Trip Advisor Bestows Chabil Mar with 4 Traveler’s Choice Awards for 2014

Posted on January 27, 2014

Chabil Mar, the only guest exclusive hotel in Placencia, has been bestowed with four prestigious awards for 2014 by Trip Advisor, the largest travel site in the world.

“Last week, Trip Advisor bestowed accolades to ten Hotels and Resorts from all over the country of Belize who are considered a romantic getaway for honeymooners and travelers alike” said Natalie Ranguy, Guest Services Manager at Chabil Mar. The Belizean hotels and resorts were chosen from the following destinations: Hopkins, Dangriga, Caye Caulker, San Pedro, San Ignacio, Belmopan and Placencia.

Chabil Mar and Hatchet Caye were the only two romantic hotels from Placencia that made it on the list for Top Romantic Hotels for both Belize and Central America.

Chabil Mar also won the top Small Hotel in Belize and Central America Awards, along with 9 other Belizean resorts and hotels from the
following destinations: Hopkins, Dangriga, Turneffe, San Pedro, Belmopan and Placencia. It was interesting to see that ten Belize Resorts made it on the list. In fact, Belize was the only Central American country that had the most hotels on that award category.

“Romantic, laid back, and simply wonderful!!!”,“Amazing hotel in a beautiful setting!” state the last two Trip Advisor reviewers.

Costa Rica had 9 hotels, Honduras 3, Nicaragua 1, Panama 1 and Guatemala 1.

El Salvador didn’t have any hotel in the list.

“Having ten Belize resorts and hotels in the top 25 Central American list indicates that Belize, Mother Nature’s Best Kept Secret is no longer a secret” said Larry France, Marketing Manager of Chabil Mar.

About Chabil Mar:

Privacy, luxury accommodations, guest-centric award winning service, access to all of Belize’s adventures, and our premier location, result in a one-of-a-kind “Barefoot Luxury” Resort adventure vacation.

If you are interested in vacationing in Belize, please check out our website chabilmarvillas.com or email us at reservations@chabilmarvillas.com.

5 Reasons to Visit Belize Now

Posted on December 30, 2013

Fodor’s – the largest publisher of English Language travel and tourism information in the world published last week on their website 5 top reasons why travelers should visit Belize. The article was written by Fodor’s Guest Blogger Brian Major who insists to travel to Belize as soon as possible before the crowds arrive.

Beach bumming is one of the top five reasons to visit Belize!

“Just off of Belize’s Caribbean coast is an archipelago of sunny islands (known as cayes), featuring myriad natural wonders and a series of charming beach towns, all easily reached via the well-run local carrier, Tropic Air. Placencia (in southern Belize) has few docks or developments, allowing for miles of uninterrupted beach, and just a few cozy boutique hotels,” writes Brian.

For the adventure seekers, the Fodor’s Guest Blogger recommends cave exploration and river tubing at Caves Branch in Cayo where they can rappel into caverns and float along an underground river on inner tubes.

He also urges adventure travelers to check out Shipstern Wildlife Reserve in Corozal, Antelope Falls in Mayflower Bacawina National Park and Cerros Caye in Corozal Bay for panoramic views of the Caribbean.

And yes diving is one of the reasons to visit Belize!

We all know that Belize has the second largest barrier reef on the planet and offers world class diving.

“The Hol Chan Marine Reserve off San Pedro features more than 160 species of fish and nearly 40 types of coral, plus nurse sharks and stingrays. Try the South Water Caye Marine Reserve, accessible from Dangriga, or hit up the Splash Dive Center in Placencia, for whale shark diving excursions near Gladden Spit, plus day and overnight trips to the Great Blue Hole submarine sinkhole, ranked among the world’s 10 best dive sites by Jacques Cousteau” writes Brian.

To read the other two reasons, please click here http://www.fodors.com/news/5-reasons-to-visit-belize-now-7369.html

To learn more about Belize adventure vacations from Placencia and Chabil Mar – Contact Us – Click Here
OR – Call Toll Free US/CAN: 1-866-417-2377 – Local: 011-501-523-3606

Where is Placencia, Belize?

Posted on December 17, 2013

What’s it like in Placencia? Where is the Peninsula? Where is the Village located?

Living in Placencia, Belize: Paradise Found

FROM SUZAN HASKINS AND DAN PRESCHER and International living – Excerpts

Just where is Placencia? It’s about a three-and-a-half hour drive south of Belize City. Placencia town lies at the tip of a 16-mile long narrow strip of land known as the Placencia Peninsula. The peninsula, only a half-mile wide at its widest point, offers Caribbean beachfront to the east and a protected lagoon on the western side where manatees are often seen. Everything here is close to the water, and all along the paradisiacal peninsula on either side you’ll find restaurants, hotels and small resorts, individual homes, and all those new residential communities. Here are some fast facts about the Placencia Peninsula. There are basically three villages on the peninsula: tiny Maya Beach (more an “area” than a town), the Garifuna settlement of Seine Bight, and Placencia town. Only a few thousand people live on the peninsula, centered around these three small villages, the largest of which is Placencia town with about 1,000 residents.

On a fun note, that road we talked about earlier… it dead ends at the southern tip of the peninsula in Placencia town, which itself offers another north/south transportation artery — the Placencia Sidewalk. It’s 4,071 feet long and 4 feet wide, and according to the Guinness Book of World Records, it’s the narrowest main street in the world. Read the entire article here!

Belize Featured on the Huffington Post

Posted on December 12, 2013

Travel writer Shanon Kaiser has written an article entitled “ Five Common Myths About Belize Busted” for the Huffington Post, the popular American online news aggregator and blog. In the article she describes Belize as a diverse culture with a deep Caribbean influence and debunks 5 myths about Belize. “It wasn’t long ago that no one knew of Belize. No one knew that the best diving in the world was here, and no one knew how easy and affordable it was to get to, and to stay in. No one knew how nice the locals were, and no one knew they all spoke English. Shatter all your beliefs as we dive deeper in the topic of Belize by debunking five myths about Belize,” she writes.

You can read the full article here: “Five Common Myths About Belize Busted“.

Belize Family Vacation Gets Educational

Posted on June 4, 2013

A Belize Family Vacation – Adventure and Education

There’s more to Belize than fun and sun.

Just ask the Heyer family from Chicago, Ill. Certainly they were looking for warm weather, even a beach, but what they discovered was an amazing array of adventure and learning opportunities. “Our kids, Zack and Abby are 9 and 12, and we decided that rather than another beach trip where we just relaxed around a pool and on the sand, we’d find something more adventurous,” says mom JoAnne and dad Chris. They wanted to experience another culture and a different geographic area. They opted for Central America.

“We looked at Costa Rica, but ultimately decided on Belize. We wanted jungle and beach and the two resorts that looked best to us on the internet were Chabil Mar on the Caribbean and The Lodge at Chaa Creek in the rainforest,” she said.

The Heyers not only had luxurious quarters at Chabil Mar, the resort situated amidst abundant gardens on the Caribbean, but is conveniently located near Placencia Village and the offshore islands for fantastic snorkeling, as well.

”We saw so much in the water,” she said. “We were up close and personal with octopus, eel, stingrays, sea turtles and all sorts of colorful fish in this little gem of a country that’s renowned for diving and snorkeling.” In addition to discovering a whole new world under water, they learned about the land and its people on this narrow peninsula framed by the mint green waters of the Caribbean. They enjoyed meeting and learning about the Garifuna culture in the Placencia area of Belize. “In addition to being such great fun, we all had educational experiences here, over and above just another beach trip,” she said.

And that was just the beginning of their family adventure.

From the charming little Village of Placencia, perched at water’s edge and filled with fishermen, colorful shops and eateries, they headed inland, via Chaa Creek transport, to Belize’s Cayo District. The journey by road took them through scenic lush mountainous terrain. On the western side of the country, Cayo is the largest district and nudges up against the Guatemala border.

Embedded in towering trees filled with birds and howler monkeys, the Lodge at Chaa Creek sprawls alongside a gentle flowing river. Thatch roof cottages dot the landscape. Their son had just completed a project in school on the rainforest, so this was study come to life. In addition to experiencing the rainforest firsthand, they explored incredible mystical Mayan ruins and thanks to experienced guides, learned about the centuries old Mayan civilization.

“Originally, this trip was about fun and adventure but the educational aspects were a fantastic bonus,” she said. The Heyers said the family loved both resorts as well as the luxury of having experienced and knowledgeable drivers provide transportation to each of the two resorts, Chabil Mar and The Lodge at Chaa Creek, which even made the transportation portions of the trip very educational.

They say they had the best of both worlds—-jungle and sea— all in one magical Belize family vacation. Contact Us to create your Belize Adventure Family Vacation.