Hopkins Village, Belize

Belize was not a destination on my bucket list of places to visit.  From the couple of people I had known to have visited there, it sounded a little too resorty kind of place, crowded, and touristy.  This is not that appealing to me. When my husband mentioned he would like to go to Belize on vacation, I was reluctant.  Even a little more reluctant when he said he would plan everything.  I always plan the trips.  For me, planning is just as fun as taking the trip. However, I went along with uncertainty of not knowing what was in store.

One evening after dinner, he places his laptop in front of me, and says I think I found where we should go in Belize. He says it is right on the beach, it is affordable, and it has a good restaurant.  He knows I will approve, if my appetite is happy. I looked at the website for the hotel he chose. It was called Beaches and Dreams in Hopkins Village. It is classifies as a boutique hotel.  I will admit my first impression was not a favorable one. It wasn’t what I think of when I think of a boutique hotel. It looked a little more basic than what I sometimes like. I was not convinced this was the right place.  The rooms were reasonably priced (starting around $160), especially for being right on the beach.  I took to the internet to see what it had to say. My first place I go is TripAdvisor.  TripAdvisor had it listed as the number one hotel for the area. Not that there a lot of hotels in this area, but it made me feel a little better about his selection.  Then I began reading the reviews, which were all positive about the hotel, from the food, the service, and overall experience.  Now I was getting a little excited about the idea of this trip.  Perhaps not one I would have planned, but one I think I might enjoy.  We booked our room for a week trip in February.

Hopkins Village is a coastal village in Eastern Belize. In order to travel to the village, we flew to Belize City. From there caught a local airline (which is basically a Cessna plane) to Dangriga. Where we were picked up by a driver sent by Beaches and Dreams to drive us about an hour south to Hopkins Village.  At this point in time I pretty much felt I was off the grid.

We were greeted by Angela, one of the owners.  We were escorted to our room, provided water and beer, and told to make ourselves at home. Happy Hour began at 4 and dinner at 5. She had reserved us a table.  We opened our bags, changed into our swim suits, and literally took about 10 steps to the beach and plopped ourselves into a beach chair.  The beach white and sandy, the sound of waves crashing, and the palm trees swaying.  We were the only ones on the beach. This was my little piece of paradise. The location of Beaches and Dreams is excellent, because they are at the end of the beach.  Beachgoers cannot walk further because of trees that block access.  So there is very little foot traffic or crowds of people walking by. Also because the hotel is so small, you are not having to beat the other guests to get access to the hotel beach chairs. For me it just added to my relaxed beach experience, and felt like I had my own private beach.

 





Our beach cabana was not directly on the beach (these were already booked). The room was very spacious with a nice size shower. There were no extra frills with the room (bring your hairdryer), but it was clean, comfortable and quiet.  To be honest with the beach just steps away how much time would we really be spending in our room?

Tony, Angela's husband and owner, is the chef of their onsite restaurant Barracuda Grill. Tony and Angela owned a restaurant in Alaska, where Tony was the chef and Angela the pastry chef.  They sold this and moved to Belize. Who wouldn't trade snow for sun?  You would think that Tony is a native. His use of spices and way of cooking tastedso local. Fresh fish that was caught that day and amazing smoked meats. We only dined out once for dinner during the stay, and this was because the Barracuda Grill was closed that day.  The restaurant we dined at was a French restaurant, was upscale for the area, but nothing compared to The Barracuda Grill.  Barracuda Grill seriously has some of the best food in the village, and every dish was amazing.  You have to save room for Angela’s dessert. These are amazing as well.

As for activities, there are plenty of stuff for every type of traveler, from explorer, thrill seeker, and those who just want to relax. (This last one is me). Angela and Tony provide you personal service and pretty much will plan any activity you want to do. If you are a planner like me, then you are just going you have to leave that trait back home. This is Belize. There is no schedule. You provide them with what activities you want to do when you check in. Based on weather, who is available to drive, who else wants to go where you want depends on when you go. We were fortunate enough go to the Mayan ruins (couple hour drive) and diving on the barrier reef with our own guide.  The cost of our activities is just added to the bill and honestly not overly expensive.  In a lot of other countries where you would have a personal guide you would be looking at spending well over $500. Not the case here.

Outside of Beaches and Dreams is Hopkins Village.  The village is small and does not offer a lot of activities and amenities, but definitely worth checking out. The village is about a 10 -15 minute walk from the hotel.  Just up the road from the hotel you can rent golf carts for around $25, and drive around for a couple of hours.  Be warned, if you drive through the village when the local kids are on their way to school then be prepared for all of them to jump on your cart and go for a ride.  Quite a fun time!  

When in the village if you are looking for a breakfast or lunch spot, I highly recommend you stop by Tina’s Kitchen in the village.  You might miss it, when you go by. The building is probably about 300 sq feet. As I began to learn in Belize do not judge anything by its cover.  A place may look like a runned down shack, but sometimes this is where you find your diamond in the rough. When you walk in you feel like you are literally walking into Tina’s actual kitchen.  The menu is up on the wall on the left, and Tina is cooking up some really good food on the right.  You tell her what you want, and then proceed out the back door to the tables outside. The local chickens will entertain you while you wait for your meal.  When you do receive your, you are provided with fresh local seafood this is where I had Barracuda for the first time, and very fresh produce. Lunch was so good we told Tina we would be back for breakfast before we left.  When we did return back for breakfast, Tina looked surprised, and said you came back!  I am glad we did.  I had the best veggie omelet.  The eggs and the veggies were some of the freshest I have ever had.  I just could not believe just how fresh tasting the meal was.  As we were sitting at the Tina’s, gave it an up and down glance, shook their head a bit of disgust, and road off.  Suckers..you do not know what you are missing.

So if you are looking for an affordable, relaxing, beautiful, amazing food, a destination full of culture and great people, I highly recommend you visit Hopkins Village and stay at Beaches and Dreams.  We recommended this to one of our friends for their honeymoon.  They loved it has much as we did.

A follow-up since we visited Beaches and Dreams have added few new “luxury” rooms and swimming pool.