I can't say enough nice things about my vacation at Paradise Villas ! My condo was clean, well equipped and ideally located next to the pool and steps to the ocean. The manager, Emmanuel, provided outstanding and friendly service, always there if I needed something or had a question. The entire staff was very friendly and worked hard to keep the property in top condition. Security also great with a security officed on the property all night.
This was my first visit to San Pedro and Paradise Villas but it won't be my last !!!
Thanks again for a wonderful vaction.

I stayed at the Paradise Villas for 7 nights, of which, the first 5 were with a friend. As a single female traveling alone for 3 days, the owner, Bill, made sure that I was safe and taken care of. He helped me to plan a cave tubing/ziplining tour to the mainland and checked on my safe return. Both Bill and Emmanuel (manager at Tradewinds Property Mgmt) were very kind and helpful during my stay. The condos were kept clean by a very friendly housekeeper, Patricia. In addition, the kitchens were fully stocked with all of the basic cooking supplies. The property was conveniently located next to Reef Adventures, a diving company that took care of my first two days of diving. The boats were privately chartered, which beat the other group tour I went on to dive the Blue Hole. I would highly recommend staying at the villas and diving with Reef Adventures.

We visited Belize, from November 4 through November 14th . We flew Continental/United Airlines from Fresno to San Francisco, to Houston, to Belize City and then Tropical Air to San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye. All flights were on time and no luggage went astray. We stayed in Paradise Villas and dove with Reef Adventures Diving. Cap’n Ron http://www.reefadventures.net/CondoSite/index.html a partner with Tradewinds Travel http://tradewindsparadisevillas.com/ made all of our arrangements for our living quarters and diving. We dove Nitrox 32 the entire vacation with the exception of the Blue Hole dive which was air. We stayed in condominium building A2, which is a beachfront floor level condo. The amenities were much like home, complete with air conditioning, flat screen TV with cable, fully equipped kitchen and a comfortable bed. The condo included a living room, dining area and a small kitchen bar. There is a pristine white sand beach right out in front that I wish I had at home. Paradise Villa’s staff was top-notch. I even met the condos owner, who was a very gracious man. There was a small electrical problem with one of the outlets in the bedroom and the problem was remedied within an hour of my reporting it. The service simply could not have been better. Manuel the day clerk for the condo complex happily attended to our every need. The maid who we never saw – kept the condo clean and tidy the entire time. The complex is located close to every thing you might need from restaurants and stores to the airport. I highly recommend Paradise Villas even for non divers.

Reef Adventures Diving is located a stones throw from the A2 condo’s front door. Michael was our boat captain and dive master, with Chucky and Ivan the deck hands for the majority of the diving and provided great service. We almost never needed to touch our dive gear once we handed it over to the crew until the day we left. The boat was an open 22 footer powered by a powerful outboard motor and comfortably accommodated eight divers. There were six of us in our group, and most days only our group was on the boat. I have dove all around the world and the service just does not get any better. The diving on the outer reef, just 5 minutes out in front of the condo, was world class and because of the close proximity to the condos our surface intervals were done back at the condo! My wife really appreciated the ability to take a warm shower and put on a dry bathing suit between dives. This is the connivance of a live aboard on dry land! The Outer Atoll diving was with Amigos del Mar on the Papa Changa a modern well equipped dive vessel http://amigosdive.com/index.html. The service here was also top notch.

We made 20 dives while in Belize. The average water temperature was 81°. Visibility ranged from 45 to 85 feet. There was very little current. The reef structure was Ridge and Valley down to about 90 feet and then off into the abyss. Sea life was abundant, with lots of nurse sharks, groupers, turtles, eagle rays, Morays, lobsters and a whole host of reef fishes. There were lots of soft corals and the reefs appear to be healthy. We spotted black coral as shallow as 50 feet, which is an indicator of a healthy reef system. We made two long boat rides to some outer Atolls one to Lighthouse Atoll with the Blue Hole and the other to Turneffe Elbow. The diving out in front of the condo was so good that the trip to Turneffe was unnecessary yet I found the Lighthouse reef dives with the blue hole dive very interesting and worthy of the expense. I would definitely recommend this excursion even though it is a long 3 hour boat ride out. The Blue Hole Dive is now my deepest dive at 138 feet and yes I got narced but I was fully aware of my out of bounds depth and kept myself just out of deco on my computer. We made three dives everyday except for the last Sunday we could only do two before we flew out late Monday.

Just a couple of notes about the food:
Breakfast was either at Mathues across the street (closed Sun, Mon.) or Elaina’s south down the beach (closed Tue. Be sure to try the Fryjacks) both have good food and reasonable prices. Since we made three consecutive dives on most days we were really hungry around 3:00pm after diving and Caramba’s (south down the street one and a half blocks) was our late lunch/dinner choice restaurant; most days they are open when the others are closed for a siesta; be sure to try the Conch Fritters there, all of the food was good. If you are out before 2:00pm or after 6:00pm be sure to try Brianna’s. Run by a mother and her son this is a local’s favorite with unbelievable low prices for really good home style food. Dinner is whatever she decides to cook that day. The fish empanadas and her fryjacks are a must. From Paradise Villas go south on the street (left out of the gate) to the first intersection make a right (go west) to the first street and make a left (go south) down about ¾ of a block on the west side of the street you will find Brianna’s.

Worst food of the entire trip was breakfast in the San Francisco Airport - with a city full of great chefs they should be ashamed.

A couple of notes about the travel:

The Belizean telephone company owns the internet and your Magic Jack or a VPN will not work. They have them blocked. Be sure you have international calling on your cell phone and be prepared to pay $4.50 a minute to make or receive calls.

If you are going to renter the US in Houston 2 hours is not enough time to clear customs and get to your connecting flight. This is the third time we have reentered the US here and all three times we have had a problem making our connecting flight in two hours. We did make it but the pucker factor is just too high; 3 hours would be more comfortable. You think I would learn that by now.

Our villa was great for the money. The rooms were clean (a bit out dated on the furniture - but we were not there for that). You are within walking distance to everything. Emmanuel - will give you tips on where to go and where not to be at night.
Our ride to and from the airport was arranged by Belize Tradewinds which included the filight to San Pedro through Tropic Air and had a taxi waiting for us to take us to our villa.
Not impressed with their housekeeping. Never cleaned the bathroom sinks or shower. Our housekeeper was more into conversation (this is our only negative besides the coffee pot which is extremely out-dated).
If you are looking for a swim-up bar and bar-tender - they don't have one. This was not an issue for us.
The grounds are well kept and they do have night security.
If you are looking for a no frills place to stay - peace and quiet - this is for you. We enjoyed our stay there and would go back even after viewing many of the resorts.