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If you ignore several MR & Mrs Smith properties at which most World of Hyatt benefits are ignored and at which award nights can cost over 100,000 points per night, Belize hasn’t been somewhere with much to offer someone looking to use their World of Hyatt points or World of Hyatt status.
That, however, has just started to change.
Hyatt has confirmed that the Placencia Resort in Belize has joined its portfolio as an affiliated hotel and said that following what sounds like a major makeover, the property will become part of the Destination by Hyatt brand and join the World of Hyatt next year.
Belize is situated south of Mexico’s Quintana Roo region and east of Guatemala and it occupies a beautiful length of Caribbean coastline.
The Placencia Resort is on the Placencia Peninsula, a lush, 13-mile-long beach in southern Belize near the largest barrier reef in the western hemisphere.
The hotel is a 20-minute car journey from Placencia Airport and just 5 minutes by car from Maya Beach where several other popular hotels/resorts are to be found.
This Google Maps image taken in 2022 should give you an idea of what the beach in front of the hotel looks like (it looks beautiful).
Starting immediately, the Placencia Resort is bookable through the Hyatt portal with prices starting at around $160/night (including taxes) but because it’s not yet part of the World of Hyatt, award bookings are not possible, and guests will not earn Hyatt points on their stays.
That’s all set to change by late 2025 when, after a $10m renovation, we’re told that the Placencia Resort will offer 90 ‘reimagined guestrooms, suites and beachfront villas’ as well as an ‘enhanced arrival experience with playfully refined public areas’.
From what Hyatt says in its press release it sounds like the works being done to the property will take the form of two phases because we’re told that ‘shortly after [the guestrooms are renovated], guests can expect a new dynamic three-meal restaurant, indoor/outdoor event space perfect for social gatherings, an overwater signature restaurant and bar, and a refreshed pool and pool bar experience’.
The property currently boasts Belize’s largest swimming pool …
… and guests can make the most of complimentary kayaking and paddle boarding, as well as unlimited private beach access.
Complimentary bicycles are also offered to all guests who would like to visit the surrounding areas, all the usual Caribbean activities (fishing expeditions, private boat charters, scuba diving, snorkeling, etc…) can be booked through the property or through nearby vendors, and guests can even enjoy day trip tours to the inland of Belize with guided tours to Mayan archeological sites, cave expeditions and jungle ‘adventures’.
An aside: Belize was once a British colony and to this day its jungles are used as one of the training areas for the British Special Forces (better known as the SAS).
For the time being that’s all the information that we have to share with you, but this is definitely exciting news – Belize is an incredibly beautiful place to visit (it has some amazing diving and snorkeling) and it’s often free of the hordes of vacationers that can make other parts of the Caribbean feel more like a giant tourist camp rather than a tranquil retreat from the stresses of everyday life.
There’s a good chance that the timeline for the renovation project will slip and so we won’t see this property join the World of Hyatt until 2026, but that’s ok. Good things come to those who wait (apparently!) and it looks like this may be a resort that will ends up being worth the wait.
Link to the Placencia Resort website
Featured image courtesy of Hyatt.
