Matachica Beach Resort and Spa

On Ambergris Caye in Belize, on the northern end of the island above San Pedro at a position accessible only by boat, Matachica Beach Resort & Spa occupies a stretch of Caribbean beachfront in a quieter section of the Belize Barrier Reef’s most populated island, with the reef itself visible and accessible from the resort’s private dock in a marine environment of considerable beauty. The 26 thatched casitas, palapas, and villas are designed in the Caribbean beach house vernacular with natural materials, open-air living areas, and the colour palette of the Belizean coast — the vivid turquoise of the reef lagoon, the white sand, and the deep green of the palm and sea grape vegetation. The Belize Barrier Reef, the second largest in the world, is accessible by boat from the resort’s dock for diving and snorkelling programmes of exceptional quality in a protected marine ecosystem.

The dining at Mambo restaurant draws on the Caribbean culinary traditions of Belize, incorporating the Garifuna cooking heritage of the mainland coast — the hudut coconut fish broth, the cassava preparations, and the seafood stews of the maritime Garifuna community — alongside the Creole seafood preparations of the island fishing community. Snorkelling and diving on the Belize Barrier Reef, fly fishing on the flats for bonefish and permit, kayaking in the mangrove lagoons of the northern island, and day trips to the Maya ruins of Lamanai and Xunantunich on the Belize mainland provide the activity range. The spa’s treatment programme draws on Belizean botanical traditions and the marine mineral resources of the reef’s adjacent waters.

Matachica Beach Resort’s relationship with the Belize Barrier Reef’s conservation is expressed through its PADI dive centre’s reef-friendly diving protocols, its support for the Belize Audubon Society’s marine monitoring work, and the resort’s advocacy within the San Pedro tourism community for the restrictions on coastal development that maintain the lagoon water quality on which the reef’s health depends.