My husband, daughter and I rented Casa Morningstar for 10 days. We rented an SUV in Belize City and easily drove there, using it as a staging point for scuba diving with Hamanasi in Hopkins (30 min away), kayaking (on-site, with rental kayaks), horse backing riding (12 min away) and birding (on-site and throughout the 14000 acre development). The photos donât do the house justice - the grounds are extensive and lush with abundant wildlife and birds. The house is beautifully furnished with a gourmet kitchen and comfortable beds. This house is well-suited for families with a main house with one bedroom, a casita with two bedrooms, and a second casita with one bedroom and a kitchen. Although there is no pool on site, there is a club pool and beach within walking distance or a short drive away. There is a gas station with a well-stocked convenience store nearby. Security in Belize can be a concern: the house is situated in a gated development with professional and friendly security personnel. Maya Center with its Mayan cultural institutions is nearby, as is Cockscomb nature reserve. We bought groceries in Hopkins. See Michelle at Outback Trails for horseback riding. For restaurants we like Curve at the Hopkins marina over the Sittee River, Hamanasi with its organic, GF menu, various chicken and tamales places on the roadside and hope to get to Chef Robâs on a future trip. Joerdy was a great help, especially when we accidentally locked keys in car! Vero was also a terrific help.
Firstly, this house is sooo far out there and the road requires a 4x4. Thereâs only one way in/out, and it can flood over. The small bridge out was under 2â of water and we were stuck. Based on the sordid history of The Sanctuary (of which we were unaware before our visit) Iâd guess this land cursed. Our things would go missing and pop up in the strangest places.
One night making dinner, a mouse ran across into the living room. Fun.
The place has an unfinished outdoor kitchen lending to the abondoned feel of this area. Thereâs a beach club with a trash filled beach. We watched workers rake the trash back into the ocean. We went back to our house, got trash bags, and started piling trash into two bags. We couldâve done more, it was there.
There were cool âtentsâ by beach club but abandoned. No restaurant, no bar.
Be sure you have EVERYTHING you need BEFORE going out here. The drive out is so long, itâs 20 minutes of bumpy roads and thereâs no food for a bit after that.
We did see others staying in the development I guess. When I told them which house we were in, they said âoh I think thatâs Herscowitzâs houseâ. So I looked it up and this whole area is or was halted by the FTC and we may have been in a scam artists house. Heâs definitely an OG up in this debacle from what we read online.
This house was probably pretty when first built, albeit the electrical was poorly installed. Now itâs dated and honestly a bit spooky. Oh the upstairs bathroom has mirrors facing each other making an infinite space which weirded us out. The light above the one mirror was sagging, I bet someone covered it with a sheet. Demons.
Donât use door under house, mosquitoes swarm you.
Did love the stove.
Casita master bedroom in back, air didnât work. Other bedroom smelled musty. We just closed those off.
The pool was nice and close by, although it would be impossible to know that when you arrive. Thereâs no map of the place so we never knew where anything was we just drove around. And itâs like, the size of Manhattan.
Vero and Jerdy were excellent from booking to the final day of our stay. This is my second booking with Vero. She is an excellent travel assistant and remains in touch.
Joerdy, thanks for all the extra tips to make our stay fantastic!
Highly recommended