I selected Hopkins Belize as the next girl trip (birthday celebration) destination due to a recommendation from a colleague whose a native of Belize. Honestly, I had some reservations about traveling out of the country because we were an all female ensemble. But, thankfully I did not let my fear over shadow my desire to go and I’m so glad because I would have missed an opportunity of a lifetime. The home was also recommended by my colleague and so I went with her recommendation to stay at the Savannah Sand Dollar. The home is reflective of the pics posted. It was very clean. However, what took the experience over the top was Gilda. Gilda managers the property and she was very prompt to respond after my initial contact. We arrived several hours later than planned due to our flight delay and the commute from Belize City to Hopkins. We were exhausted and starving. Gilda met us at the property and graciously offered to pick up food for us after making recommendations as to who was still open in the area. We elected pizza from Driftwood. OMG it is to date the best barbecue chicken pizza I’ve ever had. Their pepperoni and sausage was also delicious but that barbecue chicken!!!!
I’ve digressed so anyway the next morning Gilda took us on a tour of her village and gave us its history which is remarkable. Research Hopkins Belize to learn more. Anyway, it remains unsoiled by tourism and if you want a laid back vibe with friendly people then Hopkins is your place.
I’d gladly recommend staying at the Savannah Sand Dollar but I’d like to offer the following suggestions to the owner that would set the property in the exceptional experience category:
Provide hotel quality towels and bed sheets; preferably cotton. Cotton works at keeping one cool and tends not to pop off the bedding. Provide one extra roll of paper towels because guest are not always left with a full roll. Dishwashing liquid. We cooked breakfast the first morning and went to clean up but had no soap appropriate for washing dishes.
We had to leave them until we could venture out and purchase.
Consider washing detergent for laundry. I think it’d be a nice touch. Especially after returning from being on an excursion and you want to wash swimwear and towels. Often you will find that if what you’ve provided is used by your guest they often will replenish and thus the cycle of reciprocity begins. We purchased paper towels, dishwashing liquid, salt, and pepper and was glad to leave it behind for the next guest.
Finally, consider placing comfortable lounging furniture on the veranda. It’s beautiful but we could not fully enjoy sitting outside due to lack of seating. The purpose of the deck is to sit & lounge to either just enjoy nature, chit chat and or read. You need comfortable seating to do these things. Same for the inside. The current sofa is not comfortable for game or movie night.
For excursions please contact Golden Tour Guides and let Golden show you his home. Very professional and was always prompt with his pick-up times and the vehicle was spotless. Cool guy and loves what he does.
Again, thanks to Gilda for being so kind and informative about her homeland. See ya soon Gilda!!!!