San Ignacio Resort Hotel

Family-Owned & Operated Belize Resort

Taking Pride in Offering the Best of Belize Hospitality Since 1976 . . .
The San Ignacio Hotel as it was originally named was opened in 1976 by its owner Mr. Escandar Bedran, a pioneer in Tourism in San Ignacio and a leader in Belizean development. In the early 1980's Mr. Bedran's daughter, Mariam Bedran Roberson, joined her father in the operations of the Hotel and later in 1986 was accompanied by her sister, Paulita Bedran Figueroa.

Paulita and Mariam, now owners, along with their two other sisters, Terry Bedran Carter and Nazle Bedran Kuylen, have been operating their business and are proud to carry on their father's dream and his love for San Ignacio.

Leading Green Iguana Conservation Efforts

The San Ignacio Hotel has played an important part in the conservation for the threatened green iguana for over 15 years. An educational exhibit has been constructed on the hotel property to create a closer look at the life of the iguana and to learn how vital they can be to the ecological balance of river habitat. The hotel has an "adopt an iguana program" and the "Iguana Kids Club," winning them both local and international attention. In an enclosure with many varieties of tropical plants and flowers bright green iguanas tend to seek shelter but also bask in full sun, so visitors have a chance to hold an iguana while getting to know more about its anatomy, how they learn to survive in the wild, the process of egg incubation, hatching, rearing, and the release of one-year-old iguanas in an ongoing process by hotel personnel. The program attempts to create awareness, educate the public and allow for the release of the reptiles into the wild in an effort to repopulate the riverbanks of Belize.

The hotel feels a responsibility to recognize the value of the Belizean tradition of using plants as medicine to treat and cure everyday illnesses. With two very old cultures, the Mayan and the African, sharing their knowledge of medicinal plants and creating an alternative to synthetic medicines, the hotel works to preserve and educate the secret properties of these plants. The hotel has designated its lush, tropical forest backyard as a central site of sharing and passing on this rich ancestral knowledge.

Celebrating Over Three Decades of Hospitality

In the year 2001, the San Ignacio Resort Hotel as it is now known, proudly celebrated 35 years of family style hospitality, entertainment and service in this Industry,. Today, offspring of Escandar continue to be leaders in the productive and service sectors of the Belizean economy with their involvement in such areas as: the processing of high quality local meats under the popular Running W brand and sustainable harvesting of local pine for construction and value added products at Pine Lumber Company.