If I could give 0 stars, I would. My wife and I were looking for an amazing resort that would be the perfect place to spend our honeymoon. After a long and thorough search, we found Mahogany Bay and were more than excited to book 10 nights at a resort that included a private beach club, multiple restaurants, and bared the Hilton Curio Collection name. As a Hilton Diamond member, I have stayed at Hilton locations around the world and have never run into any issues, but this experience has made me question my faith in the Hilton name. Upon arriving, we were driven past the picturesque main gate and into an active construction zone where huge dust clouds were being kicked up and the sound of power tools could be heard from one end of the resort to the other. On the road to the main house were boarded up shacks that were advertised as some of their "over 10 different artisanal dining venues." We came to find out that these "restaurants" were not even open and of the over 10 restaurants that were advertised, only 3 were open. After dropping our bags off in our room, which was above another room and we could hear everything they were saying if they spoke louder than a whisper, we went to the pool to relax and grab some food and drinks. For the amount of money that Mahogany Bay is charging for food and drinks, you would hope that the quality and service were stellar but unfortunately it was some of the worst food and service that I have ever experienced. The drinks would take, on average, 25 minutes to get to you after you ordered and the pool had at most 10 people around it. Any dairy products that we ordered (milk, yogurt, etc.) were soured and the free continental breakfast was not on the menu and was not advertised by the staff unless you asked. The Japanese restaurant was by far our worst dining experience at the resort and put us over the edge. We went for lunch and were the only people in the restaurant at the time we placed our order. The food took over an hour to arrive and when I walked inside to ask how much longer we should expect to wait, the staff was goofing off and all on their phones. When it did finally show up, the order was wrong and the staff did not seem to care. After the first 3 days on the resort, my wife and I were down hundreds of dollar for what felt like the service you would receive at a McDonalds. From then on out, we ate and drank off of the property, where the food was less than half of the price and the service was great. Speaking of going into town, the resort did not have any golf carts available to rent when we arrived and we ended up renting from a different company that a staff member called on his phone. This cart ended up being more money than the carts that Mahogany Bay rented but we came to find out that we could have rented a cart in town for about a tenth of the price that we paid. Had we known, we would have never bought anything on this resort because it ended up being marked up 200-500% for absolutely no reason. On our second day we went to "The gem of Mahogany Bay Resort... the stunning, sandy-shored Beach Club." It turns out that this "Beach Club" is a single building on a underdeveloped man-made lagoon beach with the same level of service as the pool. On top of over-priced food and drinks, the beach had only a handful of beach chairs so unless you were on the first boat over, you were forced to sit on the ground. Sitting on the ground was very uncomfortable due to the sand fleas that would bite you constantly and would still bite you if you went into the water to relax. Mahogany Bay's website advertised that the Beach Club would have paddle boards available to rent but they had a total of 2 paddle boards for the entire club. Getting to and from the club was a crap shoot as well because the hourly boat could only fit 15 people and if you couldn't fit on one boat, you were stuck on the island for another whole hour. The Beach Club was a main reason why we picked this resort but after our first time going, we never returned. Our best experiences for our honeymoon were when we left the resort for excursions or for lunch/dinner. We had a blast SCUBA diving and the excursions that were set up by the resort were great. However, whenever we returned to the resort all that we wanted to do was leave. We explored other hotels and their restaurants and were met with the quality and service that I expected from Mahogany Bay. Just across the street from the resort at Victoria House, we had an amazing dinner with a wait staff that treated us like valued guests, even though they knew that we were not staying at their resort. If it was not for the fact that I used over 100,000 Hilton points to pay for half of our stay, we would have left Mahogany Bay after the first day to stay at one of these other resorts. We even paid extra for the honeymoon package but it did little to mask the overall awfulness of this resort. It unfortunately put a damper on our honeymoon experience and was far from what was advertised by Hilton. If you are looking for a wooden shack to stay in where you will be woken up by construction noises and have to take out a loan to pay for bad food and even worse service, then this is the "resort" for you. If you are looking for beach getaway in paradise, steer clear and I would recommend literally any other resort on San Pedro.…
Overall a nice stay. Pool and private beach were fantastic. All prices at the hotel is in USD. Rooms: Rooms were muggy and A/C did not function correctly. The remote did not actually control the unit. There is no glass in the widows, just shutters with screens so it’s impossible to control the humidity and temperature. Housekeeping was subpar, rooms were not cleaned well nor items replenished with any reliability, like towels, waters, clean glassware. Beds were comfortable with a pillow top mattress cover, but not enough pillows for two people. The pump bottles in the shower had rusted tips which was visible in the products so I suggest to bring your own shampoo and body wash as it was very gross. Toilet paper is one-ply and very uncomfortable to use so bring that as well. Beach Club: Service at the beach club was very slow and infrequent, even in the rented overwater cabanas and not all items ordered were actually delivered. Also the beach bar ran out of a number of items like limes, so many cocktails were not available. I found it tacky that the hotel charges for bottle water at the beach club when it is complementary throughout your stay (typically 4 bottles restocked in room and available anytime at the front desk). I suggest getting enough bottles for the day at the front desk before getting on the boat to avoid paying a $1.50/bottle for something that’s already included. For the overwater cabana, it’s best to reserve two weeks ahead of your arrival, by the time you check-in, they are likely already booked for the week. Immediately after check-in, confirm your reservation and collect the vouchers at the concierge desk to guarantee your spot. It’s $56 USD for a full day (10:15-4:45pm) but you can rent half days for somewhere around $35 USD. If you want to do a half day, I suggest book the afternoon, for the same price you have three hours access in the afternoon (1:15-4:45pm) compared to two hours in the morning (10:15-12:15pm). There is sea lice in the water so plan on getting bitten at least a few times. There are only two paddle boards and the paddles are very short, I am 5’4” and had to bend over to use it, very uncomfortable. I didn’t see any kayaks. The water is shallow only 1-2 feet in most places. Food was okay, menu is limited. Pool: The pool service was better but still a little slow. The water was nice and warm. Veranda Restaurant: Dinner was very good and one of the better meals we ate. Continental breakfast was poor, just filler food.…
The people of Belize are kind and patient. The resort staff were all accommodating, friendly, and kind. I didn't have to worry about transportation, covid testing, great food, recommendations, they were helpful!
I have been going to Mahogany Bay Village for the past 3 years. During my stays there I fall more in love with the property, the staff, the food, and the amenities more each time. The short ribs fall right off the bone, ceviche is always a good idea in belize and the breakfast banana bread was the best banana bread I have EVER tasted. Rachel and Miguel are always our go to servers when we come to the resort. Equal parts knowledgeable and friendly. You can never go wrong with this duo. Oscar went above and beyond to try to get me my favorite mashed potatoes. Arnoldo was so professional and helpful. Brandon and Daniel have the best smiles behind the bar. Daniels smile could light up the whole back patio. Adrian was knowledgeable and engaging, bring smiles to everyone around the bar. Armando and Justin at the beach club are fun and quick to meet your needs! Cynthia at reservations made our stay easy. Melvin at the front desk is efficient friendly and always helpful! Porters Juan and Dennis were very attentive of our needs and assisting us to and from our rooms. Driver Abner had a great attitude and was fun to talk with during our departure. I love how such a large property can feel intimate through everyone's amazing spirits. I always have believed this type of community starts from the leadership down and manager Roberto definitely exemplifies all the qualities of his staff. He was easily available and engaging, you would see him around the resort talking with the guests throughout their stays and addressing needs promptly. His knowledge professionalism and kindness extend from him through his team to make this resort our favorite on the island. We will definitely be back again!! Oh and go visit Orlando at the taco hut the foods great and he is the sweetest!!…
First, I did not realize that the entire hotel is on a lagoon, not the ocean, until a week before our trip. The fact that the beach is accesible only by an infrequent boat ride (once per hour from 10 to about 5) that only holds about 20 people, is not something they advertise up front. The "beach" is not an oceanfront beach, either. It's a sheltered cove where the water is only a maximum of a few feet deep. You only get to shoulder level walking 100 feet out or more. No waves. No water sports. Shaded and/or comfortable chairs are extremely limited and the food and beverage service is ridiculously slow. That said, it's an aesthetically nice spot for instragram photos and great for fams with toddlers if they don't mind riding speed boats to get there. The food is uniformly awful. Really awful. But most of the servers and the rest of the staff were pleasant and helpful. Breakfast service was fine, but bar and pool service was slllooooowww, even though there were hardly any guests. I estimated that the hotel was less than 25% occupied and a server confirmed that --although the front desk, for some reason, wanted us to think they were full. The pool is only minimally acceptable, as you'd find at any random US apartment complex, and there is no hot tub. The accomodations (we stayed in a 3br cottage) are super cute and comfortable and that was, by far, the highlight of the stay. However, the mosquitos (you're right on the lagoon) are unbearable w/o massive bug spray, and the construction noise, like nail guns, went on late into the night even on Christmas. Our scuba/snorkel plans made at the hotel were cancelled at the time we were supposed to leave, supposedly beause of the currents. However, due to the low occupancy of the hotel, I have NO doubt it was because they didn't have full boats booked. Our 8 am dive didn't go out until noon'ish, and we had no advance notice. So everyone, including my teenagers, were up and at' em by 7, only to have to wait hours to actually depart. Finally, you should note that the hotel is selling a limited number of vacation properties on its own site. While the immediately surrounding lots appear to be part of the hotel, they are not. They are separately owned and being developed by a Canadian family. They told me there will be hundreds of homes constructed there over the next several years that have no relationship to the hotel or Hilton. As I recall, 700'ish was the number. When I was there, there were hundreds of empty lots, unpaved street grids carved out (which you can see from the plane as you fly in), and lots of dump trucks and other construction equipment. I expect that construction will be going on for years. Also, they are right near the island's water treatment facility, which you can also see on the flight in. I could go on, but I won't. This location is an absolute no go for such an otherwise beautiful destination as Ambergris Caye, imo.…
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