Corozal Bay Inn has been around for several years, but owners Doug and Marie Podzun sold their original funky units (now renovated, called Hotel Paradise, and offered up by the new owner, locally known as "Herman the German," as mostly weekly or longer-term accommodations, at affordable rates) and have created a charming new cabaña colony by the bay. Doug and Maria - she's originally from Mexico, and he's a Canadian by birth of German heritage who moved to Belize with his family when he was a youngster - have built 10 attractive cabañas on the water. The cabañas, painted in colorful tropical pastels, are surprisingly spacious and have bay thatch roofs. While most of them are situated to catch the breeze from the bay, they do have air-conditioning (though on a hot day the A/C units may struggle to cool all that open space under the thatch), tile baths, two comfortable beds in each cabaña, and 27" TVs with cable. Two units at the back connect, making them ideal for families. Doug had several hundred dump truck loads of sand brought in and created a tropical beach on the bay. There is a seawall, but you'll love the water view and the concrete pier. You can sit by the pool, sip something cold in the redone outdoor restaurant and bar and, if you have a wireless laptop, check your e-mail, as Corozal Bay Inn boasts one of the only hot spots in Belize. All in all, the Podzuns have turned their place into one of the nicest spots to stay in northern Belize.

Contact Info: Corozal Bay Inn, Almond Dr., P.O. Box 1, Corozal Town; tel. ---, fax --- in the U.S. and Canada; e-mail ---; ---. Rates: US$80 double (with possible discounts off-season) plus 9% tax. V and MC accepted.

--Lan Sluder
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I stayed at the Corozal Bay Inn last week. This was during the famous Belize telephone company strike. I was at another hotel in the country and they kicked me out because the credit card machines were not working countrywide. ATM's were also down. Corozal Bay Inn welcomed us with open arms and said we can stay, eat & drink out hearts galore and one day when the Belizean telephone system was working again they would bill our card. In the mean time they just ran our card manually. Well we stayed a week. The hotel was full with other stranded tourists. We checked our email with their satellite internet system. Corozal Bay Inn was the only hotel in Corozal Town, Belize & one of the few in the country to have internet available during this phone system strike. We sat in our bed in our air conditioned room and worked on our laptop wirelessly. What a wonderful setup. Food was great in the Rainforest Restaurant, and Paco the bartender streamed a great selection of music off the internet. Pina Coladas by the pool what more could we ask for.
We highly recommend the Corozal Bay Inn to all of you.

I stayed at the Corozal Bay Inn and it was my first time to stay there!
The rooms were very clean and excellent . !All the amenities were great and the hosts Doug and Maria were very warm and hospitality was excellent!

In fact when I mentioned to Maria I am a hindu vegeterian, she prepared me a great hindu veg meal and she went out of her way to prepare it!!


I will definetly go back to Corozal Bay Inn when I am again in Corozal

Keep it up

A friend and I stayed at CBI in late July. I've been to Corozal before and had always wanted to stay there. Here's a brief rundown of the CBI and Corozal in general:

You might not like Corozal (and consequently the Corozal Bay Inn) if:
--you want a lot of things to do;
--you're expecting big sandy beaches, like Ambergris Caye
--you're wanting a more touristy area like Ambergris Caye.

You might like Corozal (and Corozal Bay Inn) if:
--you're looking for a place that's got a slow pace.
--you want a place that's not touristy, and more local.
--you just want to take it easy and enjoy a slow pace for a few days.

I do like Corozal, and I'd say the Corozal Bay Inn is the nicest resort currently in the area. Boasting a man-made sand beach, very nice two-bed cabanas, and its own bar, this beachfront resort is nice, for a good price. Unlike most "resorts," there are no activities there (watersports, gym, etc.). There is a restaurant that's moderately good, but the palapa bar is excellent--lots of music, the bartender is friendly, and the drinks are good. Also, I enjoyed stepping out of my cabana at night, and just sitting down on a lawn chair on the sandy beach in front of the seawall, and listened to the ocean.

I've stayed in another place or two in Corozal, and this is my choice. In fact, when I go back to Belize in January, this is where I'll stay while in Corozal.

The downsides, if any, are these:
--the restaurant was nothing to write home about;
--I never saw them open for breakfast (for food, try Tony's Inn next door).