Blancaneaux Lodge

Blancaneaux Lodge Review

As you sweep down this resort's hibiscus- and palm-lined drive, past the big swimming pool, you may get a whiff of Beverly Hills. Indeed, the lodge is owned by film director Francis Ford Coppola. Spread on a hillside above Privassion River, the villas with their soaring thatch ceilings, Japanese-style tile baths, plunge pools, and screened porches (starting at BZ$560 double in-season plus 9% tax and 10% service) have appeared in Architectural Digest. The filmmaker's own villa, with private pool, is available (BZ$1,450, double, plus tax and service) when he isn't in residence. The Enchanted Cottage (BZ$2,800, plus tax and service), of local stone and with a red Guatemalan tile roof, is set on a hill apart from the other villas; it comes with its own golf cart. In-season, all accommodations have a two-night minimum. A fleet of four-wheel-drive vehicles takes you to remote Mayan ruins or on shopping trips to Guatemala. Those with their own planes can fly into the resort's landing strip, or you can come on a charter flight from Belize City. The main restaurant, Montagna, is one of the best in the Cayo, specializing in Italian dishes and serving wines from Coppola's wineries. A second restaurant serves Guatemalan food, by reservation only. The lodge's organic farms supplies about 80% of the vegetables for Blancaneaux and also its sister property, Turtle Inn in Placencia. The ceiling fans in the hotel bar appeared in Apocalypse Now. You can swim off large boulders in the Privassion River, relax in a giant hot tub, swim in the infinity pool or, if you have a luxury villa, dunk in your private plunge pool. Blancaneaux offers a variety of tours and has a stable of horses for riding trips.