13 Best Hotels in The Southern Coast, Belize

Chabil Mar means "beautiful sea" in Kek'chi Mayan, and the sea and almost 400 feet of beach are indeed gorgeous at this gated luxury condo-style resort. The villas, inside a walled and gated compound, are tastefully designed and luxuriously furnished. Although each one is different, they're all upscale, with features such as marble floors, original art, and four-poster king beds. There's a great attention to detail here, from topiary figures created from shrubbery to daily scrubbing of the two swimming pools to washers and dryers in every unit. You can take any or all of your meals at Chabil Mar—on your veranda, in your suite, by the pool, or (with reservations) on the romantically lighted pier. If you'd rather sample local restaurants and bars, it's a moderate walk or a short taxi, bike, or golf-cart ride into Placencia Village. You'll find a large portfolio of dive, snorkeling, fishing, and soft adventure tours.

With beautifully landscaped grounds, top-notch accommodations, and an excellent scuba program, Hamanasi (Garifuna for "almond") is among Belize's very best beach and resorts and synonymous with diving here on the Southern Coast. Upon your arrival, you'll notice that the grounds are manicured and the lobby is filled with local artwork, including paintings by the late folklore artist Benjamin Nicholas. The "zero effect" pool seems to stretch to infinity. Choose from regular rooms, gorgeous suites with king-size four-poster beds of barba jolote wood, and regular and deluxe "tree houses," which are the most popular accommodations (and the most expensive). These units are not actually built in trees but are set among mangroves and other seaside trees and raised on stilts. Many people come here for the diving opportunities, but you won't feel out of place if you want to snorkel or just laze around the pool. The on-site Singanga restaurant has a romantic outdoor dining area with sea views and serves excellent seafood and other dishes, but dinner can be pricey.

This resort aspires to be the country's ultimate spa-centric seaside luxury destination, and we'd agree it succeeds. Naïa totals three dozen guest villas and houses, including stylish studio units with 13-foot ceilings and one-bedroom villas, some with private splash pools, mostly set in and around freshwater ponds, with a few directly on the seafront. Two-bedroom, two-level villas are set in lush gardens, and three larger houses with three bedrooms are on the water. All have original artwork by Belize's most famous artists. A sparkling, modern new beach house sleeps up to 15. There is a large rectangular swimming pool near the main restaurant and another pool at the spa, and several villas have private splash pools. The resort has three restaurants, focusing on seafood, grilled fish and meats, and healthy, lighter fare. Guests have access to a fitness center, yoga studio, and a long stretch of pristine beach, but the star of the show is the enormous 10,000-square-foot spa complex set among freshwater ponds.

Francis Ford Coppola's second of three lodgings in Belize is nothing if not exotic, with the furnishings, art, and most of the construction materials bought in Bali by the film director and his wife. The entrance, on a footbridge over a small pond, leads you to a gorgeous open-air reception area, lobby, and restaurant. Splurge on a seafront cabana to catch the breezes, as there's no air-conditioning, and the units at the back can be very hot. Two-bedroom villas have not one or two but three bathrooms (two Japanese-style ones indoors and one in a walled outdoor garden). The restaurant, Mare, is great for pizza (baked in a wood-burning oven) and other Italian dishes, plus seafood and Neibaum-Coppola wines; a second restaurant, Gauguin, specializes in beach barbecue and a third in Belizean dishes. Service is warm and welcoming, as it should be for the price you're paying. You're only a short bike or taxi ride into the village to sample the restaurants there. There are two pools and a nice stretch of beach. You can add on a few nights at Coral Caye, an equally sumptuous Coppola property on a private island, eight miles and a 25-minute boat ride away.

A three-story boutique hotel, two octagonal cottages, and various "tree houses" (really just cabins among trees at the back of the property that accommodate up to five people) make up this popular laid-back, family-run beach spot. The beachside restaurant, Barracuda, which specializes in seafood, pizza, ribs, and smoked meats, is one of Hopkins's best eateries. The affordable rates include complimentary use of bikes and kayaks.

This collection of seaside villas is among the most upmarket accommodation choices on the Southern Coast. All villas have the same floor plans and furnishings, but some of the villas are directly on the beach, and the others have sea or garden views. The units, with hardwood and natural stone floors and custom-made cedar and mahogany furniture, can be reserved as a complete three-bedroom, three-bath villa or as a single bedroom or two-bedroom suite. All-inclusive packages with meals, some tours, and transfers also are available. The resort's Caribbean-style Woven Palms restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, although many guests enjoy the variety of dining choices in Hopkins too.

Located within the beautiful Mayflower Bocawina National Park, the Bocawina Rainforest Resort has comfortable accommodations that include four spacious deluxe suites (with two queen beds, a table and chairs in a sitting area with jungle views through large windows), two thatched casitas (one has two bedrooms that can be rented together or as individual units), and six standard rooms that share a single veranda. A combination solar, wind, and hydro system generates the lodge's electricity. The lodge's zipline complex contains 12 platforms, and the tour division offers a wide range of trips and tours including visits to the nearby Mayflower archaeological sites and miles of jungle trails and waterfalls.

Almost all the units face the beach at this property made up of three different accommodation types—standard rooms, standalone cabins, and a guesthouse—and all are a step up from most lodgings in the village. This includes air-conditioning (a BZ$20 extra charge for daytime use), well-made furnishings, free Wi-Fi, and refrigerators. The staff is super friendly and helpful in arranging tours and transportation. Coconut Row offers a variety of packages and web discounts.

A condo colony whose name means "on the beach" in the Garifuna language, Laru Beya sits on seven beachfront acres, with well-priced rooms and suites that are bright and sunny. The contemporary tropical design includes tile floors and rattan and bamboo furniture. The larger villa units, with up to three bedrooms, have full kitchens, and some have rooftop Jacuzzis and verandas with sea views. Dive, fishing, and adventure packages are available. There's a pleasant on-site restaurant, open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily, and a bar. The Moorings and Sunsail yacht charter operations are based at the Laru Beya marina on the lagoon side. You may choose from rates that include all meals or none.

At Hopkins' original upscale resort, Jaguar Reef's original whitewashed duplex garden and beachfront thatched cabanas is supplemented with newer colonial suites with local artwork, salt-tile floors, and custom-made hardwood furnishings. Although the beach here is good (for Belize), there's a nice pool with swim-up tiki bar. Meals are served in a beautiful glassed-in beachside palapa with a soaring ceiling set off by locally made basket lights.

Jaguar Reef offers frequent summer (July--August) web-only specials.

This small beachfront resort with rooms in earth tones arranged around a courtyard with a pool is an attractive option if you don't need all the amenities of the larger resorts but want an excellent restaurant. Chef Rob's Gourmet Café, with multiple dining concepts, is one of the best restaurants in the entire country. Parrot Cove also has two two-bedroom units in a beach house next door.

Variety is the spice of beach life here, with an assortment of rooms, suites, and villas, some of which can be combined into uber-suites for families. Butterflies, the full-service spa here, is located next to the hotel's coffee shop. Complimentary bikes and kayaks are available. The same management group operates several hotels in the area and around the country and can arrange combo packages that include stays at its beach and rainforest properties.

Robert's Grove is one of the largest (44 units including standard rooms, suites, and one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, and lagoon-side villas) and most complete resorts in southern Belize, with kayaks, windsurfers, small sailboats, and boats for diving. Or, you can laze on the beach, check out the gym, relax at the spa, take a yoga class, or swim in one of the three beachside pools. The resort has a dive center and marina. There are three restaurants: the main hotel restaurant, Seaside; Habanero at the marina on the lagoon side; and Sweet Mama's, a Belizean-style eatery. All-inclusive and other packages are available.