Fodor's Expert Review The Lodge at Chaa Creek

This was the first true jungle lodge in the Cayo, and owners Mick and Lucy Fleming (he's from England, she's from the United States) have spent more than three decades polishing The Lodge at Chaa Creek to a fine, rich patina, while adding features like a gorgeous bi-level swimming pool. The gracefully landscaped grounds, surrounded by 365 acres of rolling hills above the Macal River, are magnificent. All on-site tours are included with your accommodations, including early-morning bird-watching with a naturalist, Belize Medicinal Plants Trail, Natural History Center, Blue Morpho Butterfly Farm, and canoeing or tubing on the river. For an additional charge, there are horse stables and one of the best spas in Belize. The whitewashed cottages with thatched roofs and custom-made furnishings as well as the suites and tree houses are elegantly stylish, but prices can be high. There are all new ultramodern suites at the highest price point. For cost-conscious travelers, there's the Macal River Camp, with small A-frame rooms on raised wooden platforms. At the lodge itself, dinner is a special event, starting with cocktails in the bar and perhaps ending with brandy and a Cuban cigar under the soaring thatched palapa. Chaa Creek's tours, although not cheap, are among the country's finest, and horseback riding is also available.