I am planning on visit Belize sometime this winter. This is a popular time for tourists as it is freezing in most parts of the U.S. I need to attend a business cruise in February and am considering staying in Belize after the cruise. When I started researching hotels in the area where I would like to visit, I found the prices to be outrageous, so I decided to research the web for a condo type rental and found they were 30-50% less per night than a hotel room. Never having done this before, I started investigating and found a great checklist to use if you decide to reserve a villa or a condo, no matter where you go in the world. Hope this checklist helps you in your planning. Happy Travels!

• How many people will the unit sleep? Are the beds twins or doubles? Is there a sofa beds included in the bed count?
• Is there a minimum stay? (many of these units have a minimum)
• What are the policies regarding children, pets, smoking?
• Where is the apartment located? How far from the city center? Verify the address with an online map service before you book.
• How far is the unit from public transportation?
• Is there a grocery store nearby? How about bars—if you like quiet this is an important question. Is it on a noisy street?
• What amenities such as washer/dryer, TV, etc does the unit have?
• If possible, can you see photos?
• Whom can you call in case there are problems—very important if you are going outside the U.S. and don’t speak the language.
• Do sheets, pillows and towels come with the rental?
• Is there internet? Is there a cleaning charge? What else is or is not included in the rental?

This entry was posted on Monday, January 21st, 2008 at 8:00 am and is filed under General Interests. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.