I rarely write trip reports, so please forgive any major lapses. This is a new property, opening in May 2021, so I felt it justified some mention. I booked a 2-bedroom (King/Queen) Oceanfront Reef House via an opening special rate that said it included breakfast.

Bottom line upfront: Would I book again? Yes. Would I consider alternatives? Yes. Overall: This was a nice stay and the location is convenient.

The hotel is located maybe 1 mile south of the air terminal and the hotel provided a taxi to take us there and back. Check-in was efficient and unremarkable, and I used my Ambassador benefits for 2 additional continental breakfasts. My SNAs hadn’t cleared, which was fine. I was handed two continental breakfast cards for 2 people each… at the time I knew one said it was for continental breakfast, but not both.

We were given a tour of the gorgeous property by one of the bellmen, who exemplified the awesome customer service consistently demonstrated by the staff. I was shocked to find myself in a 6-unit condo since no property pictures show these units… I expected to be in one of the cool modern rooms that is on the beach. The unit was overall nice, and so I didn’t really feel like I had a bone to pick at this point.

What I thought we booked:

Resort photo from website... notice the condo unit I was in isn't visible.




What we were given.



That night I discovered that the bed in the 2nd bedroom was a full size and not a queen. I called the front desk, which was unable to resolve the issue. They left a note for the day staff… they never got back to me. My kids resolved this issue by one sleeping on the sofa (not a pull-out)… they didn’t care too much so I decided to just let it go.

The property has several restaurants, including “The Deck” (located on the beach), “Terrace Bar” (located poolside), Sea Salt (located inside the main hotel building), Vista Rooftop (located on the rooftop of the hotel), and the Piano Bar (located in an open area near the front desk). The menus are currently available online at https://ztou.ch/Alaia. Each restaurant has a slightly different menu, which was slightly inconvenient when folks didn’t agree on what they wanted. For example, this month is “Lobster Fest”, celebrating the opening of lobster season. Each restaurant served different versions of the specials. Fortunately we had a great waiter in the Terrace Bar on our first night who agreed to get a couple of meals from The Deck.

Overall, the meals were incredibly tasty and did a great job displaying fresh Belize cooking. The presentations were all excellent and the service was outstanding. Some of the wait staff remembered our names and even remembered how we liked our coffee and/or what we ate for breakfast. I can’t say enough good about the staff.

The hotel has a dive shop on property –The Belize Pro Dive Shop. I made reservations for a couple scuba trips and a fishing/snorkeling/beach BBQ package for the time while we were there. There was a small communication glitch between the concierge and the dive shop that was addressed very quickly, and I suspect it’s resolved for good (in short, I emailed reservations who didn’t cc the concierge. However, they did contact the dive shop. So, no big deal). Prices available through the hotel and directly through the dive shop were identical. The shop billed direct to room, although you needed to have cash on hand ($10 US each) for entry into the marine reserve.

Service at the dive shop was extraordinary, and a definite highlight of the trip. I’m a certified diver and my kids have never been. I attended a dive refresher and they attended a intro class –both were very professionally run and the instructors did a great job covering all the important material. The equipment was high-quality and well-maintained. The staff were attentive throughout and made safety and comfort a priority.

Our kitchen was equipped with the expected essentials. Pans, knives, plates, and glasses. Blender, toaster, and coffee maker. Oven and electric stove. There isn’t a dishwasher. There wasn’t an ice tray, either.

Bath gel, shampoo and conditioner were from a wall squeeze bottle containing Bath and Body Works products. They were fine, although the conditioner was a tad weak.

We had mostly-daily housekeeping service. They missed one day for some reason.

So, let’s talk now about breakfast. I discovered that the property pretty much doesn’t offer any “complimentary” breakfasts other than the continental. The staff take this very literally and don’t allow for any buy-ups. So you can’t apply your $18 credit toward a three egg omelet at $18. As I said up front, my rate offered “breakfast.” I went to the front desk the first night when I discovered both coupons specified a continental breakfast. At the time, the GM was present, and she wrote “Alaia Breakfast” and signed her name on my coupons.

Before I continue, I need to point out general issues with the breakfast menu. As pointed out, there isn’t a buy-up option, and this isn’t specified on the menu. Secondly, look at the Alaia breakfast… there’s way too many choices leading to confusion. You can either:

· Order eggs -or-

· Order pancakes -or-

· Order french toast

Then select either sausage links or bacon. Unless you order pancakes or french toast and then you can also order potatoes, fruit, or chili pork patties in addition to links or bacon.


Breakfast menu



Why am I harping on this? Here’s my crazy series of stories:

Morning 1: Mrs. Dog orders continental. I order the breakfast burrito. My kids order french toast. We get two bills and are told we have to pay for everything but the continental breakfast. I ask if they can clarify with the front desk and a few minutes later I’m told that my bill was correct. I’m annoyed but we needed to get to the dock for diving and decide to let it go for the moment. However, when we get back from diving, I’m tired and don’t have it in me to deal… and decide that we made a $70 mistake and that I was going to avoid the hotel restaurants because I felt ripped off.

Morning 2: I tell the kids that we had to stick to the Alaia. Then I discover the “one sweet dish” actually referred to “Sweet Sugar Rush” and that yesterday’s french toast was included. So the kids order it again and I stick to eggs. Again, we get two bills and I ask the waiter who tells me that they just had to do it this way but I would be comped. I figure I’ll deal with Morning 1 on checkout and it will all be OK.

Day 4: I’m flipping through the TV and look at the folio and discover I’m being charged for the Alaia each day. I’m annoyed but just decide to deal with it all on checkout.

On checkout, the breakfasts were on my bills. The front desk manager happened to be present and I shared the confusing menu and my general dissatisfaction about how meals were handled. Specifically, that it’s nonsensical to me that they wouldn’t allow buy-ups/substitutions for the continental, and that the menu in general is confusing –why couldn’t I get the chili pork patty instead of bacon with the egg since both are $6 and seem to be equivalents? The breakfasts were removed from my bills without any hassle.

Overall, I found this property solid and one I’d definitely consider on a future trip to San Pedro. I’d definitely recommend the dive shop and would strongly consider using them again. The dining was very good, although rather overpriced. I think the breakfast issue is rather confusing and off-putting, to the point that I would probably elect no breakfast and cook some eggs in my room if the hotel doesn’t address the issues I described above. I found the staff to be outstanding, although they don’t appear equipped to address or escalate issues as they pop up. I’m glad I stayed there, although I’d consider a beachside VRBO an equally attractive option if competitively priced and located.