are very loud. You can hear the monkeys all night long. Then at 4am, neighbor's roosters start crowing. Then the cicadas. Then the birds. Sun rises at 5:30am. Sleeping through the night was impossible- but hey, we did want to experience being in the jungle cabin. So bring ear plugs. :)
You should rent a car. They do have local busses, very affordable and pretty comfortable but they come every 30 min or so, times not too accurate. Even just to wait around for the bus in 120F heat was tough. Bus service also stops around 4:30pm. So if your phone doesn't work, you can't call for taxi and you're basically stuck for the evening. So just having a car would make your life so much easier.
Despite the heat and my son falling ill at the end, we had a wonderful stay in Belize/Cristo Rey. The cabin was very comfortable, beautiful deck was nice to relax in and best of all, having a kind host in a foreign country was much better than being in a hotel. Thank you to Jeff & Cheryl. We can't wait to come back again!