Playa de Sala Boutique Hotel, Adults Only

Great hidden gem. About 20 bedroom boutique hotel with great deep pool and fantastic spa. 8 restaurants and food places right outside and the large Snappers sports bar and grill across the street. Housekeeping top notch. 50 yards to Playa Norte. Quiet well appointed rooms with kitchenette, fridge/freezers etc. Will stay again.

My husband and I truly enjoyed our Stay. Hidden gem away from town was a good decision. Hospitality was superb and our travertine room was clean. The bed was comfortable and we woke up each day to a breathtaking view. Josh, Sammy and the team assisted with whatever we needed such as taxi, golf cart and suggested places to eat. Rooftop restaurant served an awesome dinner as well.

The room was clean and cozy everything as described upon booking was as said. The place is off the beaten path about 30 minutes from town San Pedro which was perfect for us. We rented a golf cart the duration of our stay so we were able to venture off when wanted . The staff were amazing and very attentive. The food was great. We had an amazing time we felt welcome by all staff. We will definitely be back. We are 100% happy the only downfall is we wish we stayed longer.

I struggled with this review. On the one hand, I loved the architecture of the building and the furnishings & layout of the rooms (there are only 5 in the whole place). Ours had a rustic western theme! The shower even has a door directly out to the balcony (perhaps to flash the passers-by?). I also liked the “adults only” policy, making for a very quiet stay. And there’s a chill vibe to the place. The manager, Mary, was extremely friendly, outgoing, and helpful. She even greeted us with warm towels after our return from rainy evening – who at a big resort would do that? On the downside, however, the place is located in a swampy area quite far (5+ miles) from San Pedro accessible only via a very rocky/muddy dirt road. And then there are the mosquitoes, especially in the late afternoon & early evening when they are just unrelenting. Billions of them. Everywhere. Aside from breakfast, we had only two meals there — which were very expensive and rather unremarkable — but dinner left us with lots of bites. As for breakfast, eggs and pancakes were warm at best and the coffee also cools fast here. We had the rest of our meals elsewhere, requiring us to rent a golf cart to escape the swamp and its swarms of hungry mosquitoes. So, like I said, I’m conflicted — I give it a 5 (“Excellent”) for the room and staff and a 0 (“Terrible”) for the location and bugs. So I’ll average my scores and give it a 3 (“Average”), rounding up.

First, let me say that the staff at Playa are very kind. The cooks and bartenders were helpful and always friendly. That said, it is hard to share things that we found not so great. The biggest issue with Playa is the distance from town. Almost everyone, including us, drives golf carts. The roads are often not paved and even when they are, there are a lot of potholes etc. which can make travel slower than expected. To do the 4.5 miles from Playa to town takes a while and so you end up spending a lot of time driving. Overall, I would rate Playa as a 3-star hotel. The pool is very small and in the middle of the outside lobby, so it isn't very user-friendly. Certainly not something where you would sit and lounge (of course that's our opinion). The rooms are ok. You have three light switches. One for the bedroom ceiling light, one for the shower area ceiling, and the other for the bathroom. If you want to lay in bed and read, your only option is to turn on the bedroom ceiling. The property is on the back bay so it is not like being on the oceanside where you might be able to swim. There is a sandy "beach" area that depending on the day gets some attention from the staff. One day it got raked and the chairs got put in order. The rest of the days we were there the chairs were scattered in the water and on land in whatever state someone had left them, or the wind had taken them. One day in the middle of the night the building ended up with no water. There was no one on the property to alert so a text was sent to the person we had communicated with on WhatsApp. Once the staff showed up at 7:30, they discovered the issue and immediately fixed but there should have been some way to alert a staff member during the night so that the issue could potentially be fixed sooner. We also lost power one day when it was raining. Again, it occurred at a time when there was no staff. It eventually came back on. Later we were told that on the island this can happen when there are storms. As far as the island, snorkeling is incredible and the fishing great! If you want a week of complete beach time, snorkeling, and fishing, this is a wonderful island. I have snorkeled off the great barrier reef in Australia and this was so much better. If we were to do another trip, we would stay somewhere in Belize City for about 3 days and then do San Pedro for about 2 days. We missed seeing the Mayan ruins, doing the caves etc that is on Belize City because of the time it would have taken us to travel back and forth from San Pedro. I hope this review helps you in your plans.

All the employees treated us so well. The food is so good. If your looking for a secluded couples resort this is it. !!!! There's a private beach, where on the busy days we were one of 2 couples on the beach. With a waiter! I never ask for or suggest anything I didn't get. I watched the lobster catch of the day cleaned, which I had one immediatly. Best sunset spot. Forest has done a terrific job here. Ps. If you want to learn river dance, step on a iguana on your back "private" deck". I got moves! Seriously there. Look in the vines. Love this place