Pook's Hill

Pook's Hill Review

When the lamps are lighted each night on the polished rosewood veranda, this low-key jungle lodge is one of the most pleasant places in the Cayo. Pook's Hill (you remember your Kipling, don't you?) is located on 300 remote acres in the foothills of the Maya Mountains adjoining the 6,700-acre Tapir Mountain Reserve (open only to researchers) and Actun Tunichil Muknal National Monument. The original stone-and-thatch cabañas are laid out on a grassy clearing around a small, partially excavated Mayan site, and newer "birdwalk cabañas" are down a series of steps and across a stream. The cabañas have 24-hour electricity from a generator and batteries. A host of outdoor revelries are within a stone's throw—you can swim, ride horses, go birding, or boat up the Roaring River to a series of caves. A rare treat, guests can hike from the lodge to Actun Tunichil Muknal with a guide (BZ$190 plus 12.5% tax, minimum age 12)—Pook's Hill groups usually get to ATM before any others. Dining is family-style, so expect story-swapping and good cheer with fellow guests over heaping plates of delicious Belizean and international fare from a buffet. Whether they're organizing tours or popping Belikins for guests in the bar, the young managers, Dave and Cat, stoke this intimate lodge's affable warmth and charm.