Paul Schneck

Review of Hamanasi Adventure and Dive Re...

My wife and I are just back from a week in paradis...

My wife and I are just back from a week in paradise, aka, Hamanasi. We're so grateful to each and every member of the large staff who helped make our stay as wonderful as it was. I can't recount all of the instances of individualized attention that we were treated to, but here's an example: Walking through the gorgeous grounds, I spotted a beautiful bird that I was unfamiliar with. A gentleman in his pressed Hamanasi shirt and slacks was passing by. I asked him whether he knew what kind of bird we were looking at. He said he wasn't an expert, but ventured a guess. Then he told me that he'd ask someone and keep an eye out for me to tell me for certain. About 15 minutes later, as I came from our room out onto the beach, he came walking up with a bird guide book in hand. He was right. It was a red-legged honeycreeper.
The food was excellent and beautifully presented. The servers are all very professional and knew our names by the second day. The restaurant is very attractive, and the second story balcony was extremely popular, with good reason. The view of the foliage, pool and sea is so pretty. Meals are also served on the patio, and, by request, on the beach.
Hamanasi walks the walk when it comes to being Green. No plastic toiletry containers. Instead, our shampoo and other items were contained in attractive wooden containers which were refilled daily. Upon arrival, we found two re-usable, metal water canteens in our room as well as a five gallon water dispenser. No plastic water bottles. Kitchen scraps and ground vegetation are composted in an area by the organic vegetable and herb gardens. These are only but a few examples of their practices.
We went on 4 adventures: two snorkel trips to the barrier reef; the jungle canoe trip; and the Mayflower Waterfall hike. Our guides were all exceptional. They were attentive to our needs, the pace, and any wildlife that they could point out for us. One bit of advice regarding the waterfall hike -- long pants, good footwear and bug spray are not optional. They are a necessity. After reaching the topmost point of the hike, we took the opportunity to enjoy a swim in the crystal pool at the base of that section of the falls. Afterwards, I chose not to put my long pants back on nor apply more insect repellant because our hike up seemed bug free. Mistake! My legs are itching still four days after returning home. No one with long pants had a problem.
The last thing I want to mention is that once we landed in Belize City, Hamanasi had everything ready and waiting. We made our way through the airport rituals to the counter of Mayan Air. Our tickets to Dangriga were waiting. After a short flight, we met up with the Hamanasi driver and van. We were handed cool, fresh wash cloths to refresh ourselves with, and off we went to Hamanasi.