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A couple of years ago, I first wrote about a pretty incredible-looking new Four Seasons coming to the Americas. I wanted to share an update on this property, as we now have a better sense of when it will open, though the timeline isn’t necessarily good news. Specifically, I’m talking about the Four Seasons that’s coming to Belize.
While the hotel isn’t yet accepting reservations, and there’s also no way to redeem points at Four Seasons properties (aside from a cashback-based travel rewards program), this truly looks like it’s going to be a very special resort.
In this post:
Four Seasons Belize Caye Chapel basics
The Four Seasons Resort & Residences Caye Chapel, Belize, is anticipated to open in late 2025. Unfortunately this represents a pretty significant delay, as the hotel was initially supposed to open in 2021. However, as you’d expect with foreign investments and general delays with everything nowadays, this isn’t too surprising.
The latest update is both good and and bad news — the bad news is that the project has been delayed this much, though the good news is that in September 2023 there was a groundbreaking ceremony and reveal party, and heavy construction is now starting. That’s progress, though I had assumed that work was already underway prior to this.
The hotel doesn’t yet have a Four Seasons website, aside from the webpage for residences. Here are some basics of the new Four Seasons in Belize:
- It will be located on a private island (named Caye Chapel) around 16 miles from Belize City, and can be reached by a 30 minute boat ride or eight minute flight (the island even has a landing strip)
- The Four Seasons will feature 104 guest rooms and suites, some of which will be overwater bungalows, and will also feature 24 private residences
- In addition to all the amenities you’d expect at a resort (a beach, pools, restaurants, gym, spa, etc.), the island will feature a nine-hole golf course, and a Fabien Cousteau conservation center
- The island will be close to the Belize Barrier Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is also the largest coral reef in the Northern Hemisphere, and the second largest in the world
- The island will have a marina, with 57 boat slips, so guests can even arrive on their own boat
- This isn’t the first time there will be a resort on Caye Chapel, as there was an all-inclusive property and golf course there around a decade ago, but that’s now all being redeveloped
Below are some renderings of the new Four Seasons Belize.
Below is a video with some aerial footage of Caye Chapel, filmed long before construction of the Four Seasons has started.
You can find more information about the island in general on the developer’s website. It would appear that homes start at $4.5 million — yow!
This private island resort looks incredible
I think I’m not alone in saying that this property looks stunning. What a cool concept — you have a private island with overwater bungalows, access to an amazing reef, golfing, and good proximity to major US airports (Belize City can be reached nonstop from Miami in two hours, and nonstop from New York or Los Angeles in around four to five hours).
This looks like the Maldives, only better, and without the jetlag and distance. I can’t imagine the kind of rates that this hotel will be able to command, given the proximity to California, New York, etc., along with the variety of amenities, from golfing to snorkeling.
Just before the pandemic I visited Calala Island in Nicaragua, which is a Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) property that I booked with World of Hyatt points. I had an incredible stay, though admittedly that’s a slightly different concept — it’s a private island with just four villas, and it’s also a bit more of a trek to get to.
Bottom line
Four Seasons has quite a few hotels in the pipeline, though nothing looks quite as amazing to me as the new private island Caye Chapel property in Belize. This Four Seasons will feature overwater villas, a runway, an amazing reef, and a golf course, and I can’t imagine how popular this will become. Unfortunately we’ll have to wait a bit longer, as the hotel is now only scheduled to open in late 2025.
Anyone else think the new Four Seasons Belize looks kind of amazing?
Belize City the capital is part of the issue.
Dirty, unpainted, bad roads and sidewalks, smells of stale urine, shopping for basics, never mind luxuries, very poor. Health care at best marginal.
Brooms, paint, public facilities, infrastructure first. Poverty reduction. Then encourage development and basic stores. Only then can they hope to increase tourism.
Worked well for the Riviera Maya.
We designed an eco-resort for Caye Chapel. It looks as though they took a lot of their design from ours. I hope they employ the provisioning gardens and water and waste treatment systems, too.
I bought property and built a house in Belize 16 years ago after being assured that tourism was going to take off and property values were going to skyrocket. I’m still waiting for this to happen and I don’t think an exclusive exorbitantly priced resort off shore is going to help. The fact that it has taken so long to even get this off the ground speaks volumes about Belize’s lack of ability to successfully develop their tourism market.
Clearly you haven’t stayed on a four seasons property. They will bring in the customers who will pay. As for your property, don’t count on this one increasing your property value
Looks spectacular! Any guesses as to daily rates? I'll start, $2,500 per night, $3,000 for the weekend.