We dove Belize in 2000. Amigos was a great dive shop with excellent staff.

We stayed at two places on Ambergris Caye. The first week we stayed at The
Palms. We had a one bedroom place that was superb. It was clean and close to
everything. Although, everything is a bit limited on this Caye. Perhaps it
has changed in the past 6 years.

The second week we stayed at Captain Morgan's Retreat. This was a place out
of the movies with a thatched hut right on the beach. It was the location of
the original "Temptation Island". The show showed the location but the
lifestyle there was far from seedy. It was quite expensive mind you. It is
accessible only by boat which is provided by the resort.

A place that looked like a great place to stay was the Sunbreeze Hotel. It
was very clean on the outside around the pool and had a nice little bar to
retreat to.

Hope this helps, and have a great trip.

Peter

What kind of accommodations are you looking for?

If you are diving with Amigos, then you do not want to stay north (ie:
Capt. Morgans).  Also, Capt. Morgan's has gone time share and apparently the
sales staff can be quite annoying.  As I understand it, this has also been a
problem from time to time at Aqua Marina Suites.

If you chose to stay at Aquamarina Suites, make sure that you are in the
main building in an oceanfront suite.  The pool there is very small and I've
never seen anyone sitting in it anyway.  It doesn't get a lot of sun later
in the day.  The junior suites are quite small and overlook the cemetary,
which is right in front of the ocean.  Some people don't mind this.
Actually, some of the junior suites overlook the street and you definitely
don't want that.

A very good deal, excellent location, nice setup and reasonable
accommodations is to be found at the Tides.

Myself, I really like staying at the Mayan Princess.  It is an excellent
location for diving with Amigos.  Yes, it is a bit older but then many of
the hotels in Ambergris are getting that way.  I think they keep it up quite
well and the balconies are not to be beat.  There is no grounds with the
Mayan and if you like to lay around sunbathing, it's not a good pick.

Caribe Island is not a good pick either.  Definitely do *not* consider
Belize Yacht Club.  Ramon's has wonderful ambiance around its grounds, but
the juice ain't worth the squeeze.  The Palms is a great recommendation.
Lots of people like the Sunbreeze, but I'm not that keen on it.  I
particularly don't like the dive op that is affilitated and on their grounds
(Aqua Divers, which are also affiliated with Aqua Marina Suites).  This is
not to say that you have to dive with the Aqua Divers if you stay at an
affiliated hotel.  You don't.

Still south but not as far south as Caribe Island, there are a couple of
good places, depending on what you are after and what your budget is.  Check
out Mata Rocks (small but lovely), Banana Beach (again, make sure you get
beachfront suite), and Xanadu.

You might want to consider a unit at Paradise Villas, as long as it is not
the ones next to the road.

The Blue Tang is a great place too, though some suites are definitely better
than some others.  I am quite familiar with this hotel and most all of the
suites.  If you choose this place, I'll help you pick the right room(s).