TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at It'zana. It was our anniversary trip and the resort staff welcomed us very warmly with a bottle of champagne, a beautiful bed decor and a personalized message in our room. The staff is very friendly and accommodating, the beach is cleaned and raked every morning, room service was timely and professional. The location of the resort is not near the Placencia village (which is more south on the peninsula), so we had to bike or rent a golf cart in order to experience more tourist attractions. Also, we came in August, which is the slowest tourist season out of the year and it felt at times that we were the only ones in the resort. Some people may actually like it. Despite the location, there are some amazing food places near It'zana like Miss Verns and Malulas Beach Bar. We stayed in a beach loft at It'zana which was beautiful and had its own infinity pool, kitchen, outdoor shower/tub and all the amenities needed to have a comfortable stay. We highly recommend It'zana Resort.

This hotel is absolutely beautiful, the grounds, the decor, everything. I like that it's not too big since I prefer small hotels, and I also liked that it's right on the beach, short walk from your room. The staff is very nice and friendly, and the food is delicious. I will be back.

My wife and I had a wonderful stay at Itz'Ana! The staff, food, and setting are excellent. The staff- an eclectic group of Belizean natives who are some of the most friendly and sincerely kind people I've met who go out of their way to please. The food- having had an extended one month stay we were able to experience numerous menu items and enjoyed them all. (Seafood Pasta!!!) The setting- What you see in the pictures is what you get, stunning beauty. The architecture is without compare on the peninsula. All the rooms benefit from this with a unique privacy but still have a view of the grounds, pool and landscaping. The pool is a one-of-a-kind gem. We had a chance to tour the villas and lofts that are available for rent. They are an experience all by themselves. After a day of snorkeling in the world's second largest barrier reef or exploring ancient Mayans, it was always with pleasure I thought of returning to Itz'Ana. If you want to experience Belize in a true Caribbean paradise this is the place! * I believe I shared a shuttle van ride with Planktos15 who recently posted a review of Itz'Ana, and I feel it is necessary to refute some of her comments. The couple were aware that their lagoon cottage was still under construction and indeed had a place to stay when they arrived. The water leak in the room (this can happen even at the best of places) was not sewage and I witnessed the staff work diligently to repair it. We had numerous drinks from the bar and delicious is an appropriate adjective.

First the positives: the property is absolutely stunning. It is beautifully designed and the food is delicious. The staff are all friendly and accommodating. Breakfasts were our favourite part of the day with pleasant servers and a great view. The pool is dreamy. A property with so much potential! After falling in love with Ka’ana, we decided it was time to try its sister resort Itz’ana. We came in with high expectations and were thoroughly disappointed. If we had came to Itz’ana first, we never would have thought going to Ka’ana was a good idea. We had better service and rooms at almost all hotels and resorts we’ve stayed at in Belize (not marketed as luxury) for a fraction of the cost. The team gave us a discount when we checked out, which we are grateful for. We also understand that opening right before the pandemic surely took its toll on financials and property upkeep. We do however, still feel that others need to know that not everyone has a 5 star experience here before choosing Itz’ana as their vacation destination. There were a lot of details overlooked, and generally it seems as though there is a lack of organization amongst the staff. Although everyone was very pleasant and friendly, we often felt the overall service was lacking. A few examples: - Upon arrival, we were offered one towel but were two guests. Honestly, if I had not been offered any towel at all I would have thought nothing of it. But because there was only one, it was slightly off-putting. - The bartender was acting as server and bartender on our first night and we sat and waited forever, we clearly needed attention. However, his attention was on what we assumed was the resort’s photographer setting up a scene. Throughout our stay, the staff was catering to curating beautiful images more than to its guests. Don’t even get us started on the cocktails - they are absolutely disgusting and we tried multiple. The welcome drinks were delicious so we were confused as to why the cocktails just did not compare. The well-designed second floor bar was never open. - We’d be sitting around the pool always wanting a menu or drink but no one was to be found. We’d have to get up and find help. There’s a service charge automatically added to every bill which is annoying when the service is lacking. The pool area was never cleaned up with towels and drinks from the day before still laying around. There are lots of birds around, which we love, but that means the loungers do need frequent cleaning from bird poop, which seemingly goes unnoticed by staff. - The room was cleaned twice a day, which we don’t really need. Except that we always still had sand on our floors and in the bed. We needed to ask for toilet paper and were handed a quarter roll rather than a new one. When we arrived, someone else’s bathing suit bottoms were under our sink and the floors were making our feet black as if they were not mopped or mopped with a dirty mop. The room smelled musty, which is a stark contrast to the lovely calming insense and tropical smell of Ka’ana’s rooms. The shampoo smelled really bad and was the same as the body soap. Super cheap stuff, again in stark contrast to the high end products offered at Ka’ana. Our toilet constantly leaked and we were always stepping in it because the toilet room is very small and clausophobic. I thought it was just sweating, but when we went to leave, the room beside us was leaking sewage across the outdoor hallway floor like a river and we had to walk around, so maybe it was a symptom of a much larger maintenance problem. The A/C was always set low to 16 or 18 degrees C, but the room never really got that cool. We also met a couple that had purchased one of the cottages and thought it was finished, but arrived (expecting to move in) to find they had no where to live. The property has so much promise and offers calming views with kind and pleasant staff. It just does not live up to its luxury status or sister resort.

My husband and I stayed at Itzana in may of 2023 for his 50th birthday. The resort is beautiful! I loved how they pulled off a sophisticated Caribbean/plantation decor that added to the paradise. The staff is very accommodating, it was NBA playoffs and they kindly switched the TV in the bar area from cooking shows to basketball for us. When we went it was heading into off season so there were not many other guests. Which was perfect for us as we liked he quiet and solitude and the few people on property in the restaurant were all very nice and chill. the food was excellent. spring for the full breakfast as Itzana is far away from downtown unless you like donuts then it's up to you. I am gluten and soy free and had plenty of delicious food to eat. For breakfast I had the smoothie bowl which was refreshing, filling and healthy, topped with fresh tropical fruit an hemp seeds. We also had the chilequiles which were down right tasty, steak and eggs, omelets anyway you want . The coffee they serve is really good, I drank at least two cups every morning. For lunch we most were out adventuring but a couple of times when we lounged by their huge and beautiful warm pool we ordered their salads to have some fresh foods, it had butter lettuce and warm well seasoned chicken with grilled pineapple is i remember correct. we also had the ceviche which was so good we ordered again during our stay. we had dinner there at least 3 or 4 nights which was all very good, we enjoyed the mayan fish, the ribeye, the pork loin a lot. We also went to Omar's seafood restaurant that was highly recommended in town. They are know for lobster and crab but it was off season so had neither, I had the curry fish and it was good but a little salty for my taste, my husband had the grilled octopus which was a bit rubbery. We also went to Wendy's local creole restaurant as it was also highly recommended. It was mothers day and we asked for their chicken stew as we heard that was the dish to get. They were sold out by noon. I got nachos as it says its creole but had mostly Mexican options. The nachos were meh. We didn't go to Rumfish or Tipsy Tuna as they were both overrun with drunk Americans and I can see that at home. We did go t the restaurant at Francis Ford Coppola's hotel that everyone raved about and had a lovely experience. Its extremely expensive place to stay but the blogs all say go to the restaurant so we did on my husbands birthday which also feel on Indonesian night. It was nice to have indo food as we generally eat food from around the world all the time. The indo food was a huge beautiful platter, I didn't eat it because it had soy sauce in just about everything. My husband found it tasty but was concerned because the food was not hot when it came to the table. He experienced some GI issues later that night as well. Worked out for me as they had gluten free pizza that as sooo delicious, it tasted so close to the real deal. I went back a second time and had it. They also had One Barrell, 5 barrell and 10 barrell rum. Their cocktails were not too sweet and very good. Okay, enough on food and back to Itzana. We got to stay in the Beach Villa Loft. It was such a luxury! The whole property is beautifully landscaped with coconut, banana trees, beautiful tropical flowers, and other cool trees and bushes. Then you get to your loft, ours was on the second floor, beautifully decorated, good AC, washer/dryer, full kitchen, great closet space, super comfortable bed but the best part were the balconies. The front balcony has two chaises lounges and its very own cold plunge! You are right on the beach and as you cool down and drink mojitos mads in your kitchen you stare at the Caribbean. When we went there was the sea kelp that's been everywhere and it was on the itzana beach as well but they had guys out there from early morning until dark raking it so it did not smell at all. At Francis Ford coppalas place we didn't dine on the beach and sat inside because they did not tend to their kelp as well and the smell was horrible. the water was a very nice temperature so when it was calm we alternated between pool and beach swimming. There is no snorkeling at the resort you have to book a tour but we enjoyed the swimming never the less. They also had lots of seating options. beach volley ball, corn hole and other games you can play right on the beach which was nice. Off track , the second luxury of the lost if the back balcony. It had a clawfoot tub and outdoor shower. We took all of our showers outdoors. this leads me to the one not so great thing about the resort, perhaps because we were down at the far end but housekeeping came very late in the afternoon, sometimes after we were back from our excursions and once not at all. they cleaned up but we had to ask for more soap once our bars had been used up. As part of cleaning most places refill the toiletries. And when you are there 8 days you will go through a fair amount. The outdoor showers does not have any toiletries so we used the hand soap and I brought my own shampoo, conditioner and body lotion so was fine there. Overall, fantastic resort with beautiful grounds, yummy food and all the staff were really nice from the drivers, to front desk, to poolside and the wait staff. the only add I have is, if you want to do a snorkeling or dive excursion I highly recommend seahorse dive shop. Book directly and its the most affordable place we found, plus all the team members were so nice. Brian the owner was incredibly responsive even checked to make sure if the lunch had gluten in it. It didn't! Just the dessert. the lunch the first day our was chicken curry, coconut rice, salad, fruit and banana bread. We went t this little key and sawm around it saw many beautiful reef fish and got to hold a sea urchin. We had so much fun we did a second snorkeling excursion a couple days later. then had lunch and then went to a second stop where we swam with nurse sharks and sting rays. very cool! On the way back they broke out the Rum punch, which was very fun and tasty. So a very important note I should say is that I have a big fear of the ocean and they made me feel very safe. A couple of girls it was there first time snorkeling so they gave them life vest to tie around their waist so they could still swim but stay afloat if they got tired and needed to rest. I never mentioned my fear but on the second excursion in deeper waters the guide sensed it and stayed close to me. I guessed he noticed the difference in me from our first excursion which was in more shallow waters where I felt comfortable. oh and do the Mayan chocolate farm tour. We rented a car and drove inland to the Mayan farm and did the chocolate tour which includes the history of Mayans and chocolate, the farming techniques and tasting the fruit in all its different ways, ends with you making your own chocolate and eating it. Its right next to the butterfly farm and a couple of waterfall hikes. We drove ourselves for a few reasons, it was $25 for the tour vs $200 p/p which obviously doesn't include the $100 we spent on our rental and still saved money, plus it gave us the freedom to do the other tours. It turned out to be viciously hot so we didn't do the hike to waterfalls we originally planned on but got ice cream and drove back to placencia were we stopped along the way at a creole grill. that has the best fish creole stew, not salty but well flavored and not too spicy. This is the longest review I have ever written.... have fun in Placencia and at Itzana