The Great House stay was a nice experience for our first 4 days in Belize. The staff was very friendly and courteous and our room was large and clean. The Smokey Mermaid was a bit pricey, but after we checked around the immediate area for other decent restaurants, we discovered that it wasn't so bad. We had a/c and a large ceiling fan in our room which kept it cool enough that we shut it off at night. Granted, it's not the cheapest place to stay in Belize City, but it's location just a block away from the tourist village and ocean front made it convenient for tours and shopping. We recommend it!

We only had one night at The Great House but it made a great impression. It was a relaxing end to a hectic day of travel and then in the morning was in a great location for a walk along the water as well as a quick walk to the Water Taxi to the Cayes. Great bargain too.

My adult daughter and I stayed at The Great House when we were in Belize City this past March. I thought by staying there instead of the neighboring Radisson, we would have more of a sense of a real Belize hotel and not an American chain. The management of The Great House must have made an effort to hire the unfriendliest, least caring people they could find in all of Belize for the front desk. While we found Belizians in general to be cordial, friendly, and helpful to 2 female travellers, the front desk staff at The Great House could hardly have been bothered to help us with our questions and concerns about the city. After a couple experiences like that, I ended up going over to the Radisson and asking their very friendly concierge my questions. There was a giant cockroach in our room at The Great House (this is a tropical country after all) but the room was OK - even though we didn't have hot water from 4 - 10 Pm one evening. My recommendation would be to stay at the Radisson across the street, not The Great House.

We stayed at The Great House on our final night of an 8 day journey around Belize, and loved the feel of the place. It has old world charm, but modern conveniences. Belize City is not a destination in itself, but The Great House is a wonderful jumping off or ending point during a trip to Belize. A walk down to the lighthouse, out to the end of the pier, or through the adjoining neighborhood is interesting, but otherwise, there isn't much to do in the area. We did take a walking tour through the downtown area (a 10 minute walk away) that was written up in our guidebook. It gave us some insight to the culture of the area, but we could have done without the locals approaching and asking us to "Give me dollar!"