Tropical Paradise Hotel

The 8-bed dorm was already an odd setup, with a double bed in the middle of the bunks. The shower barely trickled and kept switching between very cold and lukewarm. I did appreciate the cleaners making the beds and sweeping every day, but the bathroom always smelled damp. I know it’s very cheap, though at full occupancy the room would feel extremely cramped.

The pool, dock and beach seating area were beautiful, and I booked a fantastic full-day snorkelling trip with Henry. I’ve snorkelled in lots of places around the world, and this was one of my favorites. Staff were friendly and helpful. The room was simple and clean, with a comfortable bed, good A/C and a modern shower. I just missed having a mini fridge. I really enjoyed my stay.

We booked three nights through our tour company, G Adventures, and had room #16. It faced the ocean and had a fridge, which was nicer than the rooms other people in our group had. They mentioned major ceiling leaks, faulty A/C, lizards and ants in theirs. The trouble was that when we arrived, we found out our extra night hadn’t been kept in the booking, so we had to pay for another one. Then we learned #16 wasn’t available for that night and we’d have to switch to #6. On the morning of the move, they said we couldn’t check into #6 until 3pm, leaving us without a place to shower or rest on our last day on Caye Caulker. Housekeeping supposedly couldn’t clean it before then, even though the previous guest, someone from our group, had checked out at 7:30am. After spending hundreds of dollars, losing the reservation, being made to change rooms, check out and back in, and pay another damage deposit, we felt very disappointed and stressed on what should have been a restful last day of vacation. Management wouldn’t make an exception. Had we known, we would have booked elsewhere for the final night. They also insisted on checking the room for damage at checkout before letting us leave. We’re clean, quiet, easygoing backpackers in our mid-forties, not yahoo’s. Awful.

The room was simple but had what we needed, and the pool right by the sea was lovely. Restaurants and bars are walkable, but the place is far enough away to stay quiet at night.