This Rustic Resort Is a Hollywood Hideaway within the Belizean Jungle

When a resort is way from an airport, generally the lengthy journey makes the vacation spot appear unworthy of the journey. Do I actually must journey a number of hours to this resort when there’s one a lot nearer? However, within the case of Blancaneaux Lodge, a Coppola Household Hideaway, in Belize, the reply is a powerful sure.

To get to Belize by air, it’s worthwhile to fly into Belize Metropolis, which is, sadly, not a metropolis you’d wish to spend a lot time in. Blancaneaux Lodge is a 70-acre retreat tucked amid the 106,000-acre Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve, surrounded by the Maya Mountains, the place pine timber meet the rainforest. It’s a couple of two-hour drive from the airport, and whereas the drive did really feel lengthy (particularly with my two younger children), the highway is clean freeway almost the entire means till the final quarter-hour or so when it turns into filth, and issues begin to really feel extra distant.

As we drove up that final bumpy bit, my husband, my sons, and I started to get excited by the jungle-like vegetation, indicators for tapir crossings, and the sounds of a gurgling river. Turning into the doorway, ready workers warmly welcomed us and led us up a stone path to the principle constructing, an indoor-outdoor wood construction resembling an enormous treehouse. The indoor-outdoor development and the sensation of lush barefoot luxurious would carry all through the resort.

As an alternative of standing by a reception desk, we have been handed tropical welcome drinks and settled into cozy couches by a fire. Registration was taken care of, and we have been then led out of the constructing and alongside a stone path that crosses the property, with the Privassion Creek on one aspect and fantastically landscaped grounds on the opposite. Lush native plantings stuffed the property, and we noticed many birds and butterflies having fun with the crops on simply that preliminary brief stroll. We handed a number of cabanas (what they name the bungalow-style lodging right here) and a sq. pool with colourful tiles earlier than traipsing throughout a small bridge over a creek, lastly coming to a sprawling two-room, indoor-outdoor cabana overlooking the river that will be our house for the subsequent few days.

Blancaneaux Lodge is a part of the Household Coppola Hideaways, a gaggle of small, boutique resorts owned by Hollywood filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola (he’s behind award-winning motion pictures together with the “Godfather” movies and “Apocalypse Now”) and his household. There are two Hideaways in Belize, plus a non-public island with simply three lodging. Blancaneaux Lodge is within the jungle of the Cayo District, whereas Turtle Inn is on the seashore at Placencia, a couple of three-hour drive from Blancaneaux. The non-public island, Coral Caye, is a 25-minute boat journey from Turtle Inn.

Household Coppola Hideaways has resorts in Guatemala, Buenos Aires, southern Italy, and Atlanta. A lot of the resorts are in locations that the Coppolas grew to become enamored with in some unspecified time in the future, and a few have been initially used as their non-public trip properties, as is the case with Blancaneaux Lodge. Within the early Nineteen Eighties, Francis Ford Coppola visited Belize, fell in love with it, and bought the then-abandoned Blancaneaux Lodge. The hideaway was a household retreat earlier than Francis opened it to the general public in 1993, making it his first resort. The Francis Ford Coppola’s Villa lodging was the well-known filmmaker’s non-public vacation house.

Our journey plan was to spend two nights right here after which head to Turtle Inn for 2 nights. Once I checked the climate forecast earlier than leaving New York, I seen some rain, however figured it will simply rain briefly, the way in which it usually does within the tropics. It was late November, and as we neared our journey date, it dawned on me that it was technically nonetheless hurricane season, however I figured it was so near the top we’d be fantastic. I’d additionally been to Belize in November just a few years earlier than with no points, so I naively relied on my previous expertise.

The day we arrived was scorching and sunny, with nary a rain cloud in sight. After we settled into our room, I took the youngsters right down to the pool, ordered some drinks and snacks, and loved the previous couple of hours of daylight. That evening was uneventful, though it should have rained in some unspecified time in the future, and after we awoke, it was drizzling. We grabbed a number of the umbrellas on our porch and walked to breakfast. As we sat down, I discussed the rain, and our waiter stated, “Oh, that’s from this tropical storm they’re predicting. Hopefully it gained’t attain right here!”

He appeared unworried, however I instantly started frantically researching. Certainly, Tropical Storm Sara was headed towards Honduras and was predicted to presumably arrive in Belize on the weekend. It was solely Thursday, however I rapidly realized it didn’t make sense for us to go to Turtle Inn, a three-hour drive away, taking us even farther from Belize Metropolis and its airport. (We have been scheduled to take a home flight from Placencia to Belize Metropolis on the day of our flight again to New York.)

Plus, what would we do with two younger children by the seashore for 2 days within the rain anyway? Tropical storm or not, it will undoubtedly be raining.

As my husband and I began discussing our choices, we managed to maintain the youngsters entertained at breakfast by recognizing two colourful toucans — my favourite fowl and the nationwide fowl of Belize — so I used to be already starting to really feel higher. That day, the rain was on and off, and we have been scheduled to go on a guided horse and buggy journey to a waterfall. On the time of our tour, the rain had fortunately stopped, and we managed to make it to the waterfall and even swim earlier than the rain began once more for our brief journey again to the resort.

After lunch, we despatched our older youngster to the youngsters membership whereas our youthful son napped. Bernie Matute, the resort’s common supervisor, and I then chatted in regards to the resort’s preparedness for a pure catastrophe. Matute calmly talked me by the chance of a problem: small, given the resort’s location and the possibility of the storm reaching Belize as a Tropical Storm, and whether or not we must always go away early. He agreed it didn’t make sense to go to Turtle Inn given the circumstances and provided to have us keep one other evening at Blancaneaux as a substitute. In the long run, although, given the rain and our two younger youngsters, we opted to move again to New York on Friday night as a substitute after we have been capable of change our flight.

As soon as I knew we had a means out earlier than the storm hit, I might totally get pleasure from the remainder of our time on the property, regardless that it was wet. I went to the spa overlooking the river, sampled loads of drinks and meals, and frolicked perusing the products within the reward store made in Belize and Guatemala. Our children nonetheless had a good time, and I felt like we had skilled most of what the property needed to supply, however we’ll nonetheless need to return to take a look at Turtle Inn.

This is my evaluation of Blancaneaux Lodge.

The Rooms

As we wandered alongside the stone path by the plush plantings to our thatch-roofed, bungalow-style two-bedroom villa, we might hear the gurgling Privassion Creek earlier than we noticed it. However as we walked up the steps and reached our porch, the greenish river abruptly got here into sight, with a hammock and a number of other chairs completely positioned to sit down and chill out with a water view. The porch led into an open-air, bamboo-paneled front room with a vaulted ceiling, housing a comfortable sofa, soft flower pillows, and a wood-carved desk laden with welcome snacks like plantain chips, salsa, and ceviche. Behind the couch was a big desk and a kitchenette with tea and occasional, complimentary gentle drinks, and a jar of candy coconut cookies we might get pleasure from snacking on later.

Off the spacious front room have been two huge bedrooms, a main with a big king mattress, and a room with two twin beds for the youngsters. In any other case, the rooms have been similar: screened-in porches with chairs on the entrance and an indoor-outdoor rest room with a mosaic-tiled shower-bath mixture on the again. The great thing about the cabana was in its décor and art work, which focuses on handcrafted Guatemalan and Belizean items, together with woven textiles; wood-carved accent tables, masks, and sculptures; and clay vases.

Favourite items included a hand-painted wood sport field holding Jenga and a deck of playing cards, painted wood animal masks, and the Shellphone, which is current in lots of Coppola Household Hideaway rooms. The Shellphone is an intercom system with a wood base and a big conch shell poised for listening. Flick a swap, and also you’ll be linked to the entrance desk.

The resort has 20 particular person thatch-roofed cabanas and villas. The lodging fluctuate in measurement, however the design is comparable. They primarily function Guatemalan artwork and textiles, together with woven robes from the Guatemalan textile firm Luna Zorro, yoga mats, and handmade scented cleaning soap bars from the native Belizean firm Rubba Dub Cleaning soap.

Relying in your room’s view, you’ll have an outside deck or screened-in porch, and the Honeymoon Cabana has an extra decrease non-public seating space by the waterfall. Household Cabanas have a queen-sized mattress with the choice so as to add as much as two twin beds. There are two Luxurious Cabanas with non-public plunge swimming pools and out of doors showers, whereas solely the two-bedroom villas, that are 1,600 sq. ft, have kitchenettes.

Different lodging embrace the Enchanted Cottage, a secluded one-bedroom stone cottage with a non-public infinity pool, hearth, full kitchen, front room with sleeper couch, and a toilet with under-floor heating, bathe, Japanese tub, and steam room; and the two-bedroom Francis Ford Coppola Villa overlooking the waterfall, with a non-public pool, kitchen, open-air eating room, and art work and antiques from Coppola’s assortment. A private attendant is included with the cottage and the Coppola Villa.

Though the rooms and loos have mosquito-netting-type screening, it nonetheless appeared straightforward sufficient for bugs to get in from our open-air residing space inside a jungle surroundings, so I requested mosquito netting for every mattress, which housekeeping arrange every evening. Bear in mind that the rooms haven’t any air-con, however we discovered the followers to be greater than ample. Nevertheless, it’s doable that it will be a problem for some within the extra humid summer time months.

Meals and Drink

Blancaneaux Lodge has 4 ingesting and eating venues.

The primary one off the foyer with indoor and out of doors deck seating is the all-day Montagna Ristorante. It gives primarily Italian delicacies in tribute to  Coppola’s household heritage and even features a few household recipes. I did discover myself wishing for extra Latin American-style breakfasts, although. Once I ordered what have been referred to as chilaquiles on the menu, I obtained what gave the impression to be an Italianized model of them, with a marina sauce as a substitute of salsa and mozzarella cheese as a substitute of queso fresco — it wasn’t very tasty. We fared higher after we caught with Western breakfast dishes like pancakes, oatmeal, and omelets, plus the contemporary fruit and juices have been nice. All rooms embrace a continental breakfast with contemporary fruit, Belizean pastries, espresso, and juice.

There was brick-oven pizza at lunch, though being from New York, I didn’t suppose I wanted pizza in Belize. The contemporary salads and Italian-style sandwiches have been fairly good—I liked the one with smoked hen and mozzarella. A blackboard with particular dishes and drinks is displayed at each meal, and a few of these ended up being our favorites, just like the fish tacos I had for lunch someday.

The Jaguar Bar is off the foyer on the opposite aspect and serves tropical cocktails like Jaguar Juice made with native craboo liqueur, aged rum, and pineapple juice, and the Blancaneaux piña colada with housemade coconut puree. There’s additionally a piece of the menu dedicated to “Nice Ladies Spirits Cocktails,” with every drink honoring a major lady from historical past, together with Ada Lovelace, acknowledged as the primary laptop programmer, and Dorothy Arzner, the primary lady to direct a sound movie, referred to as “Manhattan Cocktail.” The menu notes that “she taught a younger Francis Ford Coppola.” After all, Coppola wines have been accessible right here and in any respect the eating places.

Our favourite meal was at Guatemaltecqua Restaurant, situated adjoining to the pool and serves dinner on a screened-in porch or a deck outdoors. Right here’s the place friends can get extra native meals, with Belizean, Guatemalan, Mayan, and Mexican meals showing right here. The menu modifications nightly, with gadgets listed on a blackboard on the entrance — the evening we went, there have been three appetizers, three mains, and two desserts. Since we have been 4 folks, we simply obtained one in every of every little thing on the menu and located all of it scrumptious. Highlights included a black bean soup with tortilla, which my older son requested a second bowl of; pepián stew, which is a Guatemalan hen stew in a tomato, chile, and pumpkin-seed-based sauce; and fried bananas for dessert.

The dinner I had the best hopes for was on the Backyard Spot, a small restaurant throughout the three-acre natural backyard, a brief drive from the principle resort grounds. This vegetarian meal is a communal expertise, and reservations are required. Sadly, it was raining fairly exhausting the evening we ate right here, so we couldn’t tour the backyard earlier than our meal, as is typical. Nevertheless, I might see many plantings and dozens of chickens in a henhouse.

The expertise begins with two kinds of mojitos (non-alcoholic is on the market) and snacks on a desk for friends to assist themselves. The evening of our dinner, snacks included fried cauliflower and cucumber and hummus bites. The seated family-style dinner consisted of soup, salad, and a stir-fry with rice that genuinely felt like one thing I might make at house. The thought behind this dinner is to showcase the backyard’s bounty, and whereas there have been a number of greens current, I obtained the sense that the chef isn’t expert at cooking vegetarian meals, and that is all they might give you — far more creativity is required right here. However, the dessert — freshly fried bombolini served with guava and pineapple jam — was scrumptious.

Bug spray is crucial earlier than eating, because the eating places are all outside.

Actions and Experiences

Being within the jungle brings a number of choices for actions, and a number of other are complimentary, like dawn fowl watches, mountain climbing, and swimming within the pool or river. Mountain bikes and tubes for the river are additionally free for friends to make use of (sadly, the climate didn’t enable us to expertise any of those). The workers makes it straightforward to plan and e book numerous experiences on- and off-property. You’ll be able to e book experiences earlier than you arrive, however every evening at dinner, a workers member will cease by your desk and focus on what you may have deliberate or wish to do the subsequent day.

As a result of I had a bit one in tow, we have been considerably restricted with our choices, after which the climate obtained in the way in which, however we did handle to do the horse-drawn buggy journey resulting in the spectacular Huge Rock Waterfall, with rock swimming pools to swim in. The buggy was a really fundamental wood set-up, and the bumpy filth highway meant some sore rear ends, however my children loved it, and the 2 guides who got here together with us have been wonderful.

On the finish of the highway, we needed to hike right down to the publicly accessible waterfall and carry our toddler down some considerably rickety stairs. However it was value it as soon as we obtained to the waterfall, and my older son and I even swam a bit. This expertise will also be finished whereas totally mountain climbing or on horseback.

Off-property adventures embrace a day journey to see a number of the area’s preserved Mayan ruins, just like the well-known Caracol; cave explorations that embrace mountain climbing, kayaking, and swimming in caves; and a day journey that visits the Mayan website of Cahal Pech and Ajaw Chocolate, a family-owned enterprise that provides a hands-on expertise within the conventional chocolate making course of utilizing Belize-grown cacao. I undoubtedly obtained the sense that friends can give you personalised full- or half-day journeys all through the area.

The Spa

The intimate one-room Waterfall Spa is inside a thatch-roofed cabana overlooking the river. There’s a toilet, altering room, and an ethereal foremost remedy room that may match a pair.

The web site notes that the masseuses listed below are skilled in Thai therapeutic massage “on the request of Francis Ford Coppola. ” Whereas I didn’t e book a Thai therapeutic massage, a number of the methods utilized in my Important Oil Therapeutic massage resembled Thai practices. This was factor: It was in all probability among the best therapeutic massages I’ve ever had, easing extreme rigidity in my again and shoulders.

The spa additionally gives a number of physique scrubs and wraps utilizing native substances like papaya, banana, herbs, and two facials. Simply outdoors the spa is an adults-only pool, heated completely by hydroelectricity.

Household-friendly Choices

It’s probably not marketed, however Blancaneaux Lodge has a children’ membership of types, which I used to be thrilled to find. It’s not the kind of membership the place you drop off your children at a constructing stuffed with playthings for a complete morning, afternoon, or day. As an alternative, it’s a extra bespoke expertise with a workers member who will take youngsters to numerous actions across the property — a significantly better approach to expertise the true character of a spot.

My older son spent a number of hours feeding and petting the horses on the steady and portray a wood masks like those on the property’s partitions. If the climate had been higher, he would have gone on a bug-hunting stroll.

Except for the youngsters’ membership, as famous above, there are a number of family-friendly lodging choices, and Montagna Ristorante has a children’ menu.

Accessibility and Sustainability

The lodge is unfold out, and there are stone paths and steps in all places, together with much more steps main as much as most buildings and lodging. Thus, it wouldn’t be accessible to anybody in a wheelchair or with mobility points. Our toddler had hassle navigating the stone paths, a few of which didn’t have railings he might attain.

Sustainability and conservation of the jungle surroundings are taken critically right here. The resort’s constructing supplies and design use low-profile, native supplies, together with thatch, hardwoods, bamboo, and regionally produced tiles. The wooden is bought from a neighborhood firm that replants at harvest and consciously reduces its carbon footprint. The carved furnishings are all constructed in-house with wooden suppliers that assist NGOs that defend the forest. The open-air design and vaulted roofs of all of the buildings and lodging enable for the absence of air-con.

The resort makes use of native and regional crops for landscaping that don’t depend on intensive irrigation, and naturally, there may be the natural backyard that gives substances for the eating places, which additionally solely makes use of biodegradable takeout supplies. There is no such thing as a single-use plastic wherever on the property. All swimming pools use saline as a substitute of chemical compounds; the spa pool is completely heated by hydroelectricity.

Talking of hydroelectricity, Privassion Creek provides 26 kilowatts of energy by way of a hydro system for all the property and workers housing — equal to 85 p.c of the property’s power use. The opposite 15 p.c is provided by way of butane for water heating, garments drying, and cooking. The river additionally provides water for showers and laundry (all water is handled earlier than it goes to the rooms).

Every keep helps choose native charities and non-governmental organizations by way of a 5 p.c Belize neighborhood fund charge added to the each day room price.

Location

The lodge is situated in western Belize’s Cayo District, and the closest metropolis is San Ignacio. From the Philip S.W. Goldson Worldwide Airport in Belize Metropolis, it takes about two hours by automotive to get to the resort. There may be additionally a non-public airfield adjoining to the resort.

The way to Get the Most Worth Out of Your Keep

Blancaneaux Lodge is a part of the Mr. and Mrs. Smith Assortment and is subsequently a part of the World of Hyatt, so you’ll be able to redeem or earn Hyatt factors on any keep.