The Lodge at ChaaCreek

I have travelled all over the world and stayed in many hotels. The hospitality and kindness shone through. Of course the lodge is beautiful and the rooms have all you need but the staff and owners make this place special. The food is delicious. Being vegetarian, dinners were made especially for us. The lunch/pool menus have plenty of choice and there wasn't a meal I didn't enjoy. Complimentary activities on site including upstream canoeing along the river, the butterfly sanctuary and early morning bird watching was easily accessible and very enjoyable. The lodge is set in beautifully maintained gardens emersed in nature.

We stayed for 4 nights 3 full days at chaa creek before moving onto the cayes. Grounds were truly beautiful as was our room. Food was fantastic and everyone there were so lovely and nice w amazing smiles :-). Our room had only screens so every morning we woke up to the birds. There are quite a few activities which I wish we had taken better advantage of. We did do the early morning bird watch and the night creature walk both of which were super fun. I didn’t feel this lodging was super convenient to local restaurants in town which we were fine with. We busied ourselves all 3 days w a couple tours and going into San Ignacio but found ourselves tired/ lacking motivation to go back into town to dine though I had heard of some good restaurants there. It is about 10 miles from town and a $30 ride using their transportation, $15 using a street taxi from San Ignacio. Renting a car would have made it all easier but we didn’t go that route. We did most of our eating at the lodge which was very good. The dining menu changed every night and the breakfasts were delicious as well. Really an enjoyable experience.!

In many categories of our 18 trips to different warm weather vacations they were near the top. Food, service, facilities were great. Our first night there instead of a chocolate left on our pillow there was a pupae in a box. The next morning we a had a butterfly that we released into the wild.

Chaa Creek truly deserves all the five star reviews here - so I will add my voice to all the praise! My husband and I splurged for the Ix Chel villa for the first three nights, and since I booked last minute we had to switch to a different room the last night. It was all done seamlessly. The Ix Chel villa with the private plunge pool might have been the most luxurious accommodations we have ever stayed in (we have traveled a lot) It was stunning, with floor to ceiling windows facing the rainforest, huge outdoor area with dining table, comfy loungers, plunge pool and the sounds of the river floating up from below. We spent more time than we planned at the villa, because it was so inviting in every way. When you book the Ix Chel villa, you "also enjoy the unobtrusive yet attentive service of a personal butler..." We've not encountered that level of service before, we weren't sure what to expect, but then there was Candy! Oh what a lovely person - she really made our stay at Chaa Creek extra special. She set up romantic dinners for us, greeted us at breakfast each morning, brought us lunch to our villa, arranged tours, helped me procure some things I forgot to bring from home, really whatever we needed. She was so gracious and kind and we really enjoyed her company as well - thank you Candy!! On our last day there we did the day trip to Tikal - incredible and an absolute must in my opinion - when we returned Candy had arranged for all our bags to be moved into our new room so we didn't worry about a thing. Although not as large, the Macal Riverview Suite was beautiful as well, and we did not have a problem sleeping with the multiple fans in the room (Ix Chel does have AC) The grounds at Chaa Creek are beautiful and lovingly maintained, The entire staff is friendly and helpful, we enjoyed the constant sounds and sights of tropical birds, the butterfly house, and amazingly we did not have any issues with biting insects. And the food - Outstanding!! Some of the best food we have encountered while traveling (and we are from NYC and DC to boot!) I really don't have a single negative thing to say about Chaa Creek- just highly recommend!

We had 3 nights at the Lodge at Chaa Creek. This is located a 15-20 minute drive outside the nearest town. It is a comfortable resort type development. The bedrooms were enormous with very comfortable beds and effective air conditioning. Would have liked a door on the toilet area to give more privacy. The restaurant has an expensive and rather fancy set meal in the evening but if you ask they allow you to order off the lunch menu which is varied and more reasonably priced. The hotel organises a number of activities (most of them at an additional charge). We also enjoyed a visit to the local town. The botanical gardens which are a couple of miles away, were great and you can have a guide at a low cost. The staff and service was all very nice.

Had a lovely day. We had two different rooms: a Jacuzzi room and a renovated room. The renovated room was spacious and air-conditioned, but the Jacuzzi room essentially has no walls. All the walls are screens. There is no air conditioning. And you are in the middle of the jungle. So it will be quite warm and humid at night. Any wet clothing will not dry. Only one of the four nights was too hot, but be warned if you choose an unrenovated room especially at the height of the season when temperatures are even hotter. The food here is excellent. They even had gluten-free options, Which made my stay a lot easier. The staff is kind and helpful and friendly. The location is fantastic for doing excursions to the ATM cave, zip lining, and cave tubing. And exploring Mayan ruins.