Tradewinds Beach Cabanas Queen Conch

S

Sam

4 years ago

If you were any closer to the ocean you'd be sitting in the water. Peaceful beach & palm trees location at the SE end of the village boardwalk in a complex of 11 concrete cabins with hammocks on the porch. The staff and your camp-mates welcome you like family. Tracy is cheerful, helpful, a wealth of local knowledge; Janice is amazing; housekeeping checks on you every other day. Most importantly for me as a digital nomad the Wi-Fi was great. 40ms loaded latency worked very good for VoIP calls and video conference, thank you! 27 Mbps throughput was adequate. If they upgrade to Wi-Fi 6 routers it might improve even further. Affordable beach-front RUSTIC cabanas. Make sure you really read the description/reviews and look at the photos. Build is very simple. If you are a higher-end, or even middle-range traveler, this place is NOT for you. There are no windows - there are openings in all four walls with screened louvered shutters. There is no A/C, but there are ceiling and floor fans. There was no bathroom mirror or hot water, but "cold" water in Belize is still pretty warm even in January and there is a working shower and working bathroom sink. At night or on rainy days the cold shower is a little TOO refreshing. You can drink the water out of the tap here without problem! Paint and tiling is not matching, not anything close to new, but is as clean as they can get it, if quite old and chipped in places. There are no key cards or doorknobs, but there is a locking deadbolt and key is attached to a bottle opener. Bed and pillows were comfortable. There is no kitchenette (no sink, counter, stove) but there is a mini fridge, coffeemaker and microwave. Inside lighting could have been brighter, and a dresser or chest of drawers would be nice (though space is at a premium in these small units that are about 200 square feet). There was no desk and chair (listed in description, along with nonexistent coffee) in the room though there was a side table and colorful unpadded wooden slat Belizean-Adirondack chairs on the porch. Almost half of the buttons on the microwave worked (the sea is a harsh mistress). Use of a kayak was great to head out into the ocean every morning when the waves were calm. A shared bicycle would have been nice. Vendors would come by to sell doughnuts, baskets or necklaces, but only about 2 a day. Groundskeeper hacked off the top of a coconut for me to drink. Everything is within walking distance, including what I think is the best gelato in Central America at Tutti Frutti. Being here was like being at summer camp for older (than me, and I'm 50) and predominantly Canadian snowbirds. Lots of friendliness and a large sand very humid beach. I am a budget traveler and understand that means compromises. However, the cost for this rustic experience, over $100 USD/night is much too high for what you are getting, even in high season. What the market will bear? For the same or less you can get a newer-construction 1 bedroom and full kitchen condo directly on the beach with a pool, A/C and cable TV in Cozumel. Likes: Low latency internet with good speed, directly on the beach, fantastic staff, community, peace, view Dislikes: Limited amenities: No mirror!, hot water!, chair, dresser, safe, windows (glass) or paper towels. Not a good value.