Blancaneaux Lodge

Tucked into the remote mountains of western Belize, the Blancaneaux Lodge overlooks the gentle rapids and shimmering waterfalls of the Privassion river where the flora of both the jungle and pine forest intertwine in the stunning landscape.

This is Francis Ford Coppola`s dream of a mountain paradise which he created as a place "where people can go to enjoy the tranquility of their surroundings". The result was a full-scale resort with rustic yet comfortable individual villas created from local woods and furnished with hand-built furniture and handicrafts from Belize, Mexico and Guatemala.

The surrounding nature offers beautiful vistas and wonderful opportunities for hiking, horseback riding and caving. You can swim in the rivers and waterfall pools and take a canoe trips in search of orchids and bromeliads, iguanas and howler monkeys and to view the magnificent bird life. The Mayan sites of Caracol and Xunantunich are nearby. Guatemalan Mayan sites, Tikal, Topoxte and Yaxha, can also be visited on a daytrip.

The lodge has two Lodge Rooms with shared bathrooms and seven thatched-roof wooden Cabanas and five two-bedroom Luxury Villas with a Mayan theme. 24-hour electricity is supplied by onsite plant.

The food at the lodge is as unique as the decor. Guests start their day with freshly squeezed orange juice, bread baked that morning and plates of fresh local fruit. The restaurant boasts the only wood-burning pizza oven in the country, and Coppola imported both an espresso machine and a coffee roaster. The menu features many Coppola family recipes and proudly reflects his Italian heritage. Local chickens are home-smoked behind the restaurant, and virtually all the produce and fruit come from the large organic garden on the property. In addition to pizzas and pastas, there are a changing array of daily specials. Fresh fish from the coast also appears frequently on the menu. Coppola`s fine wines from his Napa Valley estate, Niebaum-Coppola, are exclusively available on the wine list.