I am, what my wife calls, an over-researcher; And our party of five was grateful for it. This was my retirement present / scuba trip with my wife and another couple. In a nutshell we stayed 9 Days at Brahma Blue in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, and it was the very best low-key relaxing vacation I have had to-date.
While diving the Blue Hole was the ultimate goal, finding the perfect get away for the other 8 days was key. While I would highly recommend San Pedro for the younger night life crowd, my research showed the negatives of staying in San Pedro proper were heavy golf cart traffic, substantial noise and sargassum seaweed-clogged beaches that stunk to high heaven. I began looking outside the city proper and found Brahma Blue. Located across the lagoon it had just reopened a year and half earlier and was (and still is) receiving great reviews. I contacted Corrina via Air B&B and arranged a 9 day stay in a 2-bedroom condo. Corrina was truly great to work with. She responded to all my inquiries quickly with very in-depth responses. She offered suggestions of activities and would make any arrangements if needed. Prior to arrival she asked if we wouldn’t mind upgrading to the Presidential 3-bedroom suite. O.K., twist our arms, I guess we will have to suffer thru it. We invited another friend and split it 5 ways making it even more affordable. Corrina also booked our air travel from Belize City to San Pedro thru Tropic Air at a discount from the listed internet prices. We were all set to go…
Arriving in Belize City’s Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport, we breezed through Customs, Immigrations, Baggage Claim and then a very short walk over to the Tropic Air counter. They knew we were coming and treated us like VIPs. My friend got in the co-pilot’s seat with the rest of us behind her and then a visually breathtaking 15-minute flight to San Pedro airport. Once deplaned, Solany, one of Corrina’s assistants was there waiting with a cab to take us to their dock. They loaded our luggage as we hopped in for a 5-minute boat ride across the lagoon reaching Brahma Blue. On the boat we were introduced to Vivian, Corrina’s other assistant. We were offered complimentary rum punch at Coconut Café (adjoining the property run by Timm and Donna, who we later fell in love with {see Coconut Café review}) while the staff took our bags to our condo.
Transportation to and from the city and Brahma Blue was by two boats. One an 18-foot passenger skiff, the other a pontoon boat, both run by Dino and his father who stay on the property. While there is a schedule approximately every hour, you must remember you are on island time. Corrina arranged for a local cell phone (no extra charge) to call / text Dino for pick up or to contact any of the staff if needed. Once you called or texted Dino he would be there within 15 minutes. If you needed to ferry before the first or after the last ferry it is a minimal charge. When we prearranged our 2 early morning (5am) trips for scuba days, Dino was waiting and took us to another dock which was closer to Family Dive Center and Scuba School. We enjoyed getting to know Dino, his wife and kids, and of course his father.
The top floor Presidential Suite was way bigger and better than we anticipated. When you do your research and look at the pictures, remember the rooms are bigger than they appear in the shots. My wife and I took the Master bedroom, king bed, huge room, extra-large west facing balcony with a large hot tub, large walk in closet with a shower big enough to fit 5 people at a time. Our friend and his wife took the second bedroom, a queen bed with walk in closet (with safe), another larger than needed bathroom and a comfortable east facing balcony that always had a cool breeze blowing. Our other friend took the smaller third bedroom with a queen bed and oversize closet. All bedrooms had their own air-conditioning unit. You accessed all the rooms from a covered open-air foyer type living area with shower and wicker chair and couch. The most enjoyable room was the common area Kitchen, Dining, TV area. This extra-large air-conditioned room with its own balcony is a relaxing morning and evening get together spot. The pictures show all the amenities, all the furniture is very comfortable, TV, Wi-Fi, etc….
While Corrina was laid up due to an injury, Solany and Vivian took care of all our needs, Dino set up a bonfire for us, the cleaning and maintenance staff stayed on top of everything. Everyone at Brahma Blue made our stay so enjoyable we will be back again and again.