Gaia Riverlodge, an SLH Hotel

A truly special place. Quiet, away from the tourist hordes on the beaches, and located in a spectacular setting. But in particular, the guides for the excursions absolutely made our stay. Calbert and Greg were just so knowledgeable about every detail from local history to plants and animals, and extremely friendly on top of it. Plus, where else can you swim up to a waterfall and after taking a gorgeous tram down the side of a ravine? We had a truly spectacular trip here.

Our honeymoon experience at Gaia was amazing! Starting off on the first day was great. Instead of rushing us to check in and giving us a bunch of information and rules after a long travel day, they let us have a leisurely lunch, then check in later. The room was huge and beautiful. The waterfall view was stunning and we could hear the waterfall all night, which was SO relaxing. We had fun at the ATM cave tour with Rudi, as well as a night nature walk. We enjoyed swimming in the waterfall and had great spa treatments there too. We had one misunderstanding with scheduling, which staff promptly resolved. Selvi, Javier, and Rahul were rockstars at the restaurant and bar. We had breakfast everyday, lunch most days, and dinner one day...every meal was great! The food was on the pricey end, but there really were no other options given how remote the lodge is. The resident dog, Coco, is the sweetest! But do not follow her unless you're ready for a hike :-) The only downfall was the mosquitoes, which were worse than we expected. Despite using up more than one full can of bug spray between my husband and I in 3 days, we were constantly being bitten by bugs, especially at night. We realized flying ants/gnats/bugs were crawling in our bed and we needed to have housecleaning change the sheets. Not sure if there's anything to do about it, but if not for the bugs, we definitely could have stayed for a week or more and enjoyed every second!

We had a rat in our room - while I expect insects to be able to get in, I'd expect that the rooms would be proofed against rodents and larger animals. When we told the manager, they suggested the fact that we had vaccuum packed food in our suitcase had attracted them - which both felt unlikely, and that they were blaming us despite there being no guidance given about this. Apart from that, all the staff were fantastic and we loved seeing hummingbirds in the gardens. The location was beautiful and we loved hearing the sounds of the waterfall. The restaurant also had great vegetarian options. A note that at mountain pine ridge there are small biting black flies that bite during the day and create incredibly itchy bites. Worth being aware of!

I’m so grateful we chose to stay at Gaia! Yes it’s a drive to get there from the airport but so worth it. Stay for more than one night. When we arrived it was like no place we had ever stayed and it felt like we were dreaming! It’s a jungle paradise with the most amazing waterfall views. But it gets better! You can swim in the waterfall!! The customer service from their friendly staff is top notch. We were greeted with a refreshing drink and cool towel while we waited to check in. Koby gave us a tour and walked us to our beautiful villa. Alexis decorated our villa for our anniversary including handwritten notes and towel animals. Darren served us delicious hand crafted drinks and meals in the restaurant and made sure fresh coffee was delivered to us in the morning. Greg took us on an enlightening jungle adventure to see Caracol Mayan ruins and Rio On Pools. His knowledge about Belize’s history, culture and his own community really added to the tour. We visited at the end of Oct and there were no crowds with perfect weather!

Me and my boyfriend had the best time here. The staff are 10/10, so welcoming and funny, the bar staff are great to chat to when you sit at the bar. The accommodation, bar, restaurant are all beautiful, it really feels more like a 4/5* hotel. The restaurant food is lovely, we didn’t get bored of eating it for 4 nights. The security guard does a magic show that is worthy of a vegas residency- it was brilliant! Throughly recommend this place and the tours they offer

This hotel was an absolute gem. The staff went out of their way to make everything easy and enjoyable, and the whole property had a calm, relaxing vibe that made it feel like a true escape. The place is gorgeous—well cared for, peaceful, and perfect if you just want to unwind and get away from the noise of everyday life.||The food was a standout. Everything tasted fresh, and one of my favorite parts was being able to pick veggies straight from the garden and have them cooked for breakfast. It made the whole experience feel special and personal.||We did 3 excursions through the hotel and they were all wonderful. Would absolutely do them again. It was very easy to book and they took care of every detail.|Overall, it was a wonderful stay, and I’d happily come back. It’s the kind of place where you can breathe a little deeper and just enjoy yourself.

The most unique, incredible hotel I’ve been to! Adding a very detailed review below bc I was looking for this when I booked. A Gaia driver picked us up from the airport and then drove us to Gaia, 2 hour drive through Belize, felt very long. Got to Gaia, and it was an absolutely stunning property tucked away miles off the road. Gaia was truly incredible. Service was good, food was absolutely incredible, the property was so stunning and unique. Highly recommend swimming in the waterfalls, walking down to buck rock falls, and doing the excursion to the caves and zip lining. There are only 16 bungalows on the property and it didn’t seemed maybe 50% full when we were there. It’s so quiet and isolated. I think 3 nights was perfect, any more than that and I think we would have gotten a bit bored, but that’s personal preference. We went in early December and unfortunately it still rained quite a bit while we were there. Definitely recommend sitting in the hammocks under the awning down by the waterfall when it’s raining. Also Coco the resort dog added such a fun happy touch to being here, she’s adorable. Now to get to an important topic - bugs. When it was sunny, bugs weren’t too bad. As it kept raining, bugs got worse. It was never anything big and scary, just little tiny bugs and a few moths. I don’t like bugs and I was okay with these, but after 3 days I was ready to be away from bugs lol. Overall, truly such an incredible place. HIGHLY recommend. Just know there will be some bugs, but the food, property, and staff are absolutely incredible!

We were absolutely blown away by Gaia. This was a splurge for us and way out of the norm, and it still exceeded our expectations. We were in Belize for 13 nights and the two nights at Gaia are what we keep talking about. From the moment we arrived until the moment we left, it was an amazing experience. We had a forest view with a partial view of the waterfalls. It's hard to describe, but it's like being in a fancy tree house. It did rain a decent amount while we were there, so swimming was limited as the water levels were high and fast. Thankfully, we arrived around noon the first day, and they let us check in a little early. We were able to head down to the waterfall for the day. We didn't know this would be the only opportunity we had to swim there, but we were grateful we did, as it was super fun and memorable. What I didn't expect was how great the food was going to be. The food itself became part of the experience. We ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner there for two days, and I still remember each meal. It IS expensive, but the bill stings a lot less when the food is so good. My favorite meal was the tacos for lunch. Even the continental breakfast was the best version it could be. The fruit was fresh, the muffin amazing, and the jams/butter were great. Everything was top-notch. Another pleasant surprise was that the bugs weren't bad. You'll see them, but we actually had more bugs on the coast than in the forest. Overall, one of the most memorable hotel experiences I've had. I hope to be back one day.