Lamanai Outpost Lodge Reviews and Photos (Belize City, Belize)

Lazy days at Lamanai!

Nottingham, England

March 7, 2013

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Best of IgoUgo Lamanai Lodge was our penultimate stay on our Guatamalan-Belize adventure and we were collected at the airport and transferred, by road, to the river pier and then by boat to the lodge. The road transfer took about 45 minutes and then there was ...Read more Lamanai Lodge was our penultimate stay on our Guatamalan-Belize adventure and we were collected at the airport and transferred, by road, to the river pier and then by boat to the lodge. The road transfer took about 45 minutes and then there was another hour on the boat. The first part of this journey wasn’t particularly eventful as the landscape was generally flat and unspectacular, but the river journey was real good fun, with loads of birdlife grabbing our attention.

At the pier they were already waiting for us and our luggage mystically was removed from the boat and spirited into our rooms. As with our other stays, check in was pretty quick and no nonsense. Soon we were being led to our room, a spacious thatched log cabin. The path to the cabin was a little uneven and we later learned that it was pretty important to carry a torch (provided by the lodge) after sunset.

There were a couple of decent sized beds (firm but comfortable) plenty of open storage for cases and clothes and, unique for the places we’ve stayed in to date, a fridge. Two bottles of water were provided and we were advised that these could be re-filled in the dining area. If lost we’d need to buy new water. That sounds a bit petty but I guess it fits with the idea of sustainability. The bathroom was a little tight (well that’s polite) with little space to "swing the proverbial cat". It was manageable but if you’re "big-framed" it would be very tight. The water to the shower unit was erratic and although you might say "well you’re in the jungle" we hadn’t experience this in the two smaller lodges that we’d stayed in.

All the food is pre-paid for at Lamanai, so it was three meals a day with coffee freely available from 5.00 – 1700hrs. After 17.00 hrs there was a charge and I think that is unnecessarily greedy. In fairness my digestive system was really delicate (now that’s a good euphemism) by the time we reached Lamanai, but even so I don’t think the food was up to the quality of the two previous lodges that we’d stayed in. We were served food on chipped crockery and in my book there’s no necessity for that. I just got the impression that the management have got a bit lackadaisical and, lacking in competition in the area, have let things slip.

Each night the programme for the following day was posted on a screen at the end of the dining room. Here you could check out the menu for all the meals on the day, and see details about the trips that you’d booked for the day. Meals were set but it was possible to seek alternatives. However, they don’t advertised or indeed encourage this option.

On day one the hotel provides all guests with bottled water and you can use this bottle to get unlimited fill ups from the dining room. However, we were warned that if we lost the bottle we’d need to buy another from the bar. We were well equipped, because our tour company had provided us with a refillable bottle so, as this was a bit sturdier than that provided at Lamanai, we used this for refills. There wasn’t a problem with this.

As the cabins are close to each other noisy neighbours can be a problem and although we weren’t directly affected our friends were. They were next to a film crew who were recording a programme about ghost and mysticism. They were very noisy in the wee small hours when they returned from their night’s work at 3.00 in the morning. Playing music and having a loud discussion at that time in the morning is no joke and you can imagine our friends were not best pleased. They did mention it the next day to the staff at Lamanai but were not given any reassurances. Indeed the same thing happened the next evening.

Of course in the jungle there are likely to be the odd creature that finds its way in to your room. We had a small a gecko in our room and I made the mistake of mentioning it to my wife. She went very quiet as she scanned the wall for its whereabouts and then froze. Of course the little creature was more afraid of us and when I approached he scuttled up the wall into the safety of the thatched roof. My wife took defensive action and ensured that there was no bed linen hanging over the edge of the bed, before she finally settled down for the night.

Our friends experience was much more dramatic. Last thing at night, in the dimmed lighting of the room, my friend reached out for her hand-cream. The plastic bottle felt soft and furry and at the point of realisation that something was wrong she dropped the bottle only to see a bat fly off. In fairness we didn’t hear the screams! They contacted reception who responded rapidly and having found a point of entry through the eves they blocked it off.

Overall our Lamai experience was a successful one as the organised activity (see separate reviews) made it special. We can even forgive some of the sloppiness in the catering department.
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From journal A few days of activities

Up at crack of dawn

by MichaelJM

Nottingham, England

March 1, 2013

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Best of IgoUgo The jungle dawn walk was the last of our six excursions, but sadly one that I missed out on due to a rather unpleasant stomach bug. My wife went on her own and the following are her words and her first venture in to ghost-writng!The alarm went off ...Read more The jungle dawn walk was the last of our six excursions, but sadly one that I missed out on due to a rather unpleasant stomach bug. My wife went on her own and the following are her words and her first venture in to ghost-writng!

The alarm went off at 5-30am – it was pitch black and not a time I would normally be up and about; however by 6am, when we all (3 of us) met in the lobby it was light and a very pleasant temperature. Coffee and muffins were served before Levi, our guide for the morning, welcomed us.

Before leaving the lodge behind we were delighted to see a hummingbird sat calmly in a tree, great photo opportunity but I had my husband’s camera and either because I am not used to using it or because the bird blended too well in with the background I was unable to get a photograph.
We soon left the lodge behind as we walked along the road to Lamanai; the dawn chorus was in full throttle, the air crisp and clean.

There was plenty of activity in the jungle but the birds remained tantalisingly out of view, maybe a glimpse of a tail or the twitch of a branch to keep us ever hopeful.

Whilst continuing to make progress in the jungle our guide told us about Mayan culture and the Spanish invasion and how in this area the Mayan had managed to ‘run off’ the Spanish conquistadors.

We arrived at the old sugar mill to find that the jungle has started to take over with tree roots winding through and round the old wheel and cogs; all the bricks used to build the sugar mill were brought from Europe and the winding mechanism from New Orleans. It was to manage the sugar cane industry that many Chinese were brought in to the country – to undertake the labourious tasks linked with the busiess. Now of course the strong Chinese community in Belize is self employed and involved in restaurants and retail. There are very few Chinese people who aren’t self-employed or employed by fellow Chineese.

Moving away from the sugar mill and into a more dense area of jungle our guide stopped us in our tracks and after several minutes we were delighted to watch a white ringed cote in the undergrowth. He was well camouflaged and whilst calmly walking through the undergrowth he moved with incredible speed as he crossed the walkway,

Moving on to the Jaguar temple we entered the plaza and I was delighted to see a Toucan, albeit high in a tree in the distance, a little further to the right the largest kingfisher to be found in Belize and further round, nearer to the temple, two howler monkeys in profile. Whist these two howlers were quiet we could hear, in the background, the very distinctive growling of others.

Our time was up and while waiting for the boat to take us back to the lodge we were able to enjoy the golden cascade of orchids and the single black orchid.

Whilst on the jetty we watched the flycatchers and swallows dipping and bobbing near the lagoon and saw the king vultures resting in the trees – I’m sure they were still alert to any prey they may see!
This was an enjoyable, interesting and informative way to start the day and build an appetite for breakfast on our return.
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From journal A few days of activities

Mayan Ruins, Crocodile Encounters, Amazing Food - Lamanai Lodge's Great

by talljay510

Alameda County, California

July 8, 2010

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A must-visit destination for anyone who visits the gorgeous country of Belize. Not only can you enjoy some amazing, authentic local dishes, prepared in a gourmet fashion with full service - but you can also take advantage of over a dozen of on-site ...Read more

Lamanai Outpost Lodge

by eviet

Brooklyn, New York

October 21, 2006

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Best of IgoUgo Rain torrents beat down around us, dry under the open-air shelter. A goofy, bright-eyed stray dog circled, rib cage protruding through his skin. Outside, Lamanai guides Arturo and George paid no attention to our upstart game of charades, intent on ...Read more Rain torrents beat down around us, dry under the open-air shelter. A goofy, bright-eyed stray dog circled, rib cage protruding through his skin. Outside, Lamanai guides Arturo and George paid no attention to our upstart game of charades, intent on transferring suitcases from the bus to the speedboat as dry as possible. They strode through the afternoon downpour as though the rain would slide off them, even if their clothes, hair, and skin were soaked. Finally, Arturo conceded that we might have to make our final arrival at Lamanai Outpost Lodge by bus instead of boat. But there was another option: take the bus to a midway point and board the boat there. Hopefully, the rain would prove to be of the fast-moving topical variety—and it did.

After gliding over river channels, spotting Belizean bird life along the way, we arrived at a broad, open lagoon. Arturo asked if we could the top of the Jaguar Temple at the Lamanai site. No one could at first, but soon everyone was nodding their head. In an act of group submission, I followed, even though all I saw were endless rows of trees. I did see staff awaiting us on the hotel dock, and when we stepped onto the swaying wooden planks, they handed us cold towels and a short glass of punch. It’s the friendly Belizean way.

Pebbles crunched under our feet during our walk to the open-air dining area, topped by a bar and small dining area. Off to the side, you could browse their gift shop (hot sauce, anyone?) or instant-message friends on their sole computer, breaking conversation to swat a pesky mosquito. For lunch I chose a succulent beef dish with green peppers and onions. The usual rice and beans (and oddly, creamy potato salad) accompanied the meat chunks.

When leaving the restaurant at night, staff lights the path to your room with a flashlight, but under the radiant Central American sun, we just needed their guidance for now. Lamanai is a luxury eco-tourism resort that supports a sustainable environment, aka air-conditioning is not included. But even in the end days of the Belizean summer, the whirling fan above the beds ensured comfortable days and cool nights. Within the wooden bathroom of a tree-house motif, I indulged romanticized Robinson Crusoe images of surviving shipwrecked, albeit with plush towels, ProTerra bath products, and the shower-and-toilet modern conveniences. The pseudo-Mayan sculptures, mock machete wall hanging, and lamps shaped as kerosene lanterns extended my fantasies outside bathroom confines, while extra pillows, umbrellas, and a discrete mini fridge solidified my bearings in reality. Nature doesn’t always let one rest easy, though: before bed, Deborah shrieked from the next cabin—two tiny frogs had found their way into bed before her. Close

From journal South of the (Mexico) Border

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Up at crack of dawn

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