We loved staying at Areca House! Staying here made our trip to Belize just perfect. It was a great location once we found it - it is off the paved road and down the dirt road a bit, but not hard to find. The resorts across the road were very welcoming and we had easy access to the beach. My sons loved the Big Dock Bar - for the jumping into the ocean, not the drinks. We liked the bar for the ceviche and that the kids had fun jumping off the dock for a long time. We went snorkeling with Seemore Adventures - they were all great - Diamond at the front desk, Sea Dog, Tough Love, and Germaine were all experienced and so welcoming. And Kat's Coffee was so good. My husband was amazed at how good it was and he is a coffee connoisseur. Joseph was impeccable with communication and even frequently checked in to make sure everything was going well. Alex and Franz were helping out with letting us into the house since Jeanette was out of town. They were helpful and welcoming as well. We loved having access to the washer (and they provided laundry soap) - we only wore half the clothes we brought and we only brought a carry on/personal item backpack each. There were plenty of towels and pillows. The beds were comfortable. The AC was nice as were the fans. We opened all the windows and turned the fans on when we left the house to help keep the temp down. The kitchen was well stocked with utensils.
Everywhere we ate the food was fresh and delicious. We ate breakfast at Siomara's (get the fry jacks!), and had our other meals at Tina's (conch fritters!), Innie's (hudut, bundiga, fried fish), and once at the Chicken Shack (tacos!). We had fresh fruit from the fruit stands and we all agree that we are now absolutely spoiled for traveling anywhere ever again when it comes to the food.
Hopkins is such a pleasant village and the people we talked to were kind and very tolerant of visitors. We met some ex-pats who all love living in Belize and got to talk to some of the locals who are all so proud to be from their town. I feel like visiting Hopkins was like meeting a whole village of people who are doing their best to take care of their families and their community. The people who live in Hopkins truly care about each other and their home.