SimoneSassett

Saw a write-up about this resort a few months ago. Any info on how clean it is?<BR><BR>All this talk about sandfleas in Placencia and I'm worried. I can handle mosquitoes, but fleas?! Eeek!<BR><BR>I know Kanantik is a bit north of Placencia - but does anyone know about this place?<BR><BR>We're looking to go the last week of Nov for 2 weeks.<BR><BR>What's the weather like? Will we miss hurricane season?

LanSluder

I was at Kanantik last summer. It's between Placencia and Hopkins. You turn just before getting to the turn-off for Placencia, but then you head back north on a dirt road for quite a distance.<BR><BR>I thought Kanantik was okay. The grounds and cabanas are attractive, the beach is okay, and the owner, an Italian by way of San Francisco, is an interesting fellow. <BR><BR>I'm not an all-inclusive fan, especially not in Belize, and in my opinion US$615 a day for a couple is a LOT more than I want to pay. There are so many other places in Belize that offer as much or more for less.<BR><BR>The other thing is that I'd go crazy being at Kanantik for two weeks. It's not close to any other resort or restaurant, so you're on your own with whatever other guests happen to be there when you are (when I was at Kanantik there was only one other party).<BR><BR>It was clean, and when I was there I had no problems with either mosquitoes or sandflies, but that can vary depending on the time of year. There were quite a few cockroaches and small spiders in our cabana, but I think the owner was going to do some more aggressive spraying for that problem.<BR><BR>Late Novemember/early December is past hurricane/tropical storm season, which usually ends in early November.<BR><BR>--Lan Sluder<BR>www.belizefirst.com

SimoneSassett

Thanks! I was hoping you'd reply - since I've seen your advice on other Belize topics. I was actually excited to hear that you stayed there and only had one other party at the resort at the same time. We're actually looking for that kind of privacy! This vacation is not for us to go and party with a bunch of strangers. We simply want to lie on the beach and be by ourselves.<BR><BR>We would prefer not to do the AI at Kanantik - so I'm glad to see they have room only rates. Neither my husband or I drink alcohol - so AI's are typically a waste of money for us. Plus - we don't eat much on vacation - we're not big buffet eaters either. And, as far as activities go - we want to pick and choose what we want to do. We don't want all our activities paid for - when we don't plan to do too many activities anyway.<BR><BR>One more question, if that's ok: which cabana (by location) would you recommend? Are there any closer to the water than others?

KatieValk

The cabanas are all equidistant to the sea. Room rates are 265.00 per night plus taxes. I'd take the cabanas furthest from the pool area, the last one on either side. Two weeks is a mighty long time to spend here, especially when you can find other remote lodges further into the mainland that offer ruins, caving trips, horses, birding, hiking and other activities. Unless of course, you only want beach. It's usually pretty breezey in November and you shohldn't have problems with sand flies as you would when the winds die down. Rooms have a/c, so you can walk into your room and get away from them if they appear (usually at dusk and dawn.

LanSluder

As Katie notes, the room-only rates are pretty high. With tax and service, over US$300 single or double. Since the US$630 (I earlier said US$615, actually it's $630) includes meals, taxes, service, diving, some boating, and daily guided tours, you are paying a lot for just a room. In fact, while I was there, the AI rates also included motorized fishing and even transport from Belize City, though that's not officially part of the deal.

The cabanas are all fairly close to the water, but some are set back farther than others (ours was about a row back from the front cabanas). I'm not sure which is best, though you would probably want one on the &quot;front row&quot; to better catch breezes. The units are air conditioned, although when I was there the A/C units struggled to cool down the cabanas -- it's hard to cool a thatch cabana with a high roof.

Meals there, at least dinners, tend to be a group affair, with Roberto, the owner, acting as a convivial host. If you want to be by yourself, I'm not sure this is the best spot...unless there's no one else there at the time.

--Lan Sluder