Crystal Paradise, San Ignacio

NEVER PAY IN ADVANCE. I stayed at crystal paradise for an extended period of time and found it to be absolutely awful. The family that owns this place lives right beside it and seem to have problems being pleasant for the most part. The food and drinks are well over priced and in USD so don’t be fooled! Every night I had at least couple of rat droppings in my bed, as well as a stray beetle like thing. I would say it wasn’t too big a deal, this is the jungle BUT I realized that the small oily stains from the rat poop remained on my sheets after the sheets had supposedly been changed-it was at least 7 days with the same sheets that you sweat in all night because the ventilation is no good. They simply make the beds and don’t wash the sheets! Not to mention the wires poking in your back while you try to sleep on an ancient mattress. The screens in the room were full of gaps and holes, so quite large insects made there way in (worse at night with any lights on). The water was barely warm the first couple of days and then it was cold showers from the on out. Sometimes, there was no water at all. This was odd to me because the resort pumps there own water straight from the Macal River. Since the Taiwanese put in a dam, the water doesn’t flow as fast and the access you have to the river from the resort is actually quite disgusting with near stagnant waters especially when it has risen. The grass is also quite high, the perfect place for snakes, which I ended up seeing about three during my stay-even one of the most poisonous in the world (yellow jaw). Overall, I would say this place would be okay if the price reflected the poor conditions but it doesn’t so it is not okay in any way. Try the Casa Blanca guesthouse in San Ignacio. They are really nice and won’t over charge or lose your laundry. There is no point in dealing with wishy-washy people in uncomfortable conditions when there are really nice people with REAL Belizean hospitality for much better prices. And remember NEVER PREPAY THESE PEOPLE… then they have you where they want you: trapped.