Banyan Bay Villas has among the best pools and beaches in the San Pedro area, so the kids can play on their own for hours. Most of the other hotels in this area have no beach (just sand but no access to the water), and smaller pools.

We traveled as two families, each with kids 5 and 9. The staff was very helpful in booking adjacent suites on the second floor overlooking the pool; we got exactly what they promised. The suites were very large and comfortable, air-conditioned, each with a fully equipped kitchen, large living rooms (can add a sofa bed), a balcony, two bedrooms, and two full baths. There are three small markets within a hundred yards of the hotel entrance, so you can easily stock up on bottled water and fill the fridge. It is hard to find fresh fruit and vegetables. The suites have cable TV, phones. There is good wireless and wired internet access, but only in the hotel lobby.

The hotel is about 1 ½ miles south of the main town of San Pedro. You can walk along the dusty (or muddy, depending on the weather) main street, which was being rebuilt during our stay, or get a taxi, or rent a golf cart from the front desk. I don’t recommend staying in the nice hotels or condos north of San Pedro, since there is no easy way to get to town on your own.

The dive shop people are happy to arrange your snorkel trip, river adventure, and tours, and they will assist with your travel arrangements too. I was told the hotel has a concierge, she was very nice but seemed more interested in selling time-shares and was never available to help with reservations. All of the staff were friendly and helpful.

The hotel restaurant, Rico’s, is right on the beach (nice to let the kids play while we enjoy the breeze) and we found the food good but expensive. Try the lobster ceviche and the fruit platter. There is a great selection of casual and fancy restaurants in San Pedro; all are fairly expensive so we were happy to have most breakfasts and lunches in our rooms.

Banyan Bay is a little bland - but they have everything you need to relax and enjoy Ambergris Caye with small kids. For a more exotic setting, try Xanadu next door.

I booked a trip to Belize for DH's birthday and wanted a family friendly place since we were taking 13mo DS with us. Wow. The resort matched the photos. Our rooms were great, the service was excellent- Anna our housekeeper was warm and gave us alot of good info. The concierge and front desk were helpful with anything we needed or asked. The maintainance men even re-programmed our tv remote when the baby played with it, and blew up his pool floaty for us. We rented a golf cart from Polo's and it was a great choice. The only down side to Banyan Bay is Rico's- the food was so bland and so overpriced, I skipped meals rather than go into town or eat there. The reef has suffered alot of damage over the last 5 years so the snorkeling was a disappointment, but with the increase in tourists, I shouldnt be surprised. One other thing, Belize used to be an affordable vacation spot, but its not anymore. The price on everything has gone up considerably. As much as we loved Banyan Bay, I think this 5th trip to Belize may be my last as I search for another affordable place.

We were a large family group, I did a LOT of research on where to stay on Ambergris. After reading reviews I was nervous about Banyan Bay.

If you are going to Belize with children, Banyan Bay's swimming pool is THE BEST on the island. We almost stayed at Xanadu, Ramon's, and SunBreeze, and in the end decided on Banyan Bay. It was the perfect setup for us. I looked at the other hotels mentioned above once there, and was very pleased with our choice. Yes, Xanadu had a little more "ambiance", if you're a honeymooner, I might opt there. But, once again, Banyan Bay is excellent for families with kids. The beach was a true beach unlike the others. Xanadu for example has a 8' wide beach, the rest is big rocks built up as a barrier...not kid friendly.

The condos are well equipped. We rented out 5 different rooms, so I was able to get a feel for a lot of the different rooms. They are all decorated differently, some more luxurious, others plain, but it didn't matter. They all had PLENTY of room. Kitchens had blenders, toasters, microwaves, ovens, and stoves. Plus the necessary cooking utensils needed to whip up a quick meal. There were safes in the rooms.

No washer and dryer as stated in 1 previous review.
No bottled water provided as stated in 1 previous review.

Ricos was a little pricey, but convenient. WIth kids, we opted to eat in most of the time.

There were 3 convenient stores within walking distance to get necessary items like milk, tortillas, water, etc. If you want fresh veggies, you have to go into town. Prices are reasonable for necessity items. 1 gallon of water is $1.50 US. If you want Pringles, expect to pay $3 US. Town is a ways away. We ended up renting golf carts and that was a very fun way to explore the island.

Staff was friendly. Never got hassled to buy a timeshare. Maids were good and none of us had anything stolen. The babysitter was a nice lady. We never used her, but she'd come say hi everyday and hold our young kids by the pool. I would've felt safe using her, we just never needed her. Gardens and grounds were well kept and cleaned daily.

The little adventure shop out on the pier were nice people, we didn't use them for our diving, but they seem to be able to arrange most things. We used Chuck and Robbies, and were very pleased with them and their prices.

Once again, if you are taking kids, without a doubt, this is where I'd stay now that I've been to Ambergris.

Our adult children decided to celebrate our 60th birthdays by taking us to Belize with them for incredible scuba diving at the reef off San Pedro and 3 days/4 nights of adventures at Caves Branch Jungle Lodge. We loved our stay at the Villas at Banyun Bays and one of the biggest reasons was the onsight dive shop, Bottom Time. The dive masters at Bottom Time Dive Shop were wonderful. Our family represented everything from snorklers to recently certified divers to
experienced divers and the folks at the dive shop took care of us all. They even organized a trip to Mayan Ruins, leaving right from our dock. Thanks especially to Eli for organizing everything. We can't say enough nice things about everyone connected with Bottom Time.