Turtle Inn

Though I dont usually take the time to review hotels, there are many things we feel compelled to point out, especially for those, like us, coming all the way from the UK Starting with first impressions, these could not have been worse. Having arrived via a small aircraft to an airport less than 5 minutes from the hotel, there was nobody there to collect us, though this had been arranged. Having found someone at the airport to call the hotel on our behalf as there was no data available, this had to be repeated three times before finally a taxi arrived which had torn seats and barely enough room for 5 of us each with large cases etc On arriving at the hotel which is literally on, not set back from the main road, there were no managers to greet us, and the reception area/main restaurant was less than glamorous, but instead dark and uninspiring, much like you would expect of any typical 3 star hotel. Beyond was the again uninspiring main pool and a beach of grainy sand and a slightly murky ocean beyond, separated from the beach by a lot of rocks in most places-not as idyllic, sadly as anticipated On a positive note our 2x 2 bedroom villas were large and beautiful and wonderfully maintained by the excellent housekeeping team. We were grateful to have noticed in other reviews the absence of air-conditioning, and so managed to reserve we believe the only 2 villas which did have A/C units which are needed. There did though appear to be a hierarchy of villas whereby only the frontline ones were guaranteed sun loungers on the beach. This proved to be the most frustrating aspect of our stay-the daily battle to have a sun lounger on the beach which we rarely achieved for all 5 of us! We were told that not only were our 2x 2 bedroom villas not eligible, but also that Mr Coppola does not like to have sun loungers on the beach. Seemingly he also did not approve of them by the pool as there were often none there either, at least not the adult pool. This was something we have never previously experience in extensive travels to luxury hotels around the world Another issue was food and restaurants: Breakfast could only be described as poor, or at least in so far as what was included ie tiny bowls of diced fruit, standardised yogurt and granola with one boiled egg rolling around a flat plate and very small amounts of toast/pastry per person. If you were to order other dishes from the menu they were well done if expensive and slow to arrive One of the things we liked initially was that three out of the four restaurants did not appear standardised either regarding their menus or design. The experiences of these however ended up being not about a charmingly select choice of dishes and atmosphere, but a highly portion controlled and price inflated version of what could be experienced in the nearby village. Incidentally, we had asked the hotel beforehand to recommend restaurants in the village but these did not align with what others such as restaurant and bar owners told us, nor with the personal preferences that we ended up with. Our favourites incidentally were Galley, Barefoot, De Tatch, the little wine bar and Above ground coffee. There were rarely managers around the property and we only came into contact with two overall, once in response to a complaint about the sun loungers when we were reassured that this would be resolved subsequently but it never was, and another time in one of the hotel restaurants when a manager engaged us in a light hearted chat about what we did on the island (see below). The feeling was one of being invited into a conversation about how great things were, rather than a curious invitation to share our real experience of the hotel which was never asked The island is an outpost of the hotel, about half an hour away by boat where its possible to stay as we did for three days, just us, looked after by a "butler", a cook and. housekeeper. This was indeed a charming experience mostly because of the staff, particularly our butler, Ronnie, who could not have done enough to make our stay memorable. Certainly the food there was great and it was a unique time. There is an indication on the website of the island being a rustic experience but this did not prepare us for things like the lack of anywhere to hang clothes, the difficulties with hot water and the general shabbiness of everything. I believe rustic is used on the website as a description of the hotel generally, which for us sounded attractive as we were not looking for glitz and glamour, but again this does not prepare you for the fact that there is barely enough water for one bath (though the baths themselves are lovely), and that the atmosphere of the hotel is on the grungy, slightly drab side. Added to this there is no sense of exclusivity eg one day there was a conference where guests took over the main restaurant and pool area for the day, made use of microphones for speeches etc, all in the middle of what we had hoped would be more of a "paradise" type of feel Overall, its worth coming for the proximity of the hotel to a local village, the beautiful rooms, the great cocktails and wine and we did enjoy the Coppola estate wines, and the uniqueness of the island combined with hotel stay. But, in our view there are so many things that could be done to make this a 5 star experience which it could not currently be described as.

We loved our stay at Turtle Inn. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful… they couldn’t do enough for us and we were very impressed with the service overall. The resort ambience felt very Indonesian and cozy. We were in a beachfront cottage which had a large, screened-in front porch where we had breakfast every day looking out over the ocean. Just magical. The cottage was roomy and had a good-sized bathroom (with two sinks). We did request mosquito netting to go around our bed at night because the bugs can get pretty bad. We especially loved the private outdoor shower in the back area of the cottage. We ate at all the restaurants on the property (4) for dinner and and though they were all good we liked the Gaugin Grill and pizzeria the best. The resort has its own cars and drivers and boats so everything is right there. The location is perfect for going to either the jungle or mountains, where there are lots of activities and ruins, or to the nearby islands for Snorkeling and diving . My personal favorite was swimming with the sea turtles and nurse sharks. All in all we had an amazing time and our experience at turtle Inn, only elevated that. We are already talking about coming back.

The design and quality of the villas are fantastic! The mattresses are perfect, and the outdoor private garden with an outdoor shower behind each villa’s bathroom was heavenly! The staff was very attentive, and the service was wonderful. Living like this for a week makes it hard to come home. The restaurants were good, and the morning orange juice grown from trees in their garden was amazing.

Where do I start and how can this end? Turtle Inn provided a spectacular experience for us from top to bottom. The property and the grounds are beyond beautiful, and we hardly saw the quiet and immaculate upkeep while we were there. The place is SO peaceful and rejuvenating! The staff is universally friendly and welcoming and the meals were great. Breakfast options are plentiful and exceptionally delicious. The complimentary continental breakfast is outstanding and generous, but try the chilaquiles and the huevos rancheros, too! We took a boat trip to Coral Caye while were were there, and I recommend that highly. We snorkeled, kayaked, went out on the stand up paddle board, and ate and drank plenty! It was a delightful day spent on your own private island, and the boat crew and island staff waited on us hand and foot. A BIG thanks to then entire staff at The Turtle In for making this vacation so special. We had so much fun that we hated to leave!

Everything was absolutely wonderful from the accommodations, to the staff, the food, the location….My husbands’s reaction upon stepping into our cabana was “Wow, I’ll come back here anytime” and he doesn’t even like the beach! The private courtyard with the outdoor shower with yummy organic toiletries was one of our favorite features. All of the meals were great and we were happy that we had chosen to do a package so that everything was prepaid. We especially enjoyed the freshly prepared lunch on the gorgeous private island during our snorkeling excursion. Turtle Inn has definitely raised the bar for all our future travels!