San Ignacio Resort Hotel named Belize’s leading hotel 2026, its fifth straight win

October 14, 2026
by Belize Hub +

Some stories write themselves a perfect ending. In the same year San Ignacio Resort Hotel celebrates 50 years of hospitality in western Belize, the property has been named Belize’s Leading Hotel 2026 at the World Travel Awards, its fifth consecutive win in the category after taking the title in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.

Five decades of hospitality, five straight years at the top of Belizean hospitality: at Belize Hub, we cover plenty of milestones, and few line up this poetically. Here is the story behind the win, and why it matters for anyone planning a Belize trip.

The award, and why it carries weight

The World Travel Awards are often described as the Oscars of the travel industry, recognizing excellence in hospitality around the globe, with winners decided by votes from travel professionals and the traveling public. This year’s winners for the Caribbean and The Americas were celebrated at a gala at the Princess Grand Jamaica, the flagship event of World Travel Week Jamaica, and when the Belize category was read out, a familiar name from the hills of Cayo claimed the title once again.

Five in a row is not luck, it is a standard

One win can be a moment. Five consecutive wins are a verdict. Consistency is the hardest thing in hospitality, where every stay, every dinner at the hotel’s award winning Running W Restaurant, every tour arranged and every front desk welcome has to earn the reputation all over again. A streak like this reflects a team, many of whom have been part of the property for decades, and a base of loyal guests who return year after year and vote with more than ballots: they come back. Awards may be announced at galas far away, but they are won on the hilltop, one guest at a time.

A golden win in a golden year

What makes the 2026 title land differently is the timing. This is the resort’s 50th anniversary year, marking five decades since founder Escandar Bedran opened the property’s first seven rooms in August 1976 and began building what Belizeans now know as the only jungle in town. The guest book since then has run from royalty, including a visit from Queen Elizabeth II, to the everyday travelers who arrive on the hilltop every single day. A fifth straight national title in the golden anniversary year reads less like a trophy and more like a tribute to the whole story.

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A busy season on the hilltop

The award caps a proud stretch for the property. Just days before the win, the resort hosted the 2026 Wildlife Ambassador Conference and Wildlife Hero Awards, welcoming conservation champions to the grounds that house its renowned Green Iguana Conservation Project. That pairing is fitting, because conservation has been part of the hotel’s identity from the start: guests meet the iguanas up close, walk the Medicinal Jungle Trail, go bird watching, and join the Creatures of the Night Walk through the rainforest that surrounds the property. Celebrating wildlife heroes one week and a national hospitality title the next captures exactly who this property is.

What it means for your Belize trip

For travelers, awards are only as useful as the experience behind them, and this one points somewhere specific: a hillside above San Ignacio where elegant rooms overlook the jungle, the Running W serves the flavors Belize celebrates, and the caves, rivers, and Maya archaeological sites of Cayo wait minutes beyond the doorstep. With the winter season approaching and the golden anniversary year in its final stretch, this is the moment to experience, or rediscover, the hotel that keeps earning the country’s top title. Book ahead: five time champions in their anniversary year do not have quiet seasons.

See for yourself why the only jungle in town keeps winning. Book your stay at San Ignacio Resort Hotel, Belize’s Leading Hotel five years running, and plan the rest of your Cayo adventure at www.belizehub.com.