The place can be fully rented, measuring seven acres. The island sports 3 different types of accommodations, while the temporary and his guests are fully tended to. They can either reside within Casa Catalina, Villa Alba or Casa Valentina, all three of them being decked with antique European and Asian furnishing, along with local traditional art decór.

Hungry ones permanently have a chef ready to fill their tummies, with no real importance if they dine in their rooms, under palm trees or on the beach. Catamarans are also fit to host diners, while cruising up local tropical rivers. Besides eating, everyone can also enjoy a decent number of activities. Among these, the ones really worth mentioning are kayaking, jet-skiing, diving or fishing on the coral reef, beach sports or snorkeling. If you prefer the security of the land, hiking, exploring the local Maya ruins or river tubing will definitely fit you perfectly.

The purpose for which you would rent this island isn’t of great importance, simply because it can fit everything – be them helicopter tours, weddings, corporate outings, yachting, romantic picnics or simple vacations. The best thing of the renting process is charity – Christie’s Green Auction: A Bid to Save the Earth.

All proceeds earned from the island’s bidding, through Christie’s, will get to the aforementioned purpose. Charitybuzz undertakes the whole process.

Opening Winter 2012-13, The Placencia Marina will ultimately consist of up to 293 slips, accommodating boats from 30 feet to over 260 feet in length.  Phase 1 of the 27-acre super-yacht marina will include 117 wetslips from 40 feet to 220 feet.  Planned marina facilities include a refuelling station, water, sewage, crew-only recreation center and management services. Marina Village at The Placencia will include a VIP Casino, multiple restaurants, retail shops, world-class spa and boutique hotel.

“Development is progressing and we anticipate a timely launch in first quarter 2013,” said Brent Borland, Principal, The Placencia. “Our team is dedicated to creating a world-class marina offering an experience unlike any other in the Caribbean. We’re confident our commitment to deliver the highest level of customer service at our 90-key luxury beachfront The Placencia Hotel, our superior location, and broad set of amenities included in our Sporting Club Membership, combined with the forthcoming opening of the Placencia International Airport, puts The Placencia is a class of its own.”

The Placencia is pleased to announce that the Supreme Court of Belize dismissed the frivolous claims against The Placencia Marina made by the Peninsula Citizens for Sustainable Development’s self proclaimed environmentalist leader Mary Toy. All claims and challenges were soundly rejected by the Judge as totally baseless and Peninsula Citizens for Sustainable Development and Toy were ordered to pay all legal fees and costs.

“It was clear to all parties involved that Peninsula Citizens for Sustainable Development and Toy’s claims were designed to stop development merely for the sake of stopping development and for her own personal motives,” said Marco Caruso, Principal, The Placencia. “We’re optimistic that a significant infrastructure development for the country of Belize such as The Placencia Marina has a clear path to success. This ruling is validation that collaboration between the private and public sectors will not be deterred by baseless, selfishly motivated claims of a select few.”

About The Placencia

The Placencia is a master-planned environment fronting over 4,000 acres of Caribbean coastline, five miles of lagoon shores and the ultimate in Belize Real Estate. The development includes the privately owned Placencia International Airport & FBO, world-class The Placencia Marina, Panther Golf Club & Residences with its 18-Hole Championship Course featuring the premier property in Belize, exquisite Belize condo towers at Copal Beach Resort and the ultra-exclusive 15-acre Rendezvous Island featuring oceanfront private island homes in Belize. Real Estate in Belize is booming and The Placencia offers the largest and most diverse offering of pre-construction and turnkey furnished real estate opportunities in Belize.

SOURCE The Placencia Group

The Lodge at Chaa Creek, Belize’s foremost eco resort and, with over 135 staff members, one of the country’s largest private employers, honoured two of its team members for 20 service this week.

Owners and general managers Mick and Lucy Fleming reflected on Chaa Creek’s 30 year journey from small family farm to world recognised model for eco-tourism, and, in acknowledging Rupert Harris and Dionicio Tun’s long commitment, stressed that this success was as much the employees’ as their own.

“Chaa Creek is a bit different to other large resorts in that we’ve always had a very strong family focus. As Chaa Creek grew, so did our family, as I think our long term staff members will agree. We experience all the joys, frustrations, responsibilities and feelings of loyalty that any large family does, and Mick and I wouldn’t have it any other way. And guess what? It works, and it works very well” Ms Fleming said.

The Lodge at Chaa Creek recently celebrated its 30 years anniversary as Belize’s first genuine eco resort, growing from a staff of one to 135 maintaining a 365 acre private nature reserve with miles of trails linking 70 Maya archaeological sites including the ancient Maya temple of Tunichilen, Belize’s Natural History Centre, restaurant, lounge, pool, Butterfly Farm, Hilltop Nature Spa, conference centre, stables, canoe fleet and other amenities. It continues to garner international recognition and awards from peers and travel industry professionals such as Conde Nast, the BBC, Lonely Planet, Trip Advisor and others.

Mick Fleming stressed that Chaa Creek’s success has always depended on the commitment of their staff members, many of whom grew up in small villages near Chaa Creek as it developed over the years.

“You often hear businesses praising their staff, but in our case the appreciation goes very, very deeply as we literally grew up along with our employees and their families. In the early days especially when there was hardly any infrastructure or financial resources, we accomplished some extraordinary things through sheer determination, cooperation and a commitment towards each other and Chaa Creek.”

Chaa Creek has a strong emphasis on staff development, and under the Chaa Creek Cares program, overseas training and other opportunities are subsidized by the resort. As a result, many former employees have gone onto starting their own business or taking on managerial positions in Belize’s tourism industry. And as the awards show, many choose to stay on, with five employees having received 20 year awards and over 30 reaching the 10 year mark, a record unmatched by any Belizean resort.

The Flemings said that they hope to show by example that investments in staff, just like investments in sustainable tourism and community development programs, may not be immediately apparent but pay dividends in the long term. Both Messrs Harris and Tun echoed this sentiment and praised the training and sense of belonging they receive as being part of Chaa Creek.

“I feel so honored to be working at one of Belize’s top resorts and 20 years later, it feels like I have just started working here. Mr Mick and Ms Lucy Fleming are great people and I thank them for the opportunity to work with them”, Mr Harris said.

BELIZE CITY — Belize’s founding father and first prime minister, George Price, died early Monday, just short of three decades since he led the small Central American nation to independence. He was 92.

Price died at the Belize Healthcare Partners Hospital in Belize City, said a grand nephew, Henry Charles Usher. He was hospitalized Wednesday after a fall at his Belize City home and put in a medically induced coma following surgery to remove a blood clot.

Belize just celebrated it’s 30th anniversary of Independence on Wednesday, September 21, 2011, the death of the Right Honorable George Cadle Price, 92, two days after this milestone achievement – Belize’s Independence. -

Price was Belize’s first leader when it became independent from Britain on Sept. 21, 1981. As head of the centrist People’s United Party, he served two terms as prime minister, in 1981-84 and 1989-1993, and is considered the father of the Caribbean country of about 300,000 people that borders Mexico and Guatemala.

Belize is on the Central American mainland but maintains closer cultural ties with other English-speaking former British colonies in the Caribbean than with its Spanish-speaking neighbors.

In a message broadcast to the nation, the current prime minister called Price “a giant of a man, the greatest architect of Belizean nationalism and Belizean sovereignty.”

PUP Leader Johnny Briceño told the media, during a press briefing held at the PUP headquarters on Queen Street, that he would surely miss the man he said was his mentor.

“We are very grateful for what Mr. Price has done for us as a nation, for all the Belizean people, the fight from the colonial masters to self-government to Independence, where he forged a new country in the Caribbean and Central America, a country that is known as Belize, and where we Belizeans have an identity as Belizeans.

Caribbean Life magazine readers vote Belize as the Caribbean’s best diving and snorkeling and says “The Caribbean’s Technicolor depths are one of its biggest draws, and no place does coral like Belize. The tiny Central American nation has prime proximity to the magnificent Mesoamerican Reef, which stretches nearly 700 miles from Mexico to northern Honduras. Grab a mask and fins and dive in”.

Belize was also a favorite pick by Luxury Living International magazine as Best of Paradise when it comes to the Reef and the overall adventure expierence. Luxury Living International also named Roberts Grove as the best resort in Belize to stay and enjoy the treasures of Belize.

I guess “Mother Natures Best Kept Secret” is getting out there!

BELIZE CITY, Belize — The Philip Goldson International Airport (PGIA), Belize’s primary port of entry, will now be dishing out regular doses of unique musical renditions to vacationers, as sister agencies within Belize’s Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation and Culture — the Belize Tourism Board (BTB) and the National Institute of Culture and History (NICH), on July 20, 2011, launched the long-awaited Belizean Beats program.

Being a country that proudly boasts over ten diverse ethnic groups, the Belizean Beats program is specifically designed to introduce travelers to Belizean culture from the very onset of their time in the country. It promises to set the tempo for their entire trip as they are immediately and melodiously baptized into the very essence of the Belizean experience.

“As soon as the tourist arrives in Belize we give them a sense of what we have to offer as a vibrant tourism destination filled with culture and history.” said Seleni Matus, BTB’s director of tourism.

“Today we cut the proverbial ribbon on an exciting new initiative that does so much more than just entertain; it serves as an immediate gateway to the heart of Belizean culture.” Dalhouse explained.

Defining music as the universal language, the BTB says it’s confident that this program will transliterate the nation’s heartfelt welcome into an idiom that everyone could comprehend and appreciate despite the linguistic barriers.

Performing at the PGIA on Wednesdays and Thursdays, the first group to be featured in the Belizean Beats program is the up-and-coming local band affectionately known as the Laru Beya Boys. Chosen after grueling auditions against dozens of other top musical groups, this first group has clearly earned the trendsetter position for one of the most dynamic airport programs to have ever come into existence in Belize.

So the next time you take a trip to Mother Nature’s Best Kept Secret and passing through the international airport, don’t worry about your feet tapping — it’s just part of the Belizean experience.

Stunning reefs protect the Belize Shorline

I came across a magazine called Luxury Living International yesterday that has just launched an online version and we found an entertaining article on Belize. Called a “webzine”, apparently this one was originally a paper magazine. After spending some time on their sites, some unbelievable homes in the Belize real estate section as well as other places in the Caribbean, etc., I thought I’d post it. As I looked around the pages of Luxury Living International, I found it interesting that here is a magazine done with an emphasis and focus on Belize, Costa Rica, the rest of Central America and the Caribbean in both real estate and as they say “living the good life in paradise”. So, unlike most that I’ve come across, this site gives a pretty good perspective on this growing tropical region.

One thing I agree with in the story is…well…my quote!

“Placencia is the hottest Belize real estate market on mainland Belize,” says Bill Shea, with Three Palms/Coldwell Banker in Placencia. “Although the market here cooled along with everything else in the Caribbean, in the past three months we are getting traction again. The new airport coming in is one key, the charm and the best beach in Belize doesn’t hurt either.”

Yes, its true. Yours truly is now famous! Here is a link to Luxury Living International – www.luxurylivingint.com – enjoy!

Belize offers a vastly surprising list of experiences dependant on which part of Belize you happen to visit. If you want an eco-experience then you’ll aim to the mountains outside of Hopkins or San Ignacio. If you’re aiming for a beach experience you’ll need to aim in the opposite direction, towards that amazing blue water surrounding the reef. My last trip up north off the reef took me out to Caye Caulker: a completely different experience than was expected.

Rarely have I woken up on a Tuesday and had the distinct feeling that it might be Sunday. Only one other time have I ever had to shake the dust off my shoes before wearing them for the first time in days. In Caye Caulker, the days really do run together, shoes and shirts are completely optional attire. This is a very simple place and time is somewhat irrelevant. In recent years Caye Caulker has turned into a growing stop for tourists that come to Belize and it’s no surprise. La Isla Carinosa – the friendly island – Is what people think of when they visit countries like Belize. Similar to Ambergris Cay (without the t-shirt shops), it is one of the places that convinces you to come back again – once they visit the mainland and places like Placencia.

Despite the tourists having “found” Caye Caulker it has largely maintained its original feel, say the locals, and that makes it a more comfortable experience for them and ultimately for the tourists. I absolutely got that feeling: I found it extremely comfortable. The food was good; there were some very easy bars and cool beaches, fun shops, etc.

Marine biologists came en-masse decades ago when it was “leaked” just how cool the diving and marine life was here in Belizean waters. Then, about thirty years ago, the first hotel, El Pescador, opened its doors to guests and an outside world eager to experience the island life. Due to its location near the reef it’s great for tourists who want quick easy access to the reef. The marine biologists have been swapped for tourists and beach-goers. As the tourist trade grew the residents stepped up to host their guests and built or acquired facilities to accommodate them. Fishermen turned to ferrying captains, lobster harvesters began showing off their expertise to captivated tourists, and then came the golf carts, which shrank the island. Still, even with the influx of visitors this Caye has remained in the hands of its founding families. Native-owned mom-and-pop guesthouses, restaurants, bars, ice cream parlors, travel agencies, and dive shops have opened on inherited lands. Few of the families from the three-cent lobster days have chosen to leave, and those that have, for educational purposes, have come back to the only place they would ever want to live.

The Caye is a must see and a must experience. It’s a really superb easy getaway – even from my vacation in Placencia – and when I got back I felt a little more grounded and a little more at home…and after my dozen trips to this beautiful and diverse place called Belize it’s safe to say that this will be home some day. Put a day or two on Caye Caulker on the list right under (or over) visiting the ruins, paddling the caves or hiking the rainforests…but only after you get your fill of salt flats fly-fishing and magnificent scuba diving.

Can’t wait to get back… Bill

Cayo Espanto – Ambergris Caye

This place is over-the-top luxury for Belize. And easily makes this list, even if it covered the whole Caribbean. If you want the ultimate place to relax, with some of the best service in the Caribbean, and the ideal trailhead for ultimate sea adventure, Cayo Espanto is for you. Did I mention it’s a small private island to boot? Adventure is moments away at Cayo Espanto when you don your scuba or snorkel gear to explore the world’s second-largest barrier-reef system. The reef is right out your back door. Three miles from San Pedro, off the coast of Belize, Cayo Espanto is truly a spectacular and private retreat with spa services too. World class snorkeling, scuba diving, amazing food, attentive staff, and massages all await you at Cayo Espanto. As a note: the whole staff meets you when you pull up to the dock…“(the plane, the plane.)”

Chabil Mar Villas – Placencia

On the Placencia Peninsula, next to the famed Turtle Inn, is the Chablis Mar Villas Resort, our pick for the place to stay in Placencia. This place is just very tastefully done, including beautiful landscaping from the front gate to the beach. Chabil offers different types of luxury villas ranging from on-the-beach oceanfront and great ocean view villas with both one and two bedrooms. They have a very cool and romantic honeymoon suite too. Almost all the villas have great sea views or views of Placencia’s whole bay. You can get spa services right on your private  balcony with a great view. This little slice of paradise also sits on the best beach on Belize’s mainland. And the staff, from the front desk gals to the in-suite waiters, are welcoming and very friendly. In-your-suite room service offers you some of the best food in Placencia without leaving your suite. Great place to stay whether you a couple or an entire family.

Turtle Inn – Placencia

Regardless of whether you think Turtle Inn is the best on this list, it’s a fact that Turtle and Francis Ford Coppola single-handedly helped make Belize tourism what it is today and put Placencia on the map. It also didn’t hurt that the resort shared both his big name and his big-name guest list. From the moment you walk into the lobby you are transformed to a different place. Belize, Bali, Thailand? Not sure but it has a great feel and totally changes your paradigm. The natural Belizean hardwoods, the front desk carving brought by Coppola from Bali, and the raised floor above a mock jungle setting is perfect. The rooms (with no air) are far eastern in their look and feel, and most sit right on the beach allowing for fresh Caribbean breezes and the gentle rolling waves off the sea. Coppola’s personal suite is available too but will set you back over a grand a night. It’s very private, with over-the-top panache and a private beachfront pool. The other rooms and suites are unique and well-appointed and all come with great Belizean service.  Two really good restaurants make this a great stay for those willing to shell out a few extra bucks…and then there is his other gem…

Blancaneaux – San Ignacio

I feel (and many others agree) this place is more amazing and I think a better experience than even Turtle Inn. Set in the Mayan Mountains at the foot of a beautiful river are a dozen amazing cabanas spread out on a lush tropical landscape that instantly puts you at-ease with nature. Although there a few different styles and sizes of these luxury thatched cabanas, each is made with rich Belizean hardwoods that just give them a rich and luxurious feeling. You have a sense of lush jungle everywhere but you’re in the middle of a pine ridge forest. Like Turtle Inn, the food is excellent and the service is very good and very personal. There are couples’ decks spread around the rocks along the river for napping or reading a great book.  It’s s-o-o-o-o quiet and so peaceful here that it makes for a truly amazing experience. Frankly you can take a dip in the river as well if napping isn’t your thing. The available adventure tours in the mountains are much different than those you’ll find out on the coast. So, step-up and get one of the larger cabanas, sit out on your deck and enjoy.

Belizean Dreams – Hopkins

If you’re in the Hopkins area there are two cool places to stay. Belizean Dreams is one of them. Here, the accommodations are well-appointed two- and three- bedroom villas, with a great second-story master suite for views of the Caribbean. Service here is personal and the small palapa restaurant by the pool and right on the beach offers really good food and drinks. They have a sister resort about a mile away offering more of the same, really nice villas on the beach including some real estate for sale within the resort. This feels more like a second home than a hotel or resort.

Jaguar Reef – Hopkins

Also in Hopkins is Jaguar Reef Lodge located next door to Belizean Dreams. Both are situated on a nice beach within easy reach of a quiet and unspoiled part of the beautiful offshore reef.  Watch the sun come up over the ocean from your room or suite and enjoy the sunset over the Mayan mountains from your back veranda. The accommodations are roomy thatched units, pleasantly rough around the edges, all surrounding a beautiful lodge with good food and friendly service. This place has one of the best menus for adventure tours in the country.

Kanantik – Stann Creek

If you want a quiet place on a very nice private beach, Kanantik is for you (last time I was there they didn’t allow kids). Feels like your own private resort. There are only 20 or so very cool, private, tasteful beach cabanas with indoor/outdoor baths. The landscape and grounds are manicured to perfection and the service and staff are perfect, too. For the most part it’s all-inclusive but don’t let that fool you.  This is a very custom experience and the food and drinks are great. Roberto, the owner, a divemaster, has one of the finest diving operations in the country with a beautiful dock system and two really nice boats. If you are looking for a beach hut but don’t want to rough it too much I highly recommend this place. Oh, and it has enough real estate for its own private airstrip.

Turneffe Island Resort

To start with this is an intimate resort on an island located off the coast of Belize situated in one of the three large atolls. It’s a pretty spectacular setting for sure. Unlike a lot of places you’d stay, this resort’s cabanas (the most desirable accommodations), ring the island so each gets a view of the white sand beach and the azure water.  The Deluxe and the Superior suites in the main house are very well-appointed and offer all the exotic feel you need to disconnect and unwind. As a diving and fishing launch point it may be the best in Belize. If isolation and white, white sand is your thing, this is paradise.

Chaa Creek – San Ignacio – Maya Mountains

A pioneer in eco-lodging, this secluded 365-acre nature reserve is perched above the banks of the Macal River in the foothills of the Maya Mountains, and offers an unspoiled ambience like few resorts in Belize. Chaa Creek caters to the traveler looking for both physical and intellectual challenges and its programs and activities revolve around the environment, culture and archaeology of Belize. The cottages and suites are mostly thatched roofed with an inviting rich jungle theme with lots of pretty hardwoods. Try the new Treetop Suites, very cool. And, don’t miss the spa here, it may be the best in the country. They also just invested in a great new pool to take the edge off at the end long day of adventure.

Victoria House, San Pedro – Ambergris Caye

Talk about casual luxury. No shoes required, great staff, great Caribbean food. The kitchen will cook your catch, the bartender will make ceviche while you shower and change for dinner (again no shoes)!  Rooms range from plantation rooms and casitas to a three-bedroom plantation house with a breathtaking oceanfront veranda. All well done and appointed. The secluded Rainforest Suite, just 50 feet away from the Caribbean, is a favorite of honeymooners featuring a wraparound front veranda, floor-to-ceiling windows and French doors.

If you know any avid divers who have been to Belize, do not ask them about it unless you have a few hours…you will not be able to shut them up.

Belize is in fact a tiny country, but not if you include the underwater wonderland that is adjacent to it. Then, at least in dive terms, it’s one of the largest countries in the world! Belize has everything you want in a tropical escape, but when it comes to the diving and the saltwater fly fishing, it is among the best in the world.

Though it’s probably smaller in total square miles of real estate than some counties in Texas, Belize offers more dive opportunities than you could possibly experience in a year.

With a bewildering array of big walls, barrier reef, open water atolls and islands, and plenty of sharks of all types, the fact is, diving just may be Belize’s biggest growth industry besides real estate. From coral gardens and stunning parrotfish to giant whale sharks, it’s all here, even for two-tank veteran divers who seek longer outings.

Unlike some Caribbean countries and most of Central America, you can dive year-round in Belize, right through the rainy season.

A few top places to let the air outta your tanks:

-Plancencia: According to Destination 360, which says the beaches at Placencia are the best beaches in Belize, this is perhaps the best spot to dive and relax on the playa. With way fewer people than Ambergris, you probably won’t see other divers in the water, either. The big draws here are Glover’s Reef and Gladden Spit. Southwater Caye and Tobacco Caye are also popular spots to jump off from Plancencia and connect with dive operators. Placencia is full of world heritage dive sites that have bewildering diversity, and the slightly more nutrient rich waters here compared to the super-clear north support more animals like the whale shark, which is widely regarded as being more likely to be encountered here than the rest of the country…and maybe the world. Brian Young of Seahorse Dive Shop has led expeditions for the Discovery Channel and CNN out of Placencia, and he and his divers log the migrations; May and June are peak times.

-Blue Hole: This famed limestone sinkhole has been a diving legend at the Lighthouse Reef atoll site since it’s exposure in the ’70s by none other than Jaques Cousteau. The Blue Hole is right in the middle of the reef and is over 300 feet wide and 400 feet deep, offering an ethereal experience of solemnity amid a world of great clarity, zero gravity and bathed in blue light. Cave-like stalactites appear as you go deeper into the abyss, and the water grows clearer as you descend. The Blue Hole is also a great jump off point for many other dives along the barrier reef.

-Ambergris, Caye Caulker: Plenty of resorts make this a popular dive central for most tourists, who exploit it’s convenience to Belize’s renown barrier reef. The reef swings in within just a mile or less of Ambergris and the waters here are extraordinarily clear, stingrays and sharks abound, and the Turneffe Islands are accessible. Coral pinnacles, grouper, lobster, angelfish, nurse sharks and eels are plentiful, as well as loggerheads.

-Hopkins Bay, Hamanasi: A renowned outfit and dive resort here, Hamanasi is a highly regarded jump off point to explore the world of the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef in particular, though the pro staff here branch out all the way to Lighthouse Reef and the Blue Hole as well. Turneffe Islands Atoll, The Elbow, Half Moon Caye, South Water Caye, Elsie’s Aquarium, Trick Ridge, Hell Hole, and The Abyss are all reached from here. Hamanasi also runs whale shark specific trips when the gentle giants congregate to feast on the spawn of the reefs snapper schools.

So tell your boss, spouse or whomever you need to that you’re taking them to Belize to relax, see the beaches and/or look at real estate…but get down here for the diving.