20 Best Hotels in Northern Belize, Belize

Directly on the bay just south of town, Almond Tree Hotel Resort raises the bar on Corozal Town lodging. In your air-conditioned room or suite, enjoy original artwork on the walls and high-thread-count cotton sheets on the beds. The high ceilings are beamed, and floors are acid-stained concrete finished with beautiful colors. From the first-floor deck and second-floor balconies, you have views of town and also the Cerros Maya site across the bay. There's an attractive pool and a small beach area. The choicest digs are the large suite with separate living room and panoramic views of the bay. The first-floor bar and restaurant, decorated with local artwork, have limited hours and require advance notice for dinner. Children under 12 are not allowed at the hotel.

This fun and funky tropical boutique resort has a remote location but offers everything you could ask for: beautiful pools, jungle chic ambience, and a laid-back vibe. There are bungalows in addition to the hotel rooms. The restaurant offers a delicious selection of chicken, pork and even vegetarian dishes, often interestingly prepared, with salads and fresh ingredients from local gardens. At night the restaurant and bar are bathed in black light, making it look a little like a nightclub. The spa touts its "Mood Mud" therapy, its signature spa service, using four different types of mud. There is also a stylish hookah bar that guests can reserve in the evenings.  

In general, Belize Boutique Resort is geared to adults, rather than families, although technically it is not an adults-only resort.

Many of the 30 spic-and-span rooms, all with air-conditioning and all recently refurbished, at this modern concrete hotel have expansive views of the lagoon. There's a two-story main building and an annex next door, covered with bougainvillea and other flowers, and you'll find that the friendly service is consistent with Belize's down-home reputation. The best rooms are the deluxe doubles on the second floor of the original building. Camping is available (BZ$20 per person). The hotel's dining room serves filling Creole and American fare ($$). The lodge also offers many kinds of tours, including a "birding-by-boat" cruise on the lagoon (BZ$300 for up to three people), horseback riding (BZ$50 an hour), and a croc-spotting night safari (BZ$450 for up to three). Transportation from the international airport is BZ$170 for up to three persons.

Cerros Beach Resort is an off-the-grid option for good food and simple lodging—there are just four small, solar-powered cabanas—on Corozal Bay, near the Cerros ruins. Expat owners Bill and Jenny Bellerjeau (Bill is the chef) offer expertly made local and American food. Don't miss the ceviche. On Sunday, there's often a beach barbecue. Guests typically come by boat from Consejo or Corozal Town. Except after heavy rains, you can also drive here from Corozal or Orange Walk. 

The resort is occasionally closed in late summer/early fall, so double-check with resort if you plan to visit at that time.

Arguably the most memorable lodge in Belize and one of the top lodges in all of Central America, Chan Chich is set in a remote, beautiful area literally on top of a Maya ruin, with 12 rustic yet comfortable cabanas—the price of a vacation here is similar to a five-star hotel in New York, yet the high cost is worth it for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Just outside your door, you're likely to encounter legions of tropical birds and wild animals, even jaguars. The late Coca-Cola, Belikin, and shrimp-farming "Belizeanaire" Sir Barry Bowen built this lodge at his large private farm. The cottages have thatched roofs, rich hardwood floors and furnishings, and wraparound verandas. The lodge sits smack-dab in the middle of a Maya archaeological site, and regardless of how you feel about that, Chan Chich has a stunning setting. Expert guides lead wildlife excursions into the thousands of acres of surrounding bush and carefully maintained trails. Howler monkeys welcome you with reverberating bass calls. A gorgeous pool is screened to keep out insects. Delicious meals are served in the dining room in the main lodge building, adjoining the bar. The deluxe cabanas have king beds and huge bathrooms with marble, granite, glass, and even bidets. Standard cabanas are similar, except with less ambitious baths. For families or larger groups, there is a two-bedroom villa with air-conditioning.

This stylish three-level, nine-room B&B is located in the middle of the somewhat off-the-beaten-path development in the village of Chunox just beyond the hand-pulled ferry, catering both to the handful of visitors who find themselves on the road to Sarteneja. The air-conditioned rooms are attractively furnished, and there's a great view of Chetumal Bay from the rooftop terrace and bar. A full English breakfast is included (the owners are from England) in the rates.

Owned by a Belizean-British couple, this small lodge has six comfy hardwood cottages, five with one bedroom and one with two bedrooms, on a gorgeous 11-acre site on the shores of the Crooked Tree Lagoon. A main lodge building houses a bar and restaurant ($$), where guests dine family style. The two-bedroom cottage is ideal for two couples or a family. Camping is available. Children under 12 eat free. Pets are welcome. Many birds can be seen on the grounds, and the lodge can arrange lagoon or land trips with top guides.

The El Gran Mestizo, now the top place to stay in the Orange Walk, is known for its riverfront location and intimate setting and has both standard and premium cabins—the premium cabins are more spacious with kitchens and riverside views—with comfortable beds and lots of native wood, air-conditioning, Wi-Fi, and cable TV, all just steps from the New River. It also has a separate hostel dorm. The on-site restaurant, Maracas Bar and Grill, has a local following serving a range of comfort foods.

Lounge on the second-floor veranda of this small waterfront guesthouse and watch the fishing boats anchored just a few hundred feet away—rooms have air-conditioning and Wi-Fi included in the rate.

George Hardie's Las Vegas Hotel & Casino is northern Belize's largest and most upscale hotel, with a fitness center, swimming pool, bars, and a good restaurant on-site. Part of the bustling 54,000-square-foot Las Vegas complex, which sprawls across 12 acres in the Corozal Free Zone, it primarily caters to Mexican gamblers who come to try their luck in the Free Zone's three casinos (there are no casinos in Mexico), and some of the most desirable rooms are reserved for them. Las Vegas Casino is the largest casino in Central America and operates 24 hours a day year-round.

Yucatec Mayan for "coming of the rising sun," Hok'ol K'in, founded by an American Peace Corps veteran and now operated by Belizeans, is a friendly small budget hotel on the Corozal bayfront. It has 10 basic but comfortable and very clean rooms with cable TV. Five have air-conditioning (small additional nightly charge), but even the rooms with only fans enjoy a nice breeze from the bay most of the time. Rare for Belize, some of the rooms are wheelchair accessible. There's also a two-bedroom apartment for longer-term rental. Free Wi-Fi is available in the restaurant.

This family-owned place is a step up from other hotels in central Orange Walk Town, and the low rates for the standard rooms with air-conditioning, free Wi-Fi, cable TV, and continental breakfast put it among the best values in northern Belize. Nicely furnished premium rooms have queen beds and flat-screen TVs. The hotel arranges trips to Lamanai as well as tours that include cave tubing, the Baboon Sanctuary, Belize Zoo, and Altun Ha. The owners, Orlando and Cindy de la Fuente, also own El Gran Mestizo and Maracas Bar & Grill.

About 3 miles (5 km) from La Milpa Maya site, this field station is a combination lodge and summer camp; stay in rustic thatched cabanas with a private bath or in a dorm that sleeps up to 30. Since you're in a remote area, you'll likely want to eat all your meals, generally simple Belizean-style dishes such as rice and beans with stew chicken or pork, at the field station; you can book a room without meals. Hiking trails are maintained around the lodge, and guides are available to take you to La Milpa and other Maya sites. In spring and summer, you can visit archaeological teams working at La Milpa. You'll likely see lots of wildlife, including spider and howler monkeys, ocelots, peccaries, deer, and possibly even a jaguar.

With balconies perched above the New River, this Belizean-owned resort gives guests the feeling of being in the jungle—keep an eye out for the river crocs that often spend the night under the hotel—while conveniently located just south of Orange Walk Town. The private balconies and riverfront views create a secluded ambiance and The Deck, the hotel's newly revamped restaurant and renamed restaurant, is housed in a thatched pavilion. Signature dishes include smoked wings and an assortment of tapas. The restaurant's skilled bartenders are often adding creative cocktails to the menu. Board a boat here and in 1½ hours you're at the Lamanai Maya site.

Perched on a low hillside on the New River Lagoon within walking distance of the Lamanai ruins, this eco-lodge's well-designed thatch cabanas sit amid lovely gardens and have porches with lagoon views. The main lodge and restaurant is well appointed. There's a pricey, near-all-inclusive plan with all meals, transfers, and activities, such as a sunrise birding canoe ride and crocodile encounter. A room-only plan is also offered, but dining options in this remote area are very limited. The restaurant serves three-course, filling meals on a set menu, but the gracious staff will gladly accommodate any dietary restrictions. A dock extends 130 feet into the lagoon and is a good place for swimming, but keep an eye out for crocodiles. Bird-watching, croc spotting, and cultural tours, such as a Mestizo cooking class, are offered.

Hugging the Corozal Bay in the Orchid Bay area, Orchid Bay Resort boasts silky-soft sands and tranquil sea view and had 12 thatched-roof cabanas all artfully decorated with local wood decor. The property itself is known for the tropical gardens that house 200 species of orchids. Perhaps the resort's most alluring feature is that it's directly in front of the water. While there may not be much to do, the hotel can arrange fishing or snorkeling tours to the reef. Orchid Bay Resort sits an hour's drive away from Corozal in a secluded area of Chunox Village. 

This upscale, eco-oriented bed-and-breakfast is hidden away off the Consejo Road north of Corozal Town, with four tastefully decorated rooms on the second floor with private balconies overlooking gardens, Belizean art, and locally made hardwood furniture. A common room downstairs has satellite TV, DVD player, a library, and Wi-Fi. The Canadian owners generate their own power, mostly with wind, and they work hard at being ecologically sensitive. Although the main B&B building is not directly on the water, Serenity has a beach on the bay a few hundred feet away and a decent-size pool. Rates are a good value for the high quality you enjoy, and delicious full breakfasts, mostly organic, are included.

A two-bedroom guesthouse is available for families or groups traveling together.

On a quiet street near the Banquitas House of Culture and backing up on the New River, this family-run hotel has simple but clean rooms, with tile floors and brightly colored bedspreads, at very affordable rates. Of the hotel's 21 rooms, 16 have air-conditioning. The rooms' TVs are now equipped with media streaming devices. The rooms in the garden annex are the best choices. The back gardens are attractive and alive with tropical plants, and you can relax in a thatched palapa with picnic tables next to the river.

One of the oldest hotels and restaurants in northern Belize, Tony's Inn is still going strong, with spacious, refurbished rooms and a popular bayside restaurant and bar, all on beautifully landscaped grounds. For the most enjoyable stay, choose the upgraded deluxe rooms with modern baths, mahogany furnishings, comfortable beds, and new air-conditioning units.