We had such a fun time at Isla Marisol. I want to preface this review by saying this resort is generally geared to divers. If you want to while away the hours at a Sandals resort this is not quite the same experience. We had problems with the water and toilets almost every day but the fact that you can even get a hot shower in such a remote location is pretty much a miracle anyway. Technology!

The Food: The food was so good. We ate so much! It's a buffet style breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's not fancy restaurant grade but it's well-seasoned, hearty home cooking that tastes amazing after a long day of diving. We had stewed chicken, bbq chicken, snapper, conch, steak, porkchops, coconut rice, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, beans, plantains, delicious salads, two kinds of fresh juice every day, and some hit or miss desserts. They did have plenty of the only two things that I even remotely care about: coffee and habanero hot sauce.

The Diving: Mora was our favorite dive master. He's friendly, warm, and knowledgeable. We dove every day and he made sure we didn't die. What more could you ask for, buddy? We did a night dive, Blue Hole, and about 10 morning boat dives. We saw bull sharks, nurse sharks, reef sharks, a dolphin, eagle rays, turtles, spiny lobsters, and loads of reef fishes. They took us to this red footed booby preserve for our surface interval at the Blue Hole that was just picturesque. This was by far my most memorable diving vacation.

My Suggestions:
-Be a certified diver
-Bring a dive light and as much of your own gear as possible. We were charged $10 to rent a light for the night dive.
-Do not flush your toilet paper into the toilet (use the waste bin)
-Bring a huge coffee mug or thermos if you are a big coffee person. They only have these tiny mugs and I constantly found myself wishing for a bigger one.
-Bring a flashlight and use at night so you don't step on hermit crabs
-Bring insect repellant and use it every night
-Make sure there are no mosquitoes floating around your room before you fall asleep
-Bring an underwater camera housing
-Speak up and be very clear about which dives you want to do and what time they are starting. There is usually some discussion about it at breakfast so don't miss it. Also, be ready at the dock at the agreed upon time so you don't hold everyone else up. How rude!
-Bring things to amuse yourself at night: books, portable dvd player if you must, travel games, cards, they do have some beat up chess boards and books in the bar too. They have a wireless connection in the dining room so you can pretend you're at work while you're there if you're into that sort of thing.

We just returned from a week at Isla Marisol in October, and can hardly wait to go back! This eco friendly resort (wind and solar powered) lies 39 miles off the coast from Dangriga, Belize. it sits on Glover's Reef Atoll, so if you're into snorkeling or diving, you are literally 5 minutes from your dive sites. We snorkeled the first day, but then got the urge to try diving. Man, are we glad we did! Eddie Usher, the owner of Isla Marisol, is a PADI certified Dive Instructor, and the 4 of us essentially had private instruction. Eddie was an excellent teacher, and made us feel challenged, accomplished, and extremely safe. We also had the chance to dive with Mora, who is an excellent Divemaster. Nearly every dive had amazing visibility- we had a near brush with Hurricane Rina, and that was the only day you couldn't see forever under the water. Thank you so much for opening the world of scuba to us. It was life changing.

We stayed in cabana 4, which is ocean front. The water was literally inches from our porch, which made for beautiful views from the deck, the hammock, and even from the bedroom. The cabins are rustic and simple- they remind me a lot of summer camp. They are very clean, and the beds are some of the most comfortable that we've had while traveling. There are private baths with hot water, and a small dressing area. You have electric lights and fans all day, and air conditioning in the evenings and overnight for comfortable sleeping. In the beginning of our stay, we had an issue with no hot water, but that was swiftly taken care of. You may need to let it run a little while to get hot, but once it does, you have plenty. If you can request cabana 4 or 5- they are closest to the water.

There have been many comments about the food, and I'll second that- it is WONDERFUL. The ladies in the kitchen work hard to make healthy, great tasting meals, and we liked nearly everything they served. There is a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables, rice, fresh breads, and fresh seafood or chicken. And they always had a dessert for those of us with a sweet tooth. Keep in mind though, that desserts in this part of the world aren't as sweet as what we're used to in the USA. But again, everything was great, and there was always plenty. We did take along with us some snacks, and hubby brought a bottle of tequila. :) Also, having your own mug for coffee and drinks comes in pretty handy.

You are free to walk the beach, kayak, explore the island, along with the one next door, and just in general relax (when you aren't diving or snorkeling!) The area is unspoiled, the fish and conch are abundant, and the people are sweet and hard working. There were 15 guests on the island when we were there, and a big part of the fun was having meals with everyone, diving with them, and hanging out in the bar. We were all from different parts of the country, and we enjoyed getting to know everyone.

All in all, BEST TRIP EVER. Can't wait to return. Thank you, thank you Eddie, Mora, Seth, Phillipa, Alex, and the rest of the wonderful staff! Isla Marisol is beautiful beyond words, but it is YOU that makes it paradise.

Now that the title has revealed an essence of "island" lifestyle, I feel I can digress. It's a very small island. What they bring on to the island, they take off. What needs to be replaced or fixed, generally won't occur until you leave (unless it's some minor fix). Take for example, running out of propane to heat your shower. Once it's empty, it's empty. No fix until they can get more from the mainland. This usually coincides with when you leave. Ours and two or three other cabanas ran out of hot water on the 4th day we were there. On the 5th day we took mildly cold showers and on the 6th day we had to ask to use another cabana's shower because it was eventually discovered that our group of cabanas were out of propane gas. This hints at my next biggest concern with Marisol - the lack of proper communication.

We went through Livingsocial.com's deal and received a very nice package for a very reasonable price - all meals included, a dive or snorkel a day, unlimited kayaking, fun, sun, and all the other stuff that comes with a relaxing vacation. One dive means exactly that, one dive. I'm so use diving as being two-tank dives. The people at Marisol resort even informed me that each dive was a two-tank dive. Low-and-behold when we get there, we discover that it is indeed ONE TANK, ONE DIVE. Every extra dive was $50 (extra snorkel, $35) My friend and I drummed up support for a night dive. The divemaster decided Thursday was the day to go and that by mid-day he should let the group know if we were still on for the dive and when to meet. 6pm rolls around and asking Mora at the bar what time to meet for the night dive and he informed us that the group had already left! Needless to say, we didn't inquire further that day because we kept trusting that Mora would inform us. He's the dive master and seeing how Eddie was not on the island, the overall manager of the resort. I feel it should be his duty to keep the guest up to date on what is going on. He did offer to take us out on a night dive Friday seeing as how we we're flying on Saturday, but we decided against it just because we felt we couldn't trust his word anymore. There was definitely moderate lack of communication on the island between guests and workers.

Other than that, the housekeeping and cooking staff were tremendous! Fish, pork, beef, Belizean cuisine, etc. Even lobster on the final night! Janice and Filipa couldn't have been more accommodating. These people deserve awards!

Cabanas were comfortable, but I would say that if you are not diving or snorkeling 3 times a day, be prepared to get to know your cabanas really well cause you'll be spending plenty of time in them or out on the porch in a hammock.

There are kayaks. A bit beaten up, but they're there. No hobie cats, destroyed by a previous guest(s).

Final thought. If it's relaxation you're looking for, this island is one of many on Glovers Atoll and a part of the barrier reef much closer to shore. This place is less a "diamond in the rough" and more "a dime-a-dozen" and based on research of other resorts around it, the full price of the resorts in the area of Isla Marisol are fairly similar. Plus the diving is all the same (extremely beautiful, but got bored after the third or fourth diver due to the fact I kept seeing the same things). I have a take it or leave it attitude towards this resorts (minus the kitchen staff). There are issues with this place that are so blatant, they cannot be overlooked. Then again, it was the tail end of the off-season.

We came to Marisol for our honeymoon and it was absolutely the perfect postcard honeymoon experience - quaint, cozy cabanas with hammocks and little wooden chairs where you could sit and read on your own private porch, the wind rustling through the trees, vibrant pink and white conch shells lining the steps and walkways (not to mention tons of live ones near the shore - we picked one up and named him Bob). We had a cabana set back from the others, and at first were a little disappointed but then heard from other couples staying on the beachfront (as in, RIGHT on the waterline) that it was actually quite loud with the waves crashing - but I'm telling you, I could have been happy with a folding chair for a bed it's so beautiful. Either way, you can't help but relax and enjoy.

During the last week of October when very few resorts were open, Isla Marisol was lively. There was a hurricane that blew through and voluntary evacuations were taking place in northern Belize, but at Marisol we just had a day of light rain and a welcome breeze, gusty at times. Eddie was saying that there was an original cabana that was built in the 1940's that was still standing, and that if there was a hurricane, Marisol was the safest place to be (unlike Mexico which took a beating!).

Other than the incredible scenery - the staff is AWESOME. They go to every length to make you happy, and what made me and my husband happy was chilling at the bar with all of them, getting to play guitar and drums and make our own reggae beat, asking the awesomely hilarious boat Captain Seth when the last time he wore socks was (couldn't remember, had no need for socks! I guess I wouldn't either if I lived and worked in the Caribbean), hearing stories from Eddie about all the characters who had stayed there, and witnessing Mora the rockstar in his element underwater - during his safety stop he just crosses his legs and stays still in perfect buoyancy - Eddie and Mora are the best scuba instructors we could have asked for. Three of the folks staying there actually got certified right there on the island!

The other awesome thing we looked forward to every day besides the dives was the food. Homecooked meals - everything from fresh fish to Creole chicken to beef bourgignon, to tropical salads - and breakfast, oh breakfast! Fry Beans!! Gotta have em! So much love poured into that food from Chef Jenice and her crew. Absolutely delicious, and I don't say that lightly coming from San Francisco where you can get any type of food, cooked by experts and innovators. Marisol's kitchen gave SF a run for it's money!

The other great thing that really made this trip was the type of people that Marisol attracts - both guests and staff. Ecologically minded, fun, laid-back folks that are just looking to relax and enjoy the scenery, no pretenses, just fun in the sun. It's definitely not a place for stuck up aristocrats looking to get waited on hand and foot - although the kind folks at Marisol probably would comply with any wishes whatsoever - it's just that the people are so much more real, and friendly, and that just makes a vacation so much better because then not only do you get to enjoy a beautiful place with your loved ones, but you also get to meet amazing people that treat you like family - that's what Marisol is all about. This is one place that I hope to bring my children to many years from now!