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THREE TOP JUNGLE LODGES IN BELIZE

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Chan Chich, Chaa Creek, Blancaneaux:

Which One is Right for You?

By LAN SLUDER

Copyright 1995, All Rights Reserved

At the best of Belize╒s jungle lodges, you can spend the
day with the ancient Mayans,  share the night with
jaguars, then awake to a full breakfast of tropical
fruits and fresh-made breads before a bracing swim in a
tropical river or lake.

You╒re in the real bush, far from the echoes of
civilization, not in a manufactured Disneyjungle.  Yet
the beds are thick and comfortable, and the beer is icy
cold.  The showers roar with plenty of hot water, and
you can drink from the tap, or enjoy a rum-and- tonic
with ice,  without fearing for your tummy.

Belize has many excellent lodges, among them duPlooy╒s,
Hidden Valley Inn, Ek╒ Tun, Banana Bank, Mountain
Equestrian Trails, Five Sisters, Pine Ridge Lodge, Windy
Hill,  and Maya Mountain in Cayo, Lamanai Outpost in
Orange Walk,  and Fallen Stones in Toledo. But few would
disagree with rating Chan Chich, Chaa Creek and
Blancaneaux at or near the very top among lodges in
Belize, and for that matter in all of Central America.

Each of the three offers a unique experience, but they
are all different, with different appeals.  Here╒s a
look at these three special places, with comparisons to
help you decide which is right for you.


CHAN CHICH LODGE

Chan Chich has been featured so many times in so many
publications around the world that management is almost
blasÄ  about press relations.  ╥Oh, I didn╒t even know
we were in The New York Times,╙  said Josie Harding, who
with her husband, Tom, manages Chan Chich, when told of
a major feature story in the Times╒ Travel section
earlier this year.   It seems almost unnecessary to
describe this famous lodge:  That it╒s owned by Belikin
beer magnate and Belize Coca-Cola distributor Barry
Bowen, a seventh- generation Belizean;  that it was
designed and built about seven years ago by Tom Harding,
on a Mayan ruin, a controversial siting that most in
Belize now dismiss as uncontroversial;  that it is in a
magnificent setting on the 125,000-acre Bowen Gallon Jug
farm, surrounded by lush jungle accessible through well-
maintained cut trails.

From the moment you arrive at Chan Chich, you realize
this is a first-class operation, with considerable money
and energy lavished on it, but all in good taste.   The
entrance road is paved to international standards.  The
grounds are beautiful,  with lush tropical plants and
trees, helped along with plenty of irrigation water when
needed.   The 12 thatched-roof cabaû as are strikingly
situated literally in the middle of a Mayan plaza.
These ruins are unrestored and, to the casual eye,
resemble large mounds of earth.     The cottages are
tasteful, with local woods, 19-foot high thatched roofs,
wrap-around decks with hammocks, two queen beds, 24-hour
AC-current electricity from a generator, plenty of cold
and hot water, potable water from the tap,  and cold
water from a Bowen & Bowen water cooler in each room.
The area is so free of security worries that the cabaû
as do not have locks or keys.

Chan Chich cottages have ceiling fans but not air
conditioning.  Barry Bowen is planning a new resort near
Chan Chich, which will have more luxuries, including air
conditioning.

Just outside your door you╒ll find a bird-watcher╒s .
Some 300 species of birds are said to be in the jungle
which surrounds the lodge.  Birders, either in groups or
independently, make up 30 to 40% of the guests.  A flock
of ocellated turkeys haunts the grounds.  Howler monkeys
and all kinds of other loud-mouthed wildlife hang out in
your back yard.  (A few people have a hard time sleeping
due to nocturnal creatures jabbering their heads off.)
Ocelots, Belize╒s two species of deer, peccaries, howler
and spider monkeys, many snakes including the fer-de-
lance, crocodiles,  and to a lesser degree jaguar and
puma are routinely seen here.   You can walk the miles
of jungle paths with a guide (recommended at least on
your initial walk), or use a booklet published by the
hotel (US$10) for self- guided trails.  The restaurant
is an attractive wood-paneled room,with gift shop
upstairs and the hotel office to one side, and a small
library to the other.   The bar is in a new thatched
building next to the restaurant;  it opened in December
1994.  Meals at Chan Chich are filling and well-
prepared, if not of gourmet standard.

Chan Chich is, very simply, for most visitors, the most
memorable lodge destination in mainland Belize.

Contact:  Chan Chich, P.O. Box 37, Belize City.  Tel.
501-2-75634;  fax [phone].  U.S. office:  P.O. Box
1088, Vineyard Haven, MA  02568;  tel. [phone] or
800-343-8009;  fax [phone].

Rates:   1995-96 high season (November-April):  $100
single, $115 double, $35 each additional person, plus 7%
tax.   Full-American plan meals:   Add $40 per person
adults, $30 children under 12.   All-inclusive plan is
$135 per person double, $190 for single.  There is no
service charge, but it is suggested guests leave a
gratuity at the office on check-out, which is shared
among all staff.  The all-inclusive rate includes soft
drinks, beer (but not hard booze) and most activities
including guides during the day.   Location:  In an
isolated area of Orange Walk District,  near a former
logging settlement called Gallon Jug,  south of the Rio
Bravo conservation area and only a few miles from the
Guatemala border.

How to get there:   Getting here by road takes a bit of
doing.  It╒s almost four hours from Belize City. After
Orange Walk, the road is mostly unpaved, in good
condition overall but with some rough spots, which get
rougher after a rain.   The sections in the Programme
for Belize lands and Gallon Jug lands are in good to
superb condition, by Belize standards.    (Going the
shorter route via back roads from Cayo is precluded for
the typical traveler by the fact that part of it is
through private lands, not open to the public.)  The
roads are a moot point for most ╤ 90% of visitors here
come by air.  There╒s a landing strip about 3 miles away
on the Gallon Jug farm.   Javier Flying Service offers
round-trips from Belize City╒s Municipal Airport on
Monday, Wednesday and Friday at US$98 per person.  Cost
is higher on charter flights from the international
airport.


BLANCANEAUX

This, of course,  is Francis Ford Coppola╒s resort.  In
the early 1980s, the renowned film director,  mastermind
of the Godfather movies and creator of the only film
about Vietnam which adequately conveys a sense of that
absurd U.S. war,  bought what was then a hunting lodge.
Later he began developing it as a resort, and it opened
to generally excellent world reviews in late 1993.
Coppola visits Belize frequently ╤  he was at
Blancaneaux four times during the first six months of
1995, Blancaneaux staff said.  The resort is a
combination of rustic and hip:  It has five two-bedroom
luxury villas (the newer ones feature art from Coppola╒s
private collection, and all are beautifully designed and
decorated, if very pricey by Central American
standards), seven thatched-roof cabaû as with screened
sitting areas with views down the hillside, and, for the
time being at least,  three small rooms in the lodge.
The grounds are beautifully maintained, with a view of
the Privassion River, which offers excellent swimming in
a dammed-up area.  The piney woods setting, however,
may remind guests more of North Georgia than of Central
America, but the presence of orchids and exotic flowers
will soon dispel that notion.  In the main lodge, the
restaurant features pizza from a wood-fired oven and
glorious pasta dishes, along with fresh veggies from the
lodge╒s gardens.  The bar serves cold drinks and wines
from Coppola╒s vineyards in a convivial atmosphere.  The
massive bar countertop of slate is the work of the
talented Garcia sisters, whose workshop and
museum/gallery are in nearby San Antonio village.
Managers Anne and Colin Wood are originally from
Scotland but have lived and worked in the hospitality
industry in several parts of the world.  Their kitchen
is one of the best in Belize, although some find it odd
to have an upmarket Italian restaurant in the middle of
rice-and-beans country.  Coppola clearly has spent a lot
of money on the resort, much of it on infrastructure.
He  installed a hydro-electric plant to generate power
from the river.  Earlier this year due to low river
levels it could only generate power for three to four
hours a day, after which the resort went to back-up
diesel generators.  Also, he installed a commercial-
grade water purification plant for river water, and a
satellite telephone system (though the rooms do not have
telephones).

Service is more than competent and very friendly, from a
multilingual staff, including Ramon Vargas  (a native of
the Cayo District who studied in the U.S. and danced
professionally in Belize and Cuba), Francis Rodriquez,
(a Garifuna from P.G. who speaks five languages), Albert
Valentine, John Chuc,  Bernardo Matute,  and others.

Contact:  Blancaneaux Lodge, Mountain Pine Ridge,
Central Farm Post Office Box B, Cayo District, Belize.
Tel.  [phone];  fax [phone].

Rates:   1995-96 high-season :  cabaû as US$110 single,
US$145 double, villas US$275 double, plus 7% tax and 10%
service.  Add US$40 per person for lunch and dinner
package.  A continental breakfast is included in the
basic rate, but the restaurant staff subtly pushes
extra-priced a la carte breakfasts.    Packages
including air service from Belize City are available.
Dinner restaurant meals a la carte run about US$15 to
$30, not including drinks.   5% surcharge on credit
cards, an unfortunate practice. Location:  In the
Mountain Pine Ridge of western Belize,  just off the
road to Caracol, within the Pine Ridge Reserve.    How
to get there:  It takes about 2 1/2 hours to drive from
Belize City.  You pass a check point as you enter the
Reserve. A private airstrip is near the resort.
Blancaneaux has purchased a 9-passenger aircraft and
will have a private pilot in residence to bring in
guests on group packages.  Charter service is also
available from Belize City.

What to do nearby:  By all means, see Caracol.  Visit
the Rio Frio Caves.  Discover a waterfall or two.  Drive
back to San Ignacio to visit Xunantunich and Cahal Pech,
or for nightlife and a change of dining pace.


CHAA CREEK COTTAGES

Despite worthy and growing competition, Chaa Creek,
which first opened its doors in 1981,  remains the
premier cottage colony around San Ignacio.

Owners Mick and Lucy Fleming, like the Hardings at Chan
Chich, are widely known and well-respected through the
hospitality industry in Belize and the region.  They
appear to have the art of running a jungle lodge down to
a science.  One suspects, for example, that the reason
why Chaa Creek still uses kerosene and paraffin lamps to
light the thatched cabaû as owes more to an
understanding of what customers want than the
practicalities of electrical generators.

Chaa Creek╒s luxe-Maya cottages have baths en suite (as
elsewhere at Belize lodges hot water is provided by
propane insta-heaters), lovely Guatemalan bed covers and
attractive furnishings.  There are no phones ╤ hooray!
Most of the rooms are in duplexes, not as private as the
single-unit cabaû as at Chan Chich or Blancaneaux.

Despite the well-kept grounds, at Chaa Creek you╒re not
in Kansas anymore.  You may find a bat flying around
your room, or in the morning discover a huge insect in
the shoe you left out.

The lodge is on 330 acres in the rolling limestone
foothills near the Macal River, with good swimming.
The setting is picturesque, overlooking the rolling
hills of Belize and Guatemala beyond.  Immediately
adjacent to Chaa Creek is the Panti Medicine Trail, well
worth visiting.  Canoeing, mountain biking, horseback
riding and hiking are also available at Chaa Creek.

Earlier this year, Chaa Creek opened its new Natural
History Centre and Blue Morpho Butterfly Breeding
Centre.  At present, neither quite lives up to its
public relations, and it seems a bit cheeky to charge
US$3 to visit the two small sites.   The butterfly farm,
in particular, is nothing more than a small screened
shed.   If you╒ve seen butterfly farms elsewhere in
Belize or Costa Rica, this may be a disappointment.
Still, the potential is there.  It╒s a good idea, and
one that likely will grow and mature.

There is a small gift shop on site with a decent
selection of Guatemalan goods.

Chaa Creek╒s bar is first rate, a fine place to gather
after a day of touring or river rafting.  (Keep a
flashlight handy, though, for the after-dark stumble
back to your casita.)  The restaurant serves more-or-
less typical lodge fare, plentiful and tasty but in most
cases not memorable.  Breakfast, with fresh Guatemalan
coffee, freshly baked breads and fresh fruits and jam,
is always excellent.

Chaa Creek recently has changed the access to the lodge.
Now you have to stop and park some distance before you
get to the main lodge area.  Someone will come for your
bags.

Chaa Creek does a booming and highly professional
business in tours of the Cayo and Tikal, through its
Chaa Creek Inland Expeditions division. It also attracts
a considerable number of package and tour groups from
the U.S., Canada and Europe. Contact:  Chaa Creek, San
Ignacio, Cayo, Belize.  Tel. [phone];  fax 501-9-
22501

Rates:   US$95 single, US$115 double;  breakfast US$8,
packed lunch US$7 (lunch at the hotel also now
available), dinner US$22.  Plus 7% tax and service
charge of US$5 per person per day.  All-inclusive rate
(cottages, meals, activities only), $125 per person per
day, 3-day minimum.  Package and charter rates
available.  There  is a 5% surcharge on credit cards,
unfortunately.

Location:   West of San Ignacio, about three miles off
the good Western Highway.

How to get there:  It╒s about a 2 to 2 1/2-hour  drive
from Belize City, all but the last three miles on a very
good road.  You can also fly into San Ignacio.

What to do nearby:   Xunantunich and Cahal Pech, and a
couple of newly discovered Maya sites,  are nearby.
Caracol is about 3 1/2  hours away.   Visit the Rio Frio
Caves.  Go canoeing or waterfalling.  San Ignacio and
Santa Elena are pleasant towns, quiet except when the
beer flows.

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How the Three Lodges Stack Up

All three lodges are highly rated, but they do differ in
the emphasis they put on different aspects of the lodge
experience.  Here are admittedly subjective ratings
based on recent visits to all lodges by BELIZE FIRST
staff and also by readers who turned in reports.

Natural Setting

Blancaneaux      B+
Chaa Creek        B+
Chan Chich     A

Price/Value

Blancaneaux      B
Chaa Creek       B+
Chan Chich     A-

Bird Watching/Animal Spotting

Blancaneaux    B
Chaa Creek        B
Chan Chich     A+

Accommodations

Blancaneaux      B+  (villas A)
Chaa Creek        B+
Chan Chich     A-

Dining

Blancaneaux      A
Chaa Creek        B
Chan Chich     B

Bar

Blancaneaux    A
Chaa Creek      A
Chan Chich      A

Service and Friendliness

Blancaneaux      A
Chaa Creek        B+
Chan Chich     B+

Library:  Selection of Regional Books and Magazines

Blancaneaux      C
Chaa Creek        C
Chan Chich     B+

On-Site Activities

Blancaneaux      B
Chaa Creek        A-
Chan Chich     A-

Nearby Activities/Sights

Blancaneaux      B+
Chaa Creek       A
Chan Chich     B-

Accessibility by Car

Blancaneaux      C
Chaa Creek      B-
Chan Chich      C-

Accessibility by Air

Blancaneaux    B+
Chaa Creek        C+
Chan Chich    B+


///Lan Sluder's travel articles have appeared in The New
York Times, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, Caribbean
Travel and Life, Newsday and many other publications.


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This article excerpted from the Vol. III, No. 1 issue of
BELIZE FIRST MAGAZINE.  BELIZE FIRST is published
quarterly in Asheville, North Carolina,  by Equator
Travel Publications, Inc., 280 Beaverdam Road, Candler,
NC  28715  USA.  Fax [phone].  E-mail:  Internet,
[e-mail] or [e-mail];
CompuServe, 74763,2254;  America On-Line, LSluder374;
Prodigy, VFJC51A.  Mail subscription rates US$29 or
BZ$58 a year in North America and Belize, US$45 a year
in other countries. The mail edition is complete with
maps, photos, art and other information not contained in
the on-line text editions.  (Paper edition printed on
recycled paper.)



                     -30-


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