9 Best Hotels in Mountain Pine Ridge, The Cayo District

As you sweep down Blancaneaux's hibiscus- and palm-lined drive, past the big main swimming pool, you may get a whiff of Beverly Hills, and 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 have appeared in Architectural Digest and dozens of other magazines. There is a sort of jungle-inspired turndown service, with candles lit in the evenings on your balcony, a "newspaper" about the weather and happenings, and freshly baked treats. The filmmaker's own villa, with private pool, is available when he isn't in residence. 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, so your taste buds are never bored. The lodge's organic farm supplies about 80% of the vegetables for Blancaneaux and its sister property, Turtle Inn in Placencia. The ceiling fans in the hotel bar appeared in Apocalypse Now, and the massive black slate bar top was carved by the Garcia sisters of San Antonio. 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. There's also a gift shop with high-quality and wonderfully colorful Guatemalan blankets, dresses, blouses, and crafts.

Sitting on 7,200 acres, Hidden Valley has more than a dozen waterfalls, at least two private caves, and 90 miles (150 km) of hiking and mountain biking trails. The entire lodge has an old-school colonial feel, and the estate grounds, including the waterfalls, are exclusively for guests and not open to the public. All the cottages have mahogany furnishings, tile floors, and brick fireplaces. Meals and drinks are served in the lodge's main house, which has vaulted ceilings and four fireplaces. After dinner, sip coffee grown on the premises. There's a full meal plan and all-inclusive packages (three-night minimum) with lodging, meals, drinks, tours, and transfers from Belize City available.

This jungle resort on the Macal River is a step up in luxury, service, and dining from other run-of-the-mill lodges in the area. With lofted ceilings and tile floors, bathrooms with glass-block shower walls, and stylish furnishings, Mystic River's 15 cottages may lure you to lounge in your room or at the pool instead of going on one of the jungle adventures offered by the resort. On cooler winter evenings, you can relax in your king bed, and watch a crackling fire in the stone fireplace. When it's hot, four of the villas have private plunge pools. At the lodge's restaurant, La Ranita (The Little Frog), in a high-ceiling, thatched palapa set about 100 feet above the river, the chef serves an eclectic menu of Belizean and other dishes. The French co-owner/manager also keeps 40 milk goats and makes her own cheeses.

This birder's paradise family-run jungle lodge has a range of accommodations, from two simple rooms to a collection of traditional thatched cabanas with views of the Macal River Valley. It is operated by the Tut (pronounced toot) family—Mom and Dad Tut and their 10 children, and they make you feel like a part of the clan. Mom and the daughters cook and run the lodge, and several of the sons are accomplished guides for birding, caving, and river expeditions. The lodge also promotes its multinight birding and adventure tours.

Drive deep into the Mountain Pine Ridge and you’ll find, perched on a steep hill above the Five Sisters waterfalls, this elegant lodge and staging ground for exploration. All is decorated to appear distinctly Belizean—canopied thatch cabanas hold local hardwoods, handmade furniture, and art in tropical tones. A small, open-air tram will carry you to the Privassion River if you'd rather avoid the 286 steps, and there you can swim in the natural spring or recline riverside on lounge chairs. Note that with no children under 12 allowed, no pool, no television, and Internet only in the restaurant, this is ideal for a couple’s retreat rather than a family vacation. The lack of pool helps earn Gaia’s eco-friendly status, as does its hydropower system and garden, which grows 60% of the restaurant’s produce. Packages with its sister resort Matachica on North Ambergris Caye give you entry to reef and rainforest excursions.

Well priced, with a lovely hilltop setting, and amenities such as a pool, this small lodge is an attractive option just 2 miles (3 km) from the George Price Highway at Georgeville. Flat-roof cottages, each with floor-length windows and a patio offering views of the jungle canopy, flank the open-air restaurant--bar palapa and swimming pool.

With only three cabanas, every guest gets personal attention at this small ecolodge where you can lounge in a four-poster king bed and then jump in the pool for a refreshing swim. There's hiking in the bush right outside your door. Electric power here is solar, and the water is rainwater. The lodge has a small and very good restaurant and bar.

Located on 50 acres adjoining the Macal River, this small, laid-back eco-lodge is for travelers seeking a no-frills spot where you can hear the jungle hum outside your doorstep and where the air bristles with the promise of bird and animal sightings. Six simple and comfortable cottages, lighted with kerosene lamps, are spread around the grounds for privacy. You can hike the five miles of trails to the unexcavated Maya site of Tipu, or schlep yourself down to the river for swimming or canoeing. Farm-to-table, mostly organic meals are served in a thatched, open-air palapa.

This small, intimate lodge has six well-designed cabanas set in the shade on a low hill, with pimento walls, thatched roofs, and furniture handmade at the lodge and elsewhere in Belize. They're outfitted with everything you'll need, down to flashlights, purified-water coolers, and umbrellas. Meals are served in the main lodge building, which also has a bar, an art-filled guest study, and a gift shop. The lodge is not on the river, but it has an attractive swimming pool.