Copal Tree Lodge

A rainforest hideaway in Belize

By Patrick Janelle

To get to Copal Tree Lodge, you must first get to the tiny port town of Belize City, which is, in itself, a feat of multiple flights and layovers. Once there, you board a tiny 14-passenger Cessna, one of the fleet from Tropic Air. The tiny airline—with tiny planes—acts more like a bus service, as it pops up and down, making multiple stops (up to five) in tiny towns on its short service from Belize City to Punta Gorda. There’s not much in Punta Gorda. The tiny town square has a clocktower that, our guide pointed out, is correct twice a day: at 7:40, where the hands have been stuck for an unknown length of time.

Copal Tree Lodge sits on a tropical hill just outside Punta Gorda. The property is co-owned by Todd Robinson, a philanthropic-leaning resident of Belize, and Anya Fernald, a California-based chef and entrepreneur. The duo founded the property in 2009 under the name Belcampo, rebranding it as Copal Tree Lodge in 2018, just as production at their on-premises rum distillery was beginning. The lodge is committed to serving food from its farm, which takes up part of the property’s twelve thousand acres.

The property’s fourteen standard guest rooms are set in individual bungalows, each perched on a hillside, with a screened-in porch that houses a sofa and a hammock. They also include an extra large bathroom with an open, walk-in shower and a floor-to-ceiling window that allows one to contemplate the beauty of the surroundings while lathering up. The four penthouses are united with wrap-around porches and access to an infinity pool. The rooms are arranged around a central building where guests check-in, sidle off to the bar that serves fresh rum cocktails, and dine at the on-premises restaurant.

For an excursion, guests are invited to choose between farm tours, a chocolate-making course, flyfishing, and a day trip down the Rio Grande River and to the open waters of the Caribbean, where the property owns several small, uninhabited islands. Just be careful: once on those islands, you may never want to leave.