Beaches and Dreams

I selected this resort because it offered both jungle and sea excursions while many other hotels suggested we move to a sister resort half way through our trip in order to get the best of both worlds. We think we got the best of both worlds as the resort is right on the sea and backs up the jungle as well. The other incentive was that we could go all inclusive (or choose not to). We went all inclusive. They did an outstanding job meeting our excursion needs and providing us with a warm and welcoming place to stay with great food and drinks. I want to shout out to Victor who was our best guide and we were fortunate to have him a couple of times. He was outstanding, he kept us safe and also keep us smiling/laughing along the way. Our favorite server was Doreen - so attentive, sweet, and endearing and provided excellent service and felt like a friend. The best bartender, Ben, was a delight with a big smile and always ready to make your drinks just as you ask! The three of them were real standouts! We did guided river kayaking, Monkey river and the rainforest (plenty of monkeys), barrier reef snorkel and the cave tubing. They were all great.

Rooms were not cleaned well, or consistently during our stay. One day bed is made, next its made, but different then the other bed in room etc. Food is the best part of the resort. The daily specials were always so so good. Great excursions.

My husband and I recently honeymooned at Beaches and Dreams. It was a wonderful time overall! The staff was phenomenal and very friendly. Kelsy, Ken, Ben, Victor and a male front desk worker (I forgot his name 😭) were such great hosts! The food was DELICIOUS! I was so surprised by the food. Highly recommend the specials. All the workers were great for the most part. They really all went above and beyond. However, there are a few things I want to touch on! This resort is NOT truly all inclusive. Once we got there they described how everything worked and there were multiple drinks not included along with scallops and lobster, unless it was included in that days dinner special. You could get them but it would be an upcharge. It was a little frustrating hearing that considering how much we paid for ALL inclusive. The excursions were great! They were very well planned and Victor did a great job every time, but there were some instances where we felt rushed. I understand there is a timeline typically to follow but I really wanted to enjoy the excursion and it's hard to follow a timeline with multiple people. For our snorkeling adventure they didn't do a good job at all on teaching us how to snorkel. I was lucky enough to book through happy go lucky (highly recommend booking through them instead) and they taught me everything I needed to know, so I was prepared for it but others were not and I spent some time trying to teach them things myself. The guide didn't really show us much either. He seemed too interested in fishing for lobster, which was disappointing. Also, my husband was very sick from drinking too much the night before (100% his fault), so he missed that excursion, but we still had 5 days left of our trip and there was no willingness to reschedule our snorkeling trip which was disappointing. We just ended up losing the money on it when they definitely could've rescheduled us with another of the 3 snorkeling excursions we saw go out while we were still there. The seaweed was typically raked up off the beach every morning. Near the end of our stay they stopped doing that so our room started to smell like the seaweed and it was not pleasant at all. Overall, again we had a great time and I'd love to come back! Only a few complaints but definitely worth it!

We went for our 10th wedding anniversary for a 4-day weekend. Beaches and Dreams exceeded all of my expectations. Fun and friendly staff, amazing tours, comfortable beds, and phenomenal food! They made us feel like part of the "family" and took care of every need imaginable for us. We got the breakfast-only package and ended up eating most of our meals there simply because the food was so well-done. The town of Hopkins is perfect- not too touristy, but the locals are friendly and we always felt completely safe. Easy to navigate on bicycle or golf cart, both of which are very easy to rent from lots of places. Beaches and Dreams also arranged all of our transportation to and from the Belize City airport, as well as all of our tours, which made the whole experience stress-free. Every single tour guide and employee was so incredibly kind, fun, genuine and helpful, it was almost unbelievable! For the first time ever, I might repeat a vacation just because it was such a great experience-- can't wait to return with the kids someday.

Excellent:|* The staff: All staff were friendly and committed to making your stay enjoyable. The wait staff, for whom we had the bulk of our interactions with, obviously were trained in getting to know you and your preferences and seemed committed to doing whatever they could to make your experience enjoyable. |* The tours: All tours were arranged by the resort and very conveniently left from the resort. I appreciated the "what to bring" lists. Very helpful! Whether led by a member of the resort or an employee at the attraction, every single guide was fantastic, and all were a fountain of knowledge about Belize. I could barely find Belize on a map before I left for this trip, but I now feel like I know SO much about this beautiful part of the world - it's history, culture, people, government, agriculture, landscape, animals, etc. And most interesting were the real world stories from the guides about what their lives are like, where they live, how they live, and what they hear about the US. You come home with a unique perspective that you would never have if you went to a big resort and never left the grounds.|* The food: I am not a "foodie", so I am surprised to be writing that it was my greatest joy at the resort. So good. I could not wait to eat dinner. Also, my children are vegetarian and I was pleased to find there was a vegetarian menu upon request for which they were more than happy with (and for which I was tempted to try as well). They were also fairly accommodating with special requests. If for example the pasta special was made with shrimp, and you wanted chicken instead or even no meat but extra veggies, they would almost always be able to make that change (within reasons).||Good: |* The rooms. While our room was nice, clean, had a great view and contained everything we needed, it could benefit from a little TLC (basically just in the bathroom). I found the bathroom a bit worn and in need of a general refresh. The room did not have a television, not necessarily a bad thing (just an FYI).||Poor:|* The flies at the restaurant. It made a number of our dinners very challenging. It did not happen every night. If it was breezy there were no bugs at all. But we had a few nights where as soon as dinner was served, the flies immediately attacked our food and could not be deterred from it. We also had a night or two where "sand flies" attacked our legs. The wait staff offered repellant which helped a little. In the end, we "survived" and looked upon it as more of just a nuisance, not a deal breaker.|* Fans. I believe our dining experience would have been dramatically enhanced by ceiling fans for which there were none. The staff set up electric portable fans, but there were not enough to go around. So if your table did not have a fan, you received minimal benefit from the fans at other tables. |* The beach. While the resort beach is small, it was well kept and raked every morning. I do recall seeing some of the seaweed others have reported at water's edge. But the poor part, which I realize is not the resort's fault, is that the beach beyond the resort is not easily walkable. And the amount of plastics washed up on the beach was just unbelievable/sad. Again, not the resort's fault, just a sad observation of how much we humans are trashing the planet.||Conclusion: If you want to travel outside the resort and see Belize, Beaches and Dreams is perfectly fine to establish as your home base (which our family did). I strongly suggest taking advantage of as many tours as you can. It is not the kind of place where your family is going to simply find all its fun AT the resort for the entire week. Inside the resort, you'll have the choice of the beach, kayaks, paddle boards, a super small pool, volleyball net, and cornhole. Great for filling in downtime, not for planning your whole vacation around. And honestly it was too hot and humid much of the time to really want to be out in the sun playing volleyball (for example) during the day. For reference we were there in August which is obviously the peak of summer so it may be cooler in the winter. Lastly, based upon what I read and my experiences in and around Hopkins (took daily jogs and also ventured out on a golf cart with my family), Hopkins is a safe place for which I would not anticipate having any issues.

My family just spent a week at Beaches and Dreams and it was amazing! We actually stayed at Parrot Cove (also fantastic) nextdoor, coordinated by Beaches and Dreams, but partook in the Beaches and Dreams meals and tours. All staff was incredible and very welcoming. The coordinators scheduled everything flawlessly and made adjustments to make sure we had the best experiences. The food was great and servers attentive, and the tours were fantastic. I would recommend Beaches and Dreams to anyone!

We honeymooned at Beaches and Dreams and it was amazing. Booking was so easy, excursions were planned well, food was great, and the room was perfect. I cannot say enough great things about the staff.. Donna, Kelsey, Keith, Manuel, Oz, Edward, the cooks, receptionist, and the various behind the scene workers that we did not get to know - all work so hard and are great at their jobs. I would go back again just for the staff. Thank you for giving us the perfect trip, letting us have the opportunity to learn about your culture and life in Belize, and so much more. Would highly recommend.

I absolutely loved staying with Beaches and Dreams! This was the best vacation trip I have taken thus far and even as a solo traveler, I got to fully enjoy every tour that I booked as well as the beach house that I stayed in. When I got there, Justin was great with a welcome drink and gave me a tour of the property. Even before I got there, Darnell and the reservation personnel were instrumental and making sure that my itinerary was set and that I knew everything I was gonna do and at what time. The staff was even accommodating when I wanted to book an extra massage the same day. All of the tour guides were very informative about the area and its history. Because of Beaches and Dreams I am now in LOVE with Belize! Beaches and Dreams is a must-stay if you ever travel to Belize.