Located 3 km north of town, and the same distance from the airstrip, this luxury resort skirts a broad palm-studded beach. In 2002 it underwent a core renovation under the direction of its owner, Academy-award-winning director Francis Ford Coppola.
It is a chic beach counterpart to the jungle-bound Blancaneaux, and guests will often book partial stays at both. The orientation is cosmopolitan. From the Balinese cabanas on the beach to the Italian wood-burning oven, its assembly of facilities will appeal to those who appreciate style more than substance.
A circular drive fronts the entrance, where arriving guests pass by two shallow pools stocked with turtles on their way to the main building. Reception is conducted at a long, handsome wooden desk under a palapa roof.
Polite, efficient staff members offer new arrivals a welcoming drink and an opportunity to sit in the open-air lobby, where they can admire the ocean view while
their rooms are prepared. These structures are connected by thatch-roof walkways, as is the adjacent upscale gift shop. Public areas are limited to these buildings, which also house the bar and restaurant. Guests can access the Internet here or in a small computer room off to one side of reception.
The centerpiece of the Ristorante Mare dining area is an Italian brick oven, and as at the Blancaneaux, many of the meals are based on Coppola family recipes; the greens come from the inn's own and the jungle lodge's organic gardens and the wine list favors bottles pulled from Coppola's Napa Valley estate.
There is also barefoot dining at the Gauguin Grill close to the beach, where seafood dinners are served facing the ocean. Auntie Luba's on the lagoon side of the road specializes in Belizean cuisine. Reservations are required both here and at the grill. The sand-floor bar pours expensive cocktails but offers happy-hour discounts.
The spa across the road offers Thai massages with coconut oil and sea salt. Two swimming pools are surrounded by chaise lounges, and beach captains attend to cushions, towels and sun umbrellas. Use of bikes, kayaks and paddle boats is complimentary, and the hotel helps arrange tours as well. Its dive shop takes guests out to Laughing Bird Caye National Park, 55 minutes offshore, for full days of snorkeling and diving. A box lunch is served on the island.
The palm-thatch cabanas mingle among the palm and sea grape close to the water's edge. The most prized are the four beachfront cabanas, but the slightly smaller beach-view cabanas in back are raised on stilts for better views and ventilation. Screened porches with pleasant sitting areas are in all. The decor in the rooms is Balinese, from the fabrics to the elaborately carved furnishings, which include a wardrobe, desk, small table and chairs, and comfortable cushioned sofa and armchair.
All rooms are equipped with ceiling fans, screened and shuttered windows, queen beds, minibars and iPod docking stations. 
None has a TV or phone, but there is a "shell phone," a wired conch intercom which guests use to communicate with the front desk. Raised thresholds are integral to the Indonesian design but can present a hazard, especially because the lighting is kept low. The baths are lovely indoor-outdoor gardens with two showers and dual basins. Iguanas can sometimes be spotted scaling the outside walls.
Also for rent are a two-bedroom bungalow with a full kitchen and roof terrace, and Mr. Coppola's personal two-bedroom bungalow, which has a big library, two baths and a private pool.
Turndown service is standard, and complimentary tea and coffee are brought to the cabanas each morning by pleasant wait staff. For guests doing both beach and jungle, the Turtle Inn provides a stylish add-on to a stay at Blancaneaux. An alternative choice is Chabil Mar next door, but the public spaces at Turtle Inn are more extensive and welcoming.
