Covington travelers Dave and Lynn vacationed at Cayo Espanto, a small private island resort three miles off the coast of Belize. The resort is a five-star paradise with only six seafront villas, each with their own private pool, and one over-water bungalow. Cayo Espanto is all about pampered relaxation, privacy, and service, which starts with arrival by helicopter. Prepare to be jealous of Dave and Lynn’s Travelers Tales:

Wow, what a fantastic place! From before we even landed on the island, we could tell it was going to be special. We could see the entire staff lining up as the helicopter was descending. Once we got out of the helicopter, we were immediately given cold towels and a special cold drink known as the Espanto Wave.

We met the entire staff and very importantly, Jesus and Jose, our two housemen. These guys are incredible. They walked us 100 feet to our villa, Casa Solana. It’s the newest villa and has water on three sides! Really private.

At our villa, we were greeted by our private chef with some fresh salsa and chips. He was there to take our dinner order. Every day, we selected our lunch and dinner from a menu of three items. We had a breakfast menu in the room but they will make whatever you want. All the meals were exceptional. Every meal was at the time you requested or in the case of breakfast, we would just call Jesus and he would bring it a few minutes later. The housemen attended to our every need. Every night, they would set up our dinner in a new location around our villa. Candles, lanterns, and flowers every night! All the meals were excellent and dinners were magical.

The room and the entire resort were immaculate. The housemen (two for each of the seven villas) rake the sand on the entire island and carve beautiful designs into the sand every day.

We went on a snorkeling trip and saw many stingrays, beautiful fish and got to swim with the Nurse Sharks. We even touched the body of the sharks! That was a very cool experience. It was a private tour with just the two of us on the boat with two guides from Cayo. Travel Maestro tip: Belize is known for stellar snorkeling along the world’s second-longest barrier reef.

We enjoyed a tour of the Belize Zoo. This is a very cool place that rehabilitates injured or confiscated animals and has an incredible selection of animals that you can see up close. We also used our spa credits toward wonderful massages in our room. Travel Maestro tip: Virtuoso amenities include $100 spa services credit, complimentary on behalf of Covington Travel.

The other item that was included in our package was a private picnic on a small Island about 15 minutes from Cayo. They took us to this remote beach that had a tent, dining table and chairs, and an umbrella with two lounge chairs set up. A picnic lunch that we selected, a cooler full of water, beer and soft drinks were delivered with us. They also took a two-person kayak there for us to use and we did. It was very special. They gave us a phone to simply call when we wanted to return.

The accommodations were amazing and service was over the top – the best we’ve ever had.

The only two negative items are important for you to know about, as we did not read about them anywhere. In the evening when the wind stopped, mosquitoes came out. This was a minor issue every night at dinner. During dinner, the housemen would close up all the open walls of the villa and turn on the AC. They also placed mosquito netting over our bed. This was very functional and allowed us to sleep comfortably. There were very few mosquitoes inside our unit at night but they were still a nuisance. The last item which may not bother other people was that each unit had a chemical toilet that could not accept any toilet paper. This was a bit awkward and did not smell good.

I don’t want to over emphasis these minor negative items because the rest of the trip was awesome in every regard. This place has the best service, by far, that we have ever experienced. We were totally pampered but also left alone unless we called for service.

To arrange your own fabulous private island vacation at Cayo Espanto, just contact the luxury specialists at Covington.