Bella's Backpackers Hostel

The hot and cold shower

They had cement floors that made the room dirty from all the sand and was very frustrating when time for bed

Bella is your typical backapaker's hostel. They offer tours and activities every single day, which is great! You won't miss an opportunity to connect with others. The location is great, it's very central to the split, bars, restaurants and convenient store. The hotel has kayaks that you can use whenever you want at no cost. I took it to watch the sunset and it was amazing!

If you are looking for some quiet and solo time, be advised that you won't find that in this hotel or in the island at all. There is always music and parties going on.

Open spaces, shade which is important in Belize

Nothing

I never write reviews, even when I’m unhappy with my stay as I couldn’t be bothered but on this occasion I had to… I booked a private room at Bellas with my friend. Upon arrival the hostel told me that they in fact had no rooms available even though I had a booking (hence I’m able to write this review). Bellas staff claimed there’s nothing they could do (not even an apology). They offered us to ask someone staying in a private room if they had a spare bed available (initially I thought this was a joke, but supposedly was the best they could do). Apart from that, they essentially told me, tough luck, you’ll have to find a place somewhere else to stay for the night (if you know anything about the island, accommodation needs to be booked weeks or even months in advance and last minute bookings are usually expensive). So we awkwardly asked a guy coming out of his private room if we could join and he kindly obliged. My friend and I shared a single bed in what id describe as a shack (see image below) with no air-con (in 28 degrees at night and humidity 80%). The next morning, we were charged 18 US $ each for our ‘stay’ (the cost of a dorm each). I argued that this was very unfair as they made the mistake with our booking. The staff again were so rude, argumentative with clearly no understanding of customer service. The workers here evidently don’t care about the business. If I was the owner of this establishment I would be furious with how they treat customers. Whatever you do, do not stay here . Clearly your booking may not even be valid…

Good location and helpful staff