Blancaneaux Lodge

It was film director Francis Ford Coppola who put Belize on the jet-setter’s map almost two decades ago, when he transformed his 70-acre family retreat in the country’s western mountains into Blancaneaux Lodge. And although the family has opened a handful of lodges since then, this property—a collection of 10 cabanas, six villas, and a cottage set in the jungle of the Maya Mountains—remains the ne plus ultra of Belizean hospitality. Deep in the jungle, it’s the setting and the service that draw travelers from around the globe. The staff will prepare picnic lunches for day hikes to the waterfalls, and an at-the-ready crew of Thailand-trained spa staffers awaits back at the hotel. Though the restaurant’s wine selection isn’t vast, it’s surely elegant—the bottles are imported from Coppola’s California winery—while the straightforward menu does the trick after a day of adventure (order the grilled chicken with red beans and rice). Even now, Coppola’s first hideaway is still the place discerning adventure types are searching for.