After all of the exceptional reviews I really wanted to love my experience, and I feel sad having to say so, but the truth was that I was disappointed. Hilary and Pike are lovely people, and were great with their responsiveness and hospitality. I appreciated that they offer to send a driver to the airport for $25 USD to drive to the Belize City ferry dock; and that they arrange to be at the Caye Caulker ferry dock with their golf cart to greet guests and take them from the boat dock to their home. Unfortunately my flight was delayed, and I wasn't aware that the last ferry to Caye Caulker is at 5:30 pm, so I missed the last boat out, necessitating an unanticipated night in a hotel in Belize City, and then an additional $7 USD for the driver to come back in the morning to take me back to the boat dock. I appreciated that Hilary adjusted my bill so that I did not have to pay for the missed night.

The space itself is very, very basic, and while the yard with the palms gives privacy to the property and offers some respite from the sun, the property itself is inland toward the center of the island, so none of the ocean breeze makes its way to the home and the air is very still and oppressively hot. The free use of the bikes was helpful and I relied upon the bike quite a bit in order to get to the ocean, to the downtown areas and to get to restaurants and stores. When I arrived and realized the distance from the ocean, I was disappointed that I had booked so many days in advance and was further disappointed when I came to learn that there were actually beachfront accommodations for the same or less per night than what I was paying. I was surprised that none of the reviews I read made mention of the fact that the property was several blocks from the ocean and the center of town. The outside porch and hammock were nice, but with the still air it was impossible to utilize the area in the evening without being attacked by sand flies.

Lastly, none of the reviews made mention of the fact that the Airbnb charges do not include an additional 9% hotel tax that needs to be paid in cash directly to the hosts.