Umaya Resort is a rarity on the Placencia peninsula. Of all the places one can stay, it’s the only resort where you can wake up with the sun on the beach and accompany it until it sets over the lagoon right outside the resort’s gourmet dining experience, Restaurante Laguna. This holiday season, it’s the best place to be if you’re looking for somewhere that offers much of Belize’s aquatic environments in one luxury package.
With your choice of oceanfront and lagoon-facing rooms, you’ll be able to enjoy the entirety of the peninsula’s marine habitats without having to leave the place you’ve selected as your respite from a world of work and worry. Bring the kids and take them out to the pool where you can imbibe a refreshing beverage from the swim-up bar while they splash around in either the generous swimming pool or the adjacent ‘kiddie’ pool for extra assurance.
Enjoy the sea like a true Belizean by kayaking into the rising sun for a morning jaunt, or join a volleyball game in progress on the beach. Take a stroll along the beach and take in the horizon, enjoying the slow movement of the day. For those inclined to lounge like the local iguana, there are comfortable beach chairs located all around the property and towels at the ready if you decide to take a dip on a whim.
Visiting and looking for a romantic venue to mark a special occasion? Then schedule a sunset cruise along the lagoon where a unique balance of humidity, temperature, and air quality sometimes create an entrancing mirror effect between the sky and water that can only be described as sublime, the perfect once-in-a-lifetime experience to immortalize new love or reinvigorate and commemorate matured affection. For those that want to enjoy all of Umaya for a special event, you can arrange to have a ceremony on the beach followed by an extravagant reception at Laguna.
Umaya has also become known for its annual themed parties, including a masquerade and upcoming ‘Mistletoe Ball’ occurring in December. One of the peninsula’s can’t-miss events of the season, the ball is just one of several opportunities a person has to experience Umaya’s unique spaces with an added touch of glamor and whimsy.
When it comes to food, the menus are diverse yet cohesive, committed to the highest quality in ingredients and technique sourced across the country by The Belize Collection’s Chef Rahim. You can enjoy fried ravioli alongside seafood fritters and zesty ceviche for an appetizer to share with the table. If you’re looking for something more substantive, there’s always the ribeye steak, which will obliterate your former sense of how good a steak can be. And now as of fall ‘22, you can even score a scintillating wood-oven baked pizza at the new Don Tonito’s restaurant, located a few steps away from the pool. Pair any meal with spirit infusions made in-house and unavailable anywhere else in the country.
And we’d be remiss if we didn’t give a shout out to the breakfast options. Have a cappuccino with a farmer’s market veggie omelet, eggs benedict done Belize-style with the ubiquitous johnny cake or a stack of pancakes. Want to start the day with something lighter? No problem. There are fruit bowls that’ll satiate and alert you to the floral aromas all around you. You can also assemble the day’s most important meal with a couple of sides, including bacon, pork sausage and the Belizean signature fried jacks.
Take the worry of number-crunching out of the equation by opting into an all-inclusive package. For instance, try Umaya’s limited 4 Night Stay (available until December 2022). It includes multi-course meals for every night of your trip, access to local spirits, and your choice of the Monkey River or Snorkeling Adventure Tour. Umaya also snuck in a return flight to the international airport, so you can enjoy your stay up to the very last minute you’re there.
Visit Umaya Resort, and experience Placencia in its fullness from sunrise to sunset.
