Bay Towers

New owner, so old reviews should not be considered. Hospitality is definitely lacking. From lack of email response to not turning on outdoor lights when we arrived was our first indication. We were a large group using 3 of the 6 rooms and staying a week, so reaching back would have been expected. Just FYI if air conditioner or water heater do not work flip breakers. House and grounds keeper do a good job.

Beautiful property, clean and new, responsive on-site owner, private beach with kayaks and more, and on the quieter north island. Easy to get to the south island as the ferry that crosses the split is a few minutes' walk away. Bikes provided which are a great way to explore both islands.

This was not a negative for us, but the north island is quieter with a more wild / "in nature" feel. There are fewer restaurants (maybe 3 - 4 total) and one small grocery store. There is a lot of construction going up so I don't expect it will still be this way in a decade. If you want a party atmosphere stay on the south island.

Wonderful place to get away from it all! Our room was kept sparkling clean. The owner Greg was so friendly, and full of suggestions for things to do and places to go. He was super accommodating for anything we needed. The sunsets here are amazing!

This place was awesome! The American owner is super friendly and informative on what the area offers! Compared to the other decent places on the North Island, it was priced 30-40% less and you can actually enjoy the beach and ocean since it had no sargassum which ruined our stay a year earlier at Blue Zen. If you go to Belize, you want to be able to walk out your door and enjoy the beach and ocean, right???

The property is beautiful! The apartment is amazing and the view is breathtaking

This is by far the best place on Caye Caulker. Stay on the calm and quiet North side of the island. You get an entire floor to yourself. Beautiful rooms with full kitchen, tile floors, marble countertops, brand new top of the line appliances, even your own water cooler. There are comfy beds with clean linens, walk-in shower with good water pressure. Awesome air conditioning kept us cool when needed. Staff are on site and kept our rooms super clean. Perfect sunset views from the balcony. 360 degree views from the rooftop are amazing!! Note - they are on the West side of the island that doesn't get the gross stinky seaweed like the East side does. There’s a clean pool, paddleboat, bikes and kayaks to take out. Ferry shuttles you to South side any time you want. Greg is a perfect host who will provide your every need. He is building so many new great additions and amenities - can't wait to see it all when we come back.

Wonderful stay at Bay Towers! The apartment was sparkling clean, large, and looked brand new. We spent many hours on the terrace, sitting or in the hammock, enjoying the sea views with a book or a coffee or just chatting. Staff is on site, highly responsive and easy to communicate with via WhatsApp. The private beach is great with lots of chairs, water hammocks, inner tubes, kayaks, and seating at the end of the pier all for guests' use. The very calm water is ideal for kayaking! We also used the bikes provided by the property almost every day and explored both the north and south islands by bike. The north island has a much more wild feel to it compared to the south island, although I expect that will change in the next few years as there are quite a few new structures going up on the north island. It's very peaceful, with dirt roads, bikes and golf carts only (no cars), and very safe. When you want to party, listen to music, be around lots of people and have lots of restaurant options, the south island is very close. There is a restaurant virtually across the road and another few that are a short bike ride away. The split-to-split ferry is about a 5 minute walk from the property / 2 minute bike ride, and the crossing to the south island is about 1 minute with ferries just going back and forth all the time. We swam off the private beach daily, usually multiple times, and enjoyed watching the pelicans dive for fish. We went to the south island daily, did a snorkel excursion, and just relaxed. A few tips for future travelers: have bug spray ready for when the sun goes down ; don't swim at night, there are crocs (Gregg will warn you about this anyway); do your grocery shopping on the south island (a new north island grocery store is about to open imminently though), and ask the owners for logistics advice for arrival and departure. There are planes, ferries, and golf cart options for getting you there. Nice also that beach towels were provided! Thank you Gregg and Laura for a great stay, we look forward to coming back!

My 4th time here is my absolute last. What a difference a change in ownership makes! Let me preface my review by saying I know the hospitality industry. From self-billed 7 star hotels in the UAE to run of the mill chains - travel is my passion and job. Please note my review of here a year ago and the in-depth review that follows chronicles why this is a complete 180 If you don't mind an essay - you might find this important in deciding to say here - or not. On my 3rd visit last May, the owner advised me he was close to selling the property. Devastated doesn't begin to describe my feelings. I happened to be here when the potential buyer was also here looking it over. Seeing him walking around with another investor talking over big ideas to turn this quiet haven into a younger more money generating place was disheartening as the quiet and solitude was the driving force in repeat business and talking to every guest I encountered since day 1. The fact that the potential buyer didn't once make eye contact or speak to other guests was very telling. These are more than likely your future guests and one would think you would want to hear if they are first time guests/repeat guests and what drew them to the property in the first place. As this is a very small property, voices carry. On the water, up the stairs, you hear almost everything if you are outside. I was on the roof while these guys were up there as well and neither one even looked at me let alone say hello. Call me invisible. This small slice of heaven that I thought I would return to time and again is no more. What used to be a sense of family welcoming me back with open arms is now a neglectful new owner who only showed his face asking you to check in (pay). Payment isn't the issue - the previous owner never asked until you were ready to check out - quite a contrast to the industry norm, so not a ding on the new owner for that - just different. However, what is different is the arrival, the stay, and the departure. In other words - everything. We arrived at the dock and no one there to greet us. We lugged our stuff up 4 flights of stairs as there in no elevator. The maintenance guy helped us. He is new, not the one from before. However, the housekeeper was the same so was able to get us settled. My sister went down to complete check in process as I had to run back to town (hotel is on the northside of "the split). This small hotel only consists of six units at the moment, but it is expanding. There is no mention of renovations on the website or booking platforms. The grounds area is a mess - but the rooms are the same and they are very good. A couple of weeks prior I got an email from the assistant asking about arrival. I asked if they still picked up and was told yes at the ferry. The night before arrival I emailed again what dock as previously two docks were used and was told there was no pickup. What used to be an arrival with the host meeting you in his boat at either the water taxi or backside dock is now "we are under new management and do not pick up". The advice is Clayto (at Split to Split) ferry has an agreement to bring guests to the dock. Keep this in mind for later on. Foundations are being laid for more rooms and the focus is on restaurant/bars; i.e. alcohol. What they are trying to turn this into I have no idea, but a quiet sanctuary it will not be. I see an attempt to lure a younger more partying type of crowd - quite the contrast to what most of these reviews say they loved about BT. Many mention the hospitable owner. He is no more. I am also part of a group of women travelers on FB that is in excess of 400,000 members. When I posted last year, I had lots of requests of where I was staying due to my pictures and exuberance of Caye Caulker and hotel. What made the lodging experience were the people, and what made Caye Caulker a place to come back to again and again was the hotel/people. One lady even booked a bordering stay as me over the holidays. I was concerned about the change in ownership but when she arrived she raved about how the new owner and his friends kind of took her under their wing. My hopes for it being better than I anticipated were raised! Maybe the impression I got in May would be changed by his actually owning the place now. I have also recommended to many during the course of my job, but as BT is not part of a travel agent GDS system and only bookable through Expedia etc, I have directed them to book direct so those booking giants don't get over 20 percent commission. Christmas night, this guy was walking around at 230 in the morning on his phone talking very loudly about how the person on the other end helped him buy this place but didn't want to come down and hang out. He talked about Mario and Amy (voices carry I tell you) I could even hear him out on the dock talking. I felt sorry for the people on the first floor as it had to be much louder. I can only surmise that he did not like us in part, as we were so loyal to the previous owner, but also because he was staying in our unit until we checked in. He made comment to another guest he was now sleeping in the office and had to take a shower outside. The previous owner had a small cottage on site but he would not use that. How do you tell your guests you are taking a shower outside when everyone else goes to sleep? The rooftop here as much potential but at the moment it's a storage place of the old bar that used to sit under the palm trees. Imagine seeing dog s#!t up here. Oh yes, there are now 3 dogs that roam the grounds. Unleased. As an animal lover, I have no problem with dogs; what I do have a problem with is finding dog doo doo all over the place. Staying 2 weeks gave me an opportunity to observe many guest arrivals and departures. As a high-end travel agent, paying attention to detail is in my blood. I only saw one family taken by boat with their luggage. Guests seemed to be cherry picked on who got any type of hospitality at all. Other families I saw lugging their bags down the road to the split. One mother/daughter left right after Christmas and I heard them asking if they could get a ride on the golf cart to the split - and later saw them loaded up with backpacks/etc walking away on their own. The new owner seems to be more interested in drinking (always a beer in his hand and sometimes smelling heavily of partaking a bit too much of alcohol) than in ensuring his PAYING guests are taken care of. No "Merry Christmas" no wave when passing him on bikes or on the dock. He made mention once of fish laying around (one of my absolute favorites is feeding the magnificent frigate birds (Iwa in Hawaiian) sardines. One or two small fish is worse than dog poop or the trash lying around?? We discovered immediately that there were NO remote controls in the unit. It took 4 days to get some. Two tvs were never hooked up to the internet - so it rendered the remotes we finally got as useless. Lounge chair by pool is ripped - only one lounge chair on small beach has a cushion and it has a large rip in it. Just get rid of it instead of leaving a huge rip on the only cushioned lounge chair. There are bikes and kayaks. We used to have the air put in anytime we needed it. There is no help in this anymore. It was quite rainy a couple of days and that means the streets are muddy. The bikes were coated in mud for days on end. I finally took them to the dock and washed the caked mud off some of them. They used to help you in and out of the water with the kayaks - no more. If you are of a mature age, this will no longer be the place for you. You know the feeling you get when you are staying with family or friends but they don't want you there? This is the feeling I got from day one. It was an uncomfortable way to feel over Christmas, and in a place I had fallen in love with from the moment I first walked into the unit. I feel in a way betrayed, like my memories were tarnished and any future enjoyment at Bay Towers just evaporated. I think of the times I laughed with guests from all over - sharing my bait so they can feed the frigates and seeing them light up when doing so. Or discovering yes, you can see the entire Southern Cross from Belize. This time, I felt like the host - offering others recommendations on places to eat, and tips on where to see the crocodile etc. People thought I worked there! On our last day, I headed to town for a last amazing massage (review later Ixchel). I had spoken to Clayto the previous night about picking up my sister at 1115 and he said 11 was better. Ok I know Clayto so that is better, in case he gets delayed. On my way over, I made sure again he had 11am and his wife confirmed 11am. He never showed up and when I arrived at the split, he was taking back to back golf carts (he makes substantially more money on those). I asked why isn't he going to get her? It's less than a five minute boat ride to do so. His wife said, he's going now - and I watched him take another golf cart. At this time I see the new owner bringing my sister to the split, so I have to say thank you for that. Unexpected that he did, so I have to give him that. My advice is when you say you have an agreement with Clayto to bring your guests, Clayto must hold up his end - or use the Northside ferry service where they don't just ditch you because you got something better at the moment. The golf carts could wait a few more moments, they weren't trying to catch a flight. Clayto also doesn't give a break on rates, it's the same as before to bring to Bay Towers dock. If you are relying on Clayto to do what used to be done by Rene, I would find a better way. Writing this review has not been easy. I met so many guests over the last year who vowed to return to BT - and one man made their stay great - Rene. My purpose is to warn those that loved this hospitality that you will not find BT the same as you remember. The attitude is not the same. I feel like it's a money grab with no appreciation to the guests who are paying. I'm not giving my hard earned dollars to someone who can't be bothered to say "hi" or "how's it going" or show an interest. You can't teach hospitality. It’s not always what you say sometimes it’s what you don’t say that speaks volumes. Whether you have six units or 600 - a successful hotel owner is there for his guests. Sadly this one is not.

Very clean friendly and great view

I enjoyed my stay at Bay Towers. My room was clean, spacious, and had everything I needed. The bed was comfortable (not too firm, not too soft) and the pillows ranged from firm to fluffy. The linens were good quality. The bathroom was clean and the water pressure in the shower was great. I always had hot water. The kitchenette was well-stocked with utensils, dishes, a microwave, toaster oven, coffee maker, water dispenser, and a mini-fridge. The water dispenser was a huge plus and saved me a few bucks. As an added bonus, there are bikes and kayaks onsite to use at your convenience. The pool was clean, though I never used it. There are swings and several chairs for reading and relaxing. There's an area for swimming and a nice dock as well. This property is in North Caye Caulker, so you will need to catch the Split-to-Split ferry ($5BZE) to reach it. There are several restaurants within walking/biking distance. I really liked the restaurant at El Ben Cabanas. Gregg, the owner, was kind and very helpful during my stay. He suggested places to eat and things to do. He even gave me a lift to the Split so I didnt have to walk with my luggage in the rain. Also, when I left an item behind after check-out, he made sure to get it back to me quickly. The office always replied promptly to any messages - during and after my stay.