BLACKBOOK THE SMART
BLACKBOOK THE SMART GUIDE Ultimate comfort The elegant 42-room Victoria House now has a standalone spa BELIZE PLEASE! Tucked on Central America’s Caribbean coast, the diminutive country is ready for its international close-up, says NIGEL TISDALL The hotel scene is hotting up in the only English-speaking country in Central America. Blessed with crowd-free Mayan ruins, luxuriant rainforest, myriad adrenaline activities and the second-longest barrier reef in the world, this small and easygoing nation still offers travel with a sense of discovery. Just 350,000 people live here in an engaging jumble of Maya, Mestizo, Creole, Garifuna, East Indian, Chinese and Mennonite cultures glossed with the legacies of a British rule that lingered on until 1981. Belize‘s 386km Caribbean coastline is fringed with beaches and over 200 small coral islands (known as cayes), while inland lie jungle, rivers and mountains that are home to tremendous caverns and vivid wildlife featuring jaguars, tapir and howler monkeys. Film- and winemaker Francis Ford Coppola was one of the first to spot how Belize can please. In 1993 he opened Blancaneaux PHOTO © VICTORIA HOUSE 38 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM FOR THE LATEST TRAVEL UPDATES GO TO: CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
Coming soon One of Itz‘ana‘s three-bedroom villas, right Stretching out A pier leading to a sun deck at Naïa Resort and Spa, below PHOTOS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: © ITZ’ANA, © NAÏA RESORT & SPA, NIGEL TISDALL, © CORAL CAYE Lodge, a romantic riverside retreat in the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve that was followed a decade later by the tranquil beachfront Turtle Inn on the Placencia peninsula. Now he has added Coral Caye (thefamilycoppolaresorts.com) a sprawling private island 13 kilometres offshore that can take up to 12 guests – perfect if you want to party at full volume – but which is also popular with couples and families seeking a total switch-off from our pressure-cooker world. The style is desert island rustic with two wooden cottages painted salmon and taupe and a sand-floored Great House, while highlights include looking for seahorses, snorkelling in your own private waters and dining under the stars on unlimited fresh lobster. A lso in Placencia, Naïa Resort & Spa (naiaresortandspa.com) is Belize‘s first destination spa, with 35 villas set inside a private 81ha reserve with a 1.6km-long beach. Opened in January, the emphasis here is on total wellness with six treatment suites overlooking lily ponds and classes ranging from dance to aerial yoga. Close by, Itz‘ana (itzanabelize. com) is a mix of resort and residences set to open in May beside both beach and lagoon. Here the vibe is Soho House in the Caribbean centred on a funky Great House featuring interiors by New Yorker Samuel Amoia. I n the north of the country, the 40km Ambergris Caye is the bull‘s-eye of Belize tourism. More than 40% of visitors fly in here and its lively bars and BELIZE’S 386KM CARIBBEAN COASTLINE IS FRINGED WITH BEACHES AND OVER 200 SMALL CORAL ISLANDS, WHILE INLAND LIE JUNGLE, RIVERS AND MOUNTAINS THAT ARE HOME TO TREMENDOUS CAVERNS AND VIVID WILDLIFE narrow, golf cart-congested lanes mean you need to pick your base with care. Victoria House (victoria-house.com) boasts immaculate sands and spacious grounds dotted with coconut palms and last September added a palatial standalone spa with a choice of 36 treatments including a signature Island Zen package. Opening this spring, Mahogany Bay Village (mahoganybayvillage.com) is a dense 205-room getaway, the largest in the country, which will be part of Hilton‘s Curio Collection. South of here, Caye Chapel, which is already home to an airstrip, marina and Greg Norman golf course, will unveil a 100- room hideaway this autumn, while on Leonardo DiCaprio‘s private island Blackadore Caye (restorativeislands.com) work is under way to create a top-flight retreat with landmark environmentally conscious credentials – proof that whichever way you look, Belize is fast becoming the new place to lay your sun hat. Beach dining A thatched gazebo at Coral Caye, above Primate on parade One of the country‘s howler monkeys, right CONTACT CENTURION SERVICE FOR BOOKINGS CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM 39
