We really enjoyed our stay at Bullet Tree Falls Lodge. The house is in a neighborhood with local Belizeans, making it truly feel like you were at home and part of the community. You can walk/drive down the street and see families playing in the local park or river. People just living their lives. It felt very safe, and very NOT touristy, which we liked very much. This is a residential neighborhood, so you'll have to drive to get food, eat out, etc., but the drive to the Bullet Tree Falls grocery store (Chen 's) is just a few minutes away, and San Ignacio (and the amazing farmer's market) is just about 10-12 minutes away.
Denise is a great host. She wants to make sure that you have everything you need, and was staying in a place next door so she can answer all you're questions.
The house was located on wonderfully and naturally landscaped grounds--beautiful jungle trees, flowers, big long vines, epiphytes. And all of it on the banks of the Macal River. The deck was a really great hangout place, and there are stairs that lead right down to the river. You can tie some tubes up to a tree and float or swim in the river without a problem. Denise took me and my daughter, a couple of the local kids and some tubes to the bridge not far away, and we floated down the river back to the house. The local kids helped us navigate a section of the river near the bridge where there were some tree branches, etc., but otherwise the river was calm and relaxing. There were an amazing number of birds that you can hear all day long, but their songs in the mornings and evenings were spectacular. When it got dark and the birds stopped, there was a chorus of crickets and other night critters to listen too. There were also several days where we heard and saw howler monkeys across the river. It was amazing. What was really amazing too was there were very few mosquitos--and I get bit up pretty easily-- making it possible to hang out on the deck without having to load up on bug spray. The outside was really the highlight here. It felt like you were in the middle of this beautiful jungle, but it also felt very safe.
The house was comfortable and clean. It was one of the few places where my family of four got their own beds! Lots of beds, and they were comfortable. Each of the three bedrooms had their own mini-split air conditioner, which worked very well to cool down the bedrooms for nighttime. The kitchen worked to cook some basic meals if you get tired of going out to dinner. The bathroom water pressure is a little low, but you're in Belize and you're not paying for a 5-star resort. It was enough to water pressure to get cleaned up with. As I said, you are not at a fancy resort; you might find a small lizard running on the walls, or a couple ants crawling around. But we certainly did not have an "infestations." We didn't bother anyone, and no one bothered us! It was all part of the experience of being in the jungle. We enjoyed our stay very much.