Casa Chachalaca

Our group of nine stayed Feb 7 - 10 2025. The house itself was clean, but several things made the stay disappointing. The hide-a-bed was broken and rusty, the bedding was dingy and stained, and the pillows were flat and worn out. There were only four beach loungers, two of them broken, plus four very uncomfortable wooden chairs by a dirty pool with algae in spots. The location is lovely, but nobody was tending the beach and it was partly overtaken with sargasm. We didn't contact Vacasa while we were there because the stay was short and we didn't want the hassle. It looked like the place needed a truckload of furniture and a day of work. Earlier reviews showed that these problems had been reported without being dealt with, so I'm sharing this for others. A week here with a group could be frustrating if there's nowhere comfortable to relax. Ask whether these issues have been resolved. The washing machine didn't spin out either. The screen doors kept falling out, though bugs weren't a problem, so we left them out. The charming slatted doors on the rooms and bathroom offer no real privacy since you can see into the rooms. The narrow spiral stairs won't fit anything larger than a carry-on, which is a strange design. After we got home, I spent a lot of time pursuing this with Vacasa, and they refunded us 400 dollars, though they resisted because we hadn't contacted them during the stay. I'm tired of VRBO places failing to be on point despite Gold star listing status. This house and location are great, but need some TLC. The best part was Ceiba Resort, one house over. They let us use their beach and pool as long as we bought drinks or food there. It was just a 10-second walk along the beach through lovely palms, so we gave up on our own place and spent our time there. I wish we'd rented one of their gorgeous beachfront cabins instead. It would have saved us money and made the trip perfect. Placencia was very charming.

The kitchen was well equipped and the A/C worked. Our kids still enjoyed the pool, even though some of the tiles were coming off and it needed repairs. The only real issue for us was the lack of comfortable seating in the living room. It's a lovely home right on the beach, with a pool.

On our first day, someone broke into the house, and the front door lock didn't work. We had to wait for maintenance to replace it, which meant missing our snorkeling tour that day. Thankfully, we had left a day free and managed to reschedule. We made the best of it and had a great time. The house is beautiful and most things worked, including the canoe out back. My wife and I loved the place overall. A grocery store down the street was handy since we cooked most of our meals. The pool was perfect, and the Caribbean sunrise from the roof was spectacular. There was lots of seaweed on the beach, but otherwise it was clean. From the hammock in the shade, I spotted dolphins, coatimundis, agoutis, and tropical birds. Green Parrot next door was a favorite, with great tacos, quesadillas, and cocktails. Leo there offered us some of the best deals on guided trips to the Belize barrier reef and Maya ruins, including Caracol, the ATM Cave, Xunantunich, and Tikal. Placencia is a great base for exploring both northern and southern Belize. We also loved Jaguar Lanes nearby, probably my favorite bowling alley I've visited, with great food and welcoming people.

The pool is beautiful, cooler, and four feet deep, and the main house A/C units work fantastically. The bedroom units don't work as well. The windows are extremely dirty, so even where trees don't block the view, the glass does. The beds are rock hard, and after so many days I was crippled, which made the spiral stairs hard to manage. The backyard beach was dirty and hadn't been cleaned since the day we arrived. The neighbors' beach looked much more inviting. It isn't worth the price, since Placencia has much better affordable places. The washer and dryer work, but bring your own supplies because none are provided. The dining table looks ready to fall apart, so don't use it. The pullout wicker sofa mattress was rusty and gross. Apart from the run-down looking rooftop cabana, there was nowhere to sit up there, so we had to stand and couldn't use the space. The outdoor furniture was old and mostly fell apart when we tried to relax by the pool. Two stars, one for the working main-area A/C and one for the pool.