There are many houses along this area near Hopkins which I am sure are very nice, clean, well run, etc. What sets Karen's house apart and makes it unique is the mature landscaping on both the street and ocean sides. On the street side the house is set back a bit and the palms and other large plants provide a sense of privacy and seclusion. On the ocean side again the large palm trees both line the property and fill in to provide shade (when desired) as well as a place for the hammock. It really feels like you have discovered something special, a secret hideaway you will only share with our best friends.

I loved the house! Loved Belize and need to come back!

My husband and I have been going to Hopkins, Belize since 2005. We've stayed in many different places, but we need look no further for the perfect place to stay! The house and grounds has the best of both worlds. In the front, the beach and the beautiful Caribbean ocean and in the back, the feel of the jungle. Even though there are neighbors to either side, the lush foliage makes it feel very private. In the back there is a screened in porch with hammocks where you can relax at night listening to the night sounds. The foliage in back shields the house from the road making it feel as if you have your own private paradise. The kitchen has everything you need for making meals and there are plenty of towels. We would highly recommend this house for a stay in the Hopkins area. We will definitely be back! It is now our home away from home and happy place! As for activities, we booked a snorkel tour and the bioluminescence nocturnal tour through Happy Go Luckie Tours. We have snorkeled every time we've been to Belize. The fish and corals are amazing. We had never done the bioluminescence tour before and I can't say enough good about it. It is well worth it! Luckie and Cheryl are very professional and were good to work with. Another activity we did that we had never done before was tour the chocolate factory. It was very interesting and gives one a new perspective on the process of making chocolate. Again, I can't say enough good about this property. It is a great place to relax and cast off the cares of everyday life. It has a good vibe!

And BTW, we gave up on the "on-demand” hot water unit so now we have beautiful consistent hot water!🙃

Very comfortable house with great view. Mary was lovely and very helpful. A warm friendly community. Will miss Marty at the Mangoes bar next door

We had a wonderful stay in Hopkins. The road is bumpy and dusty but the journey is well worth the effort! The house is clean, well equipped and well maintained. Enough space for 4 adults and three teenagers for sleeping, cooking, eating, reading, lounging and finding some alone time. This is a very quiet spot. After dark there are few cars on the road or boats in the sea. Sunrises are spectacular. Walking down to the waterfront for a swim with the soft breeze blowing in your face is a great way to start the day. Mary and Daniel took great care of us. Kayaks are great fun. We improvised and were able to open a few coconuts growing on the beach. Highly recommend. Eat at Innies, Driftwood, Luba Lugura . . .

We were a party of five including my husband, daughter, and another couple. The house was perfect. My daughter loved her loft room. The view is amazing! I think everyone napped in a hammock at least once! My husband said it was the best equipped rental he has seen. Everything we needed was there! The house was clean and had plenty of towels. My husband mentioned that he wished he had brought a fishing pole and the next morning, there was one on the balcony! Karen gave us some wonderful ideas for places to see and restaurants. I forgot the directions to the house and we were arriving at night. We saw two girls in front of a house (one with a lamb on a leash!) and asked if they knew Mary or Karen from New York--she took us directly to the house! We visited three different cities, but I would definitely use the Hopkins house as a home base and take day trips from there next time! There are Mayan ruins, a Spice Farm, ziplining and the Marie Sharpe hot sauce factory nearby. We went to see the bioluminescence and hunt alligators and fishing. You won't regret renting this house! You will miss it when it's time to go home! Thank you for sharing it with us!

We took a trip to Belize for Thanksgiving as 2 couples. This house was great for that, as the rooms were on separate sides of the house and both had an adjoining bathroom. While the house was a hike from Hopkins proper, we did enjoy the free bikes for a run into town before we rented a golf cart to make the trip a little more fun. Be aware that this house is about 3M from Hopkins, so a taxi is a great thing if you don't have a car. I recommend Barbara, as she has the best rates and is great for pickups. We did use the kayaks and the other couple went all the way to the Marina in them, so they are very useful for getting around locally. The view from the veranda is wonderful, especially with a full moon like we had. The owner was responsive, and their caretakers were great for letting us use the dock on the canal side as well as offering us a ride into town and back. All in all, I would recommend this to one or 2 couples who enjoy the peace and quiet and don't mind being away from the village for some privacy. Three couples would be too many, as the upstairs room is great to work out in, but you wouldn't want anyone but children up there. The only drawback was that the showers tended to flip from hot to cold with very little warning. I didn't mind, but my wife did.

Paul and Karen's place is a comfortable, lovely, welcoming home. It's a great place to sling a hammock in the shade of the palms and fall asleep to the sound of the waves. We were not quite prepared for the grocery stores (ah, how I missed Wegmans), so packing snacks as others suggested is a good idea. Try freezing the fresh coconut water in ice cube trays and dropping them into mixed drinks or cola - yum! There are a number of good places to eat nearby (the Curve Bar at the Marina) and in town (Innies) and if you can catch some Garifuna drumming, it's well worth it; be sure to get up and dance! So is the Mayan Chocolate "factory" in nearby Maya Center - now that's what chocolate should taste like.

The house is precisely as described and as seen in the photos. Literally on the beach with all the water toys one could hope for. Our only problem was that the weather wasn't cooperating -- it rained so hard that there was a small craft warning for two days. But I couldn't imagine a better place to be hunkered down in during stormy weather. The town of Hopkins feels alive and laid back at the same time. There are a couple of funky stores to pick up groceries and other basic items but don't expect to find your stateside grocery store selections. We packed a ton of snacks and were glad we did. When you rent a car definitely get a four wheel drive because I think it would be tough going on the rutted mud roads otherwise. The internet wasn't working when we arrived and the water out of the faucet was rust colored but when we alerted the caretakers, they came over the next day with bottled water and a new router. The best part of our stay was being adopted by an adorable neighborhood dog who made sure to check in on us daily right at dinner time! We bought a bag of kibble and left it at the house for her so please give her a hug and treat when she comes to greet you.

We found the property in great shape and loved our week in Belize. We packed 6 people into the house -- parents, three boys (13, 14, and 18), and one girl (18). Two of the boys did well upstairs in the loft, one boy slept on the couch, the girl got a bedroom, and we took the master bedroom. Our bed was huge and we didn't have any problems with bedding at all. When we weren't out playing in the ocean, we often opened the windows or sat on the balcony so we could hear the ocean. One of the other reviewers commented that there were almost no insects and I would second that. Even though we were warned that the mango flies (doctor flies?) were out, we saw very few and I'm not sure I saw a mosquito ever on the property -- there were some on trip to the interior, but amazingly few. We got a few sandflea bites (avoid the seaweed on the beach) but I would get worse in the evening where I live. A big plus was the orange squeezer -- I had fresh orange juice many days there. We went for a horseback ride at a local ranch and the owner, Michelle, also grew oranges. Since the orange juice factory had shut down, she had more oranges than she knew what to do with so we took plenty. With the oranges and the local coconuts (that you can open with the machete in the storage room), we made a few rum drinks that weren't half bad either. The hammocks we wonderful and were frequently occupied to get the shade and ocean breeze. We knew we were going in the off season, and we did have one fairly big wind/rain storm, but that was pleasant. I would warn other travelers to be careful after a wind storm though, we saw several Portuguese man-of-wars washed up on the beach the next day. We also had a few problems with pika pika -- microscopic jellyfish too small to see but which give a tiny sting that seems to go away within a short time. We found that the caretaker's grandson was an excellent predictor of when these little pests would be around, so we were able to avoid them for the most part. I understand the pika pika are seasonal, so there are probably better times to visit than early July. The trip was marked by friendly people we met in Belize. Our first time in a restaurant, the owner’s sister went to her tree to get us some mangoes to try out – a wonderfully nice thing to do by a very friendly person. Our oldest kids ended up spending time with some of the locals, too. The caretakers were also helpful and friendly – we spent some time chatting with them and enjoyed it.

This is a very nice home, right on your own private beach as described. The ocean is perfect for kids because it is only 3-4 feet deep to about 200' out, which meant I felt very confident reading in the hammock on the beach without having to look up to check the kids every 30 seconds. The house is very well equipped with beach chairs, floats, kayaks, hammocks with shade all day right on the water....pretty much everything you need for a perfect vacation. This is also the only house I've ever rented in the tropics with no bugs inside at all, a pleasant surprise. I want to directly address the one poor review as well since it isn't representative of our stay at all. We were an off-season, summer stay and the house was completely fresh and clean, no mildew smell at all even in the bathrooms and towels/linens; and we're very sensitive to mildew. The beds were all very comfortable, the house was spotless, and everything worked. We've stayed around the world in rental homes and this one was the nicest we've stayed in as far as condition of the home, not to mention the location. Also wanted to mention that while we were worried about the Sittee River sand gnats/flies, they were really a non-issue. We ate outside frequently, spent all day on the beach, and sat outside every night without noticing any bugs at all except for the few minutes around sunset. Although not in the control of the owners, potential renters should be aware that not only is internet dial-up slow, it frequently goes out altogether. On average we had internet for about an hour a day, and a random hour at that. If you're really on vacation and just need to check and send emails once a day you'll be fine, but if you're on a working trip and really need reliable internet you may find yourself frustrated, a fact mitigated by the fact that the place is so relaxing. Note that this is a Hopkins wide issue, all the local cafe internets suffered similar slow speeds and spotty availability.

Our stay at the beach house was perfection. Having traveled and stayed throughout Hopkins for the last 10 years, it becomes quickly obvious when a property is loved. The house was big, easily could fit 3 couples plus some little ones. It was stocked with everything you could want to play, cook and relax (bikes and kayaks, blenders and pans, fresh linens and comfy furniture, big TV and hammocks). The house even stayed cool enough to leave the AC off and enjoy the ocean breeze. It's far enough from the village to achieve total relaxation and an almost exclusively private beach yet close enough to go in for karaoke. It was luxury on the beach with a little jungle sprinkled in. We had a perfect stay.

I was in awe the moment we pulled into the driveway. The house is stunning and looks even better than the photographs. My husband and I and two friends spent 2 weeks in the house and enjoyed every minute of our adventure. All the bedrooms have lovely balconies. The downstairs bedrooms face the ocean. The upstairs loft bedroom balcony faces the landscaped backyard and river. We ate breakfast and lunch everyday on the large balcony that overlooks the ocean. Every night we were lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves on the beach. The house was fully stocked with everything we needed. The kitchen is great and open to the rest of the house so if you're on "cook duty" you can still be part of the action. The kayaks and bikes appeared to be relatively new and were in good working order. Kayaking on the river, which is just behind the house is easy and fun. The beach in front of the house is clean and beautiful. There are plenty of beach chairs and shady places to sit under if you need to get out of the sun for a while. Paul and Karen, the owners, were very easy to work with. The town of Hopkins is just a few miles down the road and has some interesting restaurants and local shops. Belize is a beautiful country and it's wonderful that English is spoken everywhere and that US dollars are readily accepted. However, if you're coming from the states, you need to remember that Belize is a foreign country. Shops and restaurants are often in the owners side yard. There aren't any "highways". (The road from the main road to Hopkins is a long, bumpy dirt road. Same from Hopkins to the house). Everything (and everyone) moves at a much slower pace (Caribbean time). Sometimes "things" don't work the way we are used to in the states. But those are some of the same things that makes your vacation a bit of an adventure and gives you good stories to tell when you get home. I would highly recommend this property to anyone looking to take a trip to Belize and I'm hoping to return again some day.

I am just going to copy/paste my email to the owner of the home. I will add that I never received a response back from her. Considering she had visited the home a month before we had, I felt that she had to know about several of the issues. Even though the manager (Mary) told me she was going to refund my card, it never happened and I had to dispute it through my credit card company. Karen, first of all, let me say the house and location is beautiful, and it was a very difficult decision to leave. Unfortunately, it was found in very serious disrepair. Several of the items that we based choosing your home on were broken, not available or dirty. This is a list that I have compiled. I have pictures available if you would like to see them and I have spoken to the credit card company who has assured me I would have no problem disputing the charge if it should come to that. I feel that by paying for the night we stayed,I am being more than fair and would like a refund of the amount above. Fridge, no ice, fridge leaking, off smell. Washer , but dryer broken, could have told me ahead of time, packed light thinking I could do laundry. Dirty bathroom upon arrival, pubic hair stuck to soap, cabinets and towels smell of mildew. Internet didn't work. Mary knew this the morning if arrival but did not tell us, she delayed in giving us the password and when I went by her home, picked it up from another gentleman who still did not tell us. It wasn't until we we called your tech and told Mary that we had called that she said it had not been working for sometime. Missing light/ceiling fan in loft. Sheets, towels smelled of mildew, General mildew smell in the house. The bed in the master is broken, dips greatly on one side. No window coverings in the loft. No extra blanket for the futon and the extra sheet smelled of mildew. The Murphy bed upstairs had a lot of sand in it. Knobs on drawers of second bedroom fell off when trying to open. There is evidence of an electrical fire in the living room light switch. Remote to the second bedroom a/c unit didn't work. Some dark liquid running down the wall in the master. Missing screens on numerous windows. Faucet in master bath doesn't really work, water slowly comes out then drips when off.

This was a comfortable beachfront home in an off-the-beaten-path village on the coast of Belize. The accomodations were perfect for three couples, the beach was lovely and the village of Hopkins was enchanting. Great diving and snorkelling nearby and excellent excursions available to the jungle.

I just enjoyed my second trip to this perfect home. Last year I came with cousins and had the adventure of a lifetime attempting to summit Victoria Peak. What a great place to come home to after 3 nights in the jungle! Comfortable beds and linens, fully equipped kitchen with everything possible for making great meals, sleeping to the sound of the ocean, beautiful ocean views from the porch, great living spaces both inside and out. There are bikes for tooling into town, kayaks to enjoy the river canal just across the dirt road and comfortable beach loungers for relaxing on the beach and lots of shade trees if you need a break from the sun. I loved it so much I brought my beloved back this year. A new favorite destination!