6/10 Okay
Colton H.
16 Jan 2018
Gets the job done
Carol's cabanas gets the job done for a group stay in Belize. A few pros and cons below to help you decide if this property is for you.
Pros
-Right in the heart of Placencia. Walking distance to everything (beaches, bars, restaurants, tour agencies, pickup locations for scuba companies)
-Live like a local. These cabanas are nestled into a property right alongside local homes helping you feel like a local.
-Cook stoves all worked nicely for preparing daily meals.
-Management arranged taxi rides to and from the airport for us (about a 10 minute drive, $15USD) which made getting here convenient.
-Our local management contact was always available via WhatsApp and that was helpful for arranging taxis and for when our codes didn't open the key lockboxes.
Cons
-No hot water. We contacted management about this a few times but it never got resolved. So cold showers for our week in Belize. The weather there makes cold showers somewhat bearable but it's not ideal after a cold day of scuba diving.
-Beds are not super comfortable (very old mattresses) and only come with a top sheet (no blankets) so we had to throw in an extra layer in the evenings to sleep comfortably.
-Noisy. You stay right on the main street so we'd get woken up multiple times each night (and I'm a heavy sleeper). We had a late arrival to our group bring down earplugs and everyone slept much better.
-A few bugs. Not a huge problem but the cabanas aren't well sealed. We did have a lot of ants and cockroach in one cabana. Maybe just par for the course in Belize.
Summary
We were happy with our stay in Carol's Cabanas. I'd expect at least hot water and a blanket or two for a better rating. If you're up for a little bit rougher living and want to be in the heart of Placencia, Carol's Cabanas would be a good fit. If you're looking for something a little more refined, this might not be your jam. We're an outdoorsy family so this felt like glamorous camping and we had a good time, though we would have enjoyed hot showers for sure. A decent stay!
Colton H.
Stayed 7 nights in Dec 2017