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Jaguar Reef Lodge Hotel & Resort Reviews

Jaguar Reef Lodge
Address: P.O. Box 297 Stann Creek, Belize Tel: 011-501-520-7040 Fax: 011-501-520-7091 Email: inquiries@jaguarreef.com URL: Jaguar Reef Lodge	Type of Property: All Inclusive Beach Location: Beach Front (Directly on Beach/Water Front) Island: Belize

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Summary of All Property Reviews for: Jaguar Reef Lodge Ratings based on answers from a total of 7 reviews 10 is best 1 is worst
Feature	Ranking	Feature	Ranking
Cleanliness of Property	9.29	Quality of Property	7.71
Privacy & Quietness	9.00	Quality of Service	7.00
Courtesy & Hospitality of Staff	8.43	Accuracy of Website (marketing hype) VS. Actual Experience	5.86
Food and Dining Experience	6.71	Price/Value of Property	7.57
Safety Factor (Did you feel safe at property)	9.00	Quality of Beach (ranked closest beach if property is located off the beach)	7.71
Total Property Score: 7.83 out of 10 | Average Star Rating: 3.71 out of 5

• 57% (4 visitors of 7) said they would go back to Jaguar Reef Lodge again.
• 57% (4 visitors of 7) said they would recommend Jaguar Reef Lodge to friends.

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The manager (Bruce) of Jaguar Reef quickly responded via e-mail to our comments regarding the quality of food at the Lodge. We are very satisifed with his response and explanation to our concerns. Kudos to Bruce for showing that Jaguar Reef cares about customer satisfaction!

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My boyfriend and I recently returned from a week long stay at the Jaguar Reef. We loved the rooms and the tranquil beach and pool area. The tour guides were pleasant and the reservationist was super helpful. We never saw management although we suspect they were there somewhere. Overall, it was relaxing except for the terrible food. Each morning we were greeted with a below average breakfast of oily omelets and fly's landing on the fruit tray and serving plates. Lunchs were adequate and we recommend ordering the local specialty. Dinners were a huge disappointment. Many of the meats were cooked in too much oil and came out greasy. We did manage to have a few good meals but that was far and few. The dinner side items were adequate but rather bland and tasteless to us. We weren't expecting gourmet food, but we were expecting good food. After speaking to several staff members we learned that local cooks were cooking American food. The majority of these local cooks did not seem to know what American food should taste like. We would of preferred them to cook their local dishes which should of been a whole lot better. After several days of not finishing our dinners we ventured into Hopkins Village for a cheap, local, tasty meal. We came back from Jaguar Reef feeling relaxed but also felt that the food could of been a lot better for what we paid for it.

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My husband and I went to the Jaguar Reef Lodge on our honeymoon in December 2004. We bought the Ultimate Honeymoon Package. The website made the lodge sound so wonderful, but it turned out to be far better than our expectations. Not only do they have remarkable facilities, but in addition, thier staff was fantastic!

We went on several of the planned tours, including horseback riding in the rainforest and visiting the Mayan ruins. When my husband mentioned that I’d wanted to see the zoo, the staff arranged a personal tour for us (even though they don’t normally run a tour to the zoo). The tour guides were very knowledgeable, friendly, and genuinely some of the most exciting people I’ve ever met!

The best part---snorkeling. I almost missed out on this too (I’d never been before and got a little frightened the first time out---I stayed on the boat). My husband explained the problem to the Jaguar Reef staff and AGAIN they arranged for a personal tour. I'm so grateful that they were so accommodating. Missing the snorkeling would have been tragic.

I can’t think of a better place to begin a marriage than at the Jaguar Reef! We plan to go back within the next three years! I can’t wait!

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My wife and I spent 6 days at JRL in December, '04 for a honeymoon and diving. Since JRL doesn't have an inhouse dive staff, we arranged to do all our diving at the Hamanasi resort which is next door to JRL. We blew it. We should have stayed at Hamanasi.

We choose JRL on the basis of their website photos. The pictures were better than the reality. The rooms were nice but, except for the two on either end, were too far from the beach and sort of behind the main lodge/dining room. You couldn't hear the surf from the rooms, only the air conditioners in the adjoining rooms. The lodge building blocked most, if not all, of the sea breeze. The pictures of Hamanasi, on the other hand, didn't do it justice. The resort was much prettier than its pictures. The rooms were also much closer to the beach and in front of the lodge. Hamanasi was also beautifully landscaped and filled with hummingbirds. JRL was clean and well raked but bare by comparison.

As far as the staff goes, there was no comparison. Hamanasi's staff was superb. JRL's was mediocre at best. Since we did all our diving from Hamanasi, we were there every morning to get on the dive boat. The manager there, Karen, would greet both my wife and I by name. She went diving with us one afternoon. She joined us for breakfast. She personally saw to our comfort and the details of our dives. The rest of the staff treated us like guests, not like visitors from another resort. We took a JRL boat snorkeling one afternoon to Coco Plum Caye. The captain took us to the island, pointed to a buoy floating offshore and said “Go snorkel over there.” He then went to the bar and chatted with a waitress. We took a double sea kayak out to the site. It sucked. We could have seen as much in the resort's pool. Because of heavy surf, we couldn't get back into the kayak. If some of the other guests wouldn't have sent the captain back out to help, we'd still be out there struggling.

We never spoke to the management of JRL. We could see them sitting inside through a glass window in their office door, but they never came out of the airconditioning to introduce themselves, say hi or ask if there was anything they could do. JRL’s wait staff needs a lot of work. One afternoon for lunch, they just stood in the back and only came forward to serve us reluctantly.

As far as the food went, again Hamanasi also was, far and away, superior. More variety, bigger portions, better preparation, presentation and service. JRL’s was adequate but much less than we expected. It was what you’d expect from a chain restaurant in an airport. We took a JRL box lunch snorkelling one day and it consisted of a plastic box with chicken salad, some vegetable salad, and a cookie. Hamanasi’s picnic lunch was grilled chicken breasts, lunchmeat with cheese, bread and condiments for sandwiches, bow tie pasta, fresh cut watermelon, fresh cut pineapple and brownies and cookies. The captain and the dive crew set up a table and did the serving.

One last thing – There is a new condo complex being built on an adjacent property. Be prepared for a lot of construction noise. We weren’t.

Hamanasi – first class, JRL – low class.

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After reading the mixed reviews on this site & viewing the fire damage we were a bit worried about our honeymoon. After speaking to their booking agent in MN, we were assured that there was no current construction on site & that the kitchen, bar, & lodge were back at 100%.

Fortunately, this was all true. EVERYTHING was brand new. The staff was excellent, the choices in tours were great & the food was fabulous. However... if you're expecting a large-chain style all-inclusive, this isn't for you. The meals were delicious, but typically there were 2-3 choices (with a vegetarian choice) per evening. If you want to stick to American fare, go for it, but the Belizean inspired dishes were the best (if you're there for lunch, have the grilled fish with rice & beans).

The land based tours were very easy to do, even if you're not in shape. Anyone expecting hard-core hiking may wish to schedule their own tours. The snorkeling & diving were amazing - sharks, rays & turtles almost on command. The actual beachfront in front of the resort was a little bit disappointing. Due to the wave action & prevailing winds, the surf is a bit rough & always filled with seaweed. Kayaking off the beach is excellent, though.

If you go with an all inclusive package & plan to dive, make sure to get dive vouchers at Jaguar Reef _before_ going to the dive shop at Hamanasi. We weren't aware of this and ended up paying for our dives - which wasn't too expensive in any case. The Hamanasi dive crews were awesome.

All in all it was a great place to go. Since the resort was small, you always had the option of keeping to yourself, or getting to know the other folks in the resort. Be warned that there aren't TV's in the rooms, so bring books, etc. As honeymooners, we had a wonderful time and enjoyed ourselves immensely.

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Subsequent to my initial posting, Jaguar Reef's owner worked to make things right by us and, I believe, by other couples whose stay was affected by the reconstruction. We commend him for his integrity.

(All rankings below are the same as before.)

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My girlfriend and I stayed at Jaguar Reef Lodge in Hopkins, Belize earlier this year and found both the resort and the town to be idyllic. The resort facilities and rooms were designed beautifully with wonderful amenities (small refridgeraters & purified water dispensers!!!) The staff was personal & professional yet unobtrusive. Even the food; which in these locales can be quite dissapointing, was well executed and I'm a chef/restarantuer of 20 years. They had nearly every activity available one could desire from water to forest. And the nearby town had some of the friendliest people. My girlfriend even felt safe walking the beach alone at night, which we can't say about many places we've visited. I was a chef on the Windjammer Barefoot Cruises MV Amazing Grace and I've traveled to the majority of Caribbean and Latin American destinations as this easily & immediatley ranked in the top five. We truly had a great experience and would definetly return.

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My new husband and I recently spent our honeymoon at the Jaguar Reef Lodge and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The location was perfect for us ( very private ) and, other than a little construction noise ( that we were warned advised about previous to our arrival ), the ambiance was terrific. We enjoyed the 4 tours we took and saw many incredible, unforgettable things ( and have the pictures to prove it! ).

The staff could not have been more accommodating, especially for my husband who tespecially enjoyed the day he spent fishing, while I lazed around the pool. There was some construction going on at the time because of the fire they had, but it was winding up as we left and we never found it too obtrusive. Despite the fact that we were not overly bothered by the bit of construction commotion the owner provided us a significant discount on our stay as well as a certificate for a free stay in the future so we couldn't be happier! We were planning to go back again anyway. A near perfect honeymoon experience!

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Jaguar Reef markets itself with a terrific web site and a great honeymooner's package - one that attracted at least five other newly wedded couples during our visit. The best part of our experience was the resort staff and guides, made up of the local people, who were welcoming, friendly and informative. The worst part of the trip was being greeted by the resort’s owner upon arrival with the question, “Did you hear about our fire?”

Neither the resort’s web site nor the owner’s wife through whom we had booked the trip had mentioned the fire, which had occurred two months prior to our visit, so we were quite surprised. (Upon returning home, a web search turned up fire photos at http://www.wesleychapelvfd.com/wcfd_online_066.htm )

The major impact for us was that the fire burned the main lodge housing the bar, dining area and kitchen. While they had a makeshift kitchen providing three meals a day for our all inclusive plan, to get a mixed drink or nice meal we had to hike down the beach to the Hamanasi resort and shell out hard cash. (Hamanasi had good food, good service and a friendly staff going from table to table to tell guests about the next day’s activities.) When we arrived on Sunday (6/6), the owner said the main lodge would be open by Wednesday. When we left the following Sunday, the owner was telling new arrivals that the lodge would be open by Wednesday. The plumbing had yet to arrive on site….

Other newlyweds at Jaguar Reef were put in the first floor of two-story building with construction going on above them from 6 AM to 6 PM. Housed in a cabana, the ongoing construction did not impact us much although we did wonder, based on its cries, if the circular saw was the national bird of Belize.

If Jaguar Reef can recover from the fire and reclaim its lost reputation (by offering the menus and service touted by its web site), it will be a great place to vacation with a balance of luxury and adventure. In the short term, let the buyer beware!

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