Glover's Reef is a family-run place and it has a list of "regular" visitors who know that they're not there for a beach resort treatment. This isn't a "resort" and is more like a camp ground, and so no one will put chocolates on your pillow or change your sheets every night, etc. The boat only arrives once a week (unless separate arrangements are made) so plan on staying for the full week. You will probably arrive at the family's compound the night before you set sail for the island, and will have to stay in one of the rooms provided by the family in their compound by the Sittee river. You'll set off the following morning *usually bit later than scheduled. This is by no means a fancy place. There are mosquitoes and shared toilets etc. The island itself if beautiful. Yes, plastic garbage occasionally floats onto the beach (you're free to pick up a rake and clean it up) and there's no flush toilet and showers are outdoors fed with collected rain water. Yes, a real family owns and runs the place, not like an impersonal polished, full-service five star hotel resort. And I love the place for all these reasons, not to mention the peaceful isolation of staying in a thatched roof hut built over coral reefs and watching the great big star-studded skies at night, all for MUCH less money than you'd pay for similar experiences anywhere else. You have the option of buying the meal plans (the cooking is done at a central building on the island -- the term "building" very loosely applied) but each cabin has its own very rustic and basic cooking facilities, and you can catch plenty of fish. Some people bring their own large drinking water jugs, others buy water on the island. There's also the utterly fantastic diving (both scuba and snorkel) that's available too, and Warren (the family's son) will take you fishing at the barest request, and you'll haul in tuna and barracuda in less than an hour (lobster season is great too.) This is a particularly fun trip for kids around 7 who like to explore (campfires, coconut trees, all sorts of fish and marine life, and lots of hermit crabs all over the place) a group of friends who want to hang out and have fun fishing or diving, as well as couples who want calm, tranquil privacy. The family has a couple of large dogs on the island who are generally sweet and harmless.

I recommend that you stay anywhere else in the area, where you don't have to worry about being ripped off by the hotel! I see others are making similar complaints, and I am here to add to the warnings.

We are seasoned, reasonable travelers and have never had an experience like this (in fact, I've never complained about any hotel's treatment). But this place? Very sketchy. The manager hung up on me twice when I tried to call about billing us for a huge unauthorized charge - I never even got a chance to discuss anything with her, she just hung up when I first called. At least my bank is trying to help, and they are outraged by the management too.

I'm glad we can warn other travelers on Trip Advisor. I think that there are enough similar concerns expressed about this hotel that readers will know what they are dealing with.

Our trip to Glover’s Atoll Resort was really different from any travel vacation either of us had ever experienced.

We had stayed for a week and really enjoyed ourselves. Some of the reviews we had read had us a little concerned but I have learned in the past few years that a few bad reviews on Trip Advisor can cause a lot of unfounded concerns. Also in my travels I’ve met a lot more bad guests than poor hotel staff. Pictures will show Glover’s Atoll to be a tropical paradise, and it really is. However beautiful idyllic this remoteness may seem when looking at pictures and reading reviews you’ll find that when your ice runs out and you tire of fresh fish you may feel different. I’m not trying to be negative but it is really important that people understand that this place being called a resort is using that term very very loosely.

We found the staff was all quite nice and the negative things we read turned out to be just not true. For what it’s worth we were told Marsha-Jo now lives on the mainland. You can snorkel, scuba dive, kayak, suntan, read and that is about it. Hot showers, room service or needing some smokes are just not gonna happen. Personally I found it to be indeed idyllic and a tropical paradise but camping and remote places are things we love.

We, and by we I mean my girlfriend, cooked all our meals. We found this saved us a lot of money and we really enjoyed the meal prep activities even though dinner was cooked in the dark as it is dark by 6:00-6:30. With no island night life making meals was a part of our entertainment, it was fun to have a new kind of fish daily and then figure out how to best prepare it. We were able to get the majority of our supplies on the mainland at Belmopan but could have accomplished this almost as well at Hopkins village. Be sure to pack food that can stand not to be refrigerated and take some bio-degradable dish soap as well as a washcloth and tea towels. Fresh fish was always available on the island and although I love fresh fish I understand that not everyone does, or not every day anyway. You can rent a cooler and have it filled with ice before you leave. The ice should last until Wed and I would strongly advise to rent a cooler and buy some ice.

We stayed on a hut over the water and had brought our own snorkel equipment. We never did bother to rent a kayak either as we found we could swim to great snorkeling spots every day just off shore. I did go scuba diving three times and thought it was a great deal at $50 per dive. Brian is a great dive master and the quality of diving and the condition of the reef were amazing. DO bring some good water/diving shoes with a hard sole. The beach and coral are all pretty rough and natural so being barefoot in or out of the water is not recommended A dive skin or rash guard is also recommend as you can get sunburned

As a result of being pretty self sufficient our on island expenses were pretty low, needing only some fresh fish, water and bread. If you had all your meals prepared, rented a kayak for the week along with snorkel gear I think your costs would escalate pretty quickly.
The huts are really really basic and you really don’t get a lot for the hundred dollars a night it works out to for two people but then again this is an experience that is hard to put a price on. The darkness comes fast and tends to get people to sleep early. If I went again I’d take more candles and be better prepared with bigger brighter LED lamps. The kerosene lamps supplied were hard to keep lit well with the constant breeze in our hut. We had brought our own mosquito net but found bugs were not a problem with the constant ocean breeze.

As stated in numerous other reviews the boat did not leave from Sittee river until close to 11:00, we were ready for this so it was not so bad. Coming home however rather than leave at 9:00 we never left until 2:30. This would not have been so bad if the time we would be leaving had been stated to us as such in the morning, we could have then done some snorkeling or something rather than just sit with all our bags packed and at the pier for 5 hrs. Because we were so late leaving, we got back to the mainland about 30 minutes before dark. A number of guests had trouble getting connections to their planned destinations and ended up spending the night in Hopkins. My advice is to not make any plans for the return day beyond getting to either Hopkins or Sittee river. If you’re thinking of leaving the island in the morning and catching a plane in Belize City later that day, forget it. Plan for another night on the mainland and save yourself a lot of stress.

All in all we found the trip to be a good time. Diving and snorkeling are as good as anyone could ever ask for and the lack of any crowds or man made noise or man made anything made it even better. Accommodations’ are primitive but if you enjoying camping or the outdoors you’ll enjoy it so long as you take sufficient supplies. The following list of things to bring might help you. One thing you won’t need much of is clothes. With few people to see and no where to go a few pair of shorts and t-shirts is as much as you’ll need other than bathing suits.

Buy in Belize

Rice oil wine
Pasta butter rum
Sweet potatoes Cheese ice
Potatoes eggs beans
Hot sauce candles mayo
Pancake mix milk and juice in box chips
Pancake syrup Onions canned potatoes
Sugar Garlic tomato sauce
Avocados canned tomatoes Cilantro
Tomatoes tortillas’ Lemons limes
Chorizo sausage Green peppers jalapenos
Mangos Carrots Ginger
Cabbage pineapples oranges
Grapefruit matches candles
Cooler rental from store cheese (laughing cow)

Buy at home

Dried mushrooms salt and pepper Beef jerky
Dried tomatoes spices Chocolate
Veg flakes cereal bars cheese sauce from pizza
Dried berries mixed nuts Onion flakes
Tai chili Tin foil Coffee filters
Large plastic bags coffee Dried mango
Powder milk sharp knife Dried onions
Cutting board canned cream Sealable bags big and small
Soup package dry Garbage bags salad dressings
Frying pan packaged ketchup from fast foods
cous cous packaged soya sauce from fast food
dehydrated veg lots of dishwashing detergent
Benadryl hat pot scraper
rubbing alcohol rain coat dish towels and wash rag
ear plugs book rum (Belize made rum is cheap)

So, I have to say that I am a very experienced independent traveller. And I LOVE this place! I just had my 7th trip there last year and am preparing for my 8th.

Yah yah yah - it's rustic and not for everyone. But what a gem!

The People: the staff are just regular working folks. if you want Hilton style obsequious servants, this is not the place to come. But if you just want normal folks working for a living and being kind and wonderful out of their own hearts, it's just right. Treat them with respect and they will treat you the same way (in my experience). Last year, when we were there, my husband had a birthday and the kitchen staff baked a wonderful cake for him ( which we did not even ask for).
The guests I have met there have been mostly wonderful (other than the occasional whiner) - there is only a certain type of person that will take a trip like this, and in my experience they are the best people to meet on a trip.
The family that runs it is like almost any family - they have their quirks and foibles and are also very loving and approachable and wonderful. I think Becky is a woman who I would have as my best friend at home...and I love Maddie, her daughter. She was great with my son (who was about 2 years younger than her) and she showed him all around the island! They became hard and fast friends. Warren is a kind and sweet man, and although he may seem a little standoffish at first, he is not! I think he is just reserved and a little shy. Marsha Jo is just what she is, and personally I really like her (though I could see why she would rub some people the wrong way)

I would get a cabana on the pier, out over the water. I have stayed in the dorms (which were not that bad) and camped in my own tent, and stayed in a cabin on the beach when I had a small child who I was worried would fall in the water. By far and away, the best deal is the cabin over the water. The bugs were minimal.

What you get: you get a place to stay, with a pretty comfortable mattress. If you want 400 thread count sheets, bring them from home. You get a couple of kerosene lamps (which if you don't know how to use them, you should ask for guidance because they can get smokey) and a propane stove and an assortment of pots and pans and dishes. If there are unoccupied cabins, you can raid them for additional cooking supplies, but you should probably return them when you are leaving. You can bring a cooler (which Becky will fill with ice for a reasonable cost on the trip out) or you can rent a cooler filled with ice. I think 2 coolers are a good idea - both that are filled with ice, one of which you use on a daily basis and one that just stays closed and covered up until mid week.

Food and Eating: we have had some really fabulous dinners on Glovers. You can almost always buy fresh fish from Warren and Friends. Go down to the dock when they are back. Not only can you get totally fresh fish and watch them being cleaned, but they throw the leavings into the water and sharks and rays come and eat that! If you put in your order, you can get lobster as well for a reasonable price. I personally have never eaten meals in the family owned restaurant but I have heard they do a pretty good job.

We normally bring the staple foods - rice, quinoa, tamari, spices, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a little bit of jarred salsa, some big blocks of cheese, some home packaged dried foods (including home dried broccoli, carrots, etc). When we are there, we stop on the way to Sittee River (an
d yes, I would reccomend Elwin Ariola as a driver along with his lovely wife who Becky will be able to hook you up with). We buy tomatoes, hot peppers, cabbage(which lasts for a long time for fresh salads), carrots, potatoes, eggs(which do not actually need to be refrigerated for a long time), long lasting greens, bananas, melons, fruit that is available and anything else we think will last for at least a few days. We also bring supplies to make homemade tortillas so we can have fish tacos or burritos. It would be wise to bring some mesh bags to hang your produce in so it will last for a long time. and also, the "green produce" bags to put perishables in your cooler.

Please do plan to invite your fellow islanders to at least one feast! That is a great way to make friends and get connected.
Also, please do remember to walk out on the reef and pick up some trash that has washed up from ships far away. You can dump this in the trash/recycling area.

Bathrooms: yeah, the composting toilets there can have a little odor. But remember, you are on an island that has no running water. When you are home, every time you flush your toilet you are using potable drinking water that most of the world needs to actually survive. When you use a composting toilet, you are conserving water...so a minute of a little stink is really worth it. And, if everyone uses enough of the the coconut husk shavings that are right by the toilet, the smell will really be minimal. I know this because I have used composting toilets for a long time, even at home.

Enjoy your trip! Maybe I will see you at Glovers this year, or next?

ciao