Our Honest Review of the Royal Rat Hostel, Placencia

An honest review of The Royal Rat Hostel, a cosy and sociable place to stay in Placencia.

Disclaimer: This article is part of a collaboration with The Royal Rat Hostel but all opinions are our own. Thank you for supporting businesses that we love and support us! This post may contain affiliate links, which means we might earn a small commission on anything purchased through these links at no extra cost to you. Learn more on our disclaimer page.

Are you planning a trip to stunning southern Belize? The Royal Rat Hostel in Placencia just might be the perfect base for you! A charming hostel with a friendly and sociable atmosphere, it’s the perfect setting for backpackers, families and travellers on a budget. We had the pleasure of staying here over Dan’s birthday when we visited Belize, and it was the ideal home for us. If you’re looking for a base to snorkel or dive Gladden Spit and the Silk Cayes, visit Cockscomb Basin Jaguar Sanctuary, or simply relax in a quiet seaside village, discover more in this thorough Royal Rat Hostel review.

About The Royal Rat Hostel

The Royal Rat Hostel is a highly rated hostel in Placencia that offers the perfect blend of comfort and affordability.

The hosts and owners of Royal Rat Hostel, Mark and Sheila, noticed a lack of economical accommodation options in Placencia and so decided to convert their property into affordable lodgings. As such, their rates are competitive and ideal for longer stays. Mark, a skilled carpenter, teamed up with local workers and built a hostel that embodies their extensive travel experiences. The style is modern and charming with distinct ocean themes that reflect the beach vibes of Placencia.

The property and its hosts provide a warm welcome for solo travellers, couples, families and everyone in between.

Where is The Royal Rat Hostel?

The Royal Rat Hostel is located about 2 miles (3 km) outside of central Placencia, a quiet coastal village on a peninsula in the South of Belize. It is situated right next to Placencia Car Rental, and is surrounded by greenery. The main town has a relaxed vibe and is easy to access via bike, bus or taxi. Just to the southeast are several beautiful beaches, and to the north, a convenient grocery store, bank, roadside vendors and ATMs.

The Royal Rat Hostel Rooms

There are multiple accommodation options at Royal Rat Hostel depending on your group size and the kind of travel you prefer:

A women’s dormitory with space for four guests (two bunk beds).
A men’s dormitory with space for four guests (two bunk beds).
Two mixed dormitories, each having space for six guests (three bunk beds).
Two private rooms, each one with space for two guests (one double bed per room).
A self-contained Cabana suitable for four guests (one double bed and one bunk bed), and has a private bathroom.

Depending on the accommodation type you choose, there are a variety of home comforts on offer. We have detailed the main highlights in the sections below.

Book The Royal Rat Hostel here!

Dormitories

The dormitories are shared spaces with bunk beds, yet have been designed so each bed still maintains its privacy. Each dorm bed is equipped with a personal fan, a light, and a privacy curtain.

There are USB sockets and a power outlet available by each bed, as well as storage spaces and drawers.

Private rooms

These rooms are more spacious and are equipped with ceiling and floor fans, as well as a purposeful desk and small safe. Multiple outlets are available for charging devices within the room. Mark and Sheila also provide towels, toiletries, razors, and toothbrushes for these rooms if you need them.

Self-contained cabana

This unit has two separate bedrooms, one with a double bed and the other with bunk beds. It is a fully self-contained house, equipped with a functional kitchen and a lounge area that includes a TV. There is also a hot water shower, a private porch, and air conditioning facilities.

The Royal Rat Hostel Facilities

There are some great communal facilities throughout the Royal Rat property that you should definitely make the most of during your stay.

Shared bathrooms

For guests in the dormitories or the private rooms, there are separate male and female bathrooms available. Each bathroom is well-equipped with two toilet cubicles, two shower cubicles, handy hooks, and large sinks. The bathrooms are around the corner from the rooms, merely a matter of metres away.

Swimming pool

The swimming pool at Royal Rat Hostel is the perfect size to take a dip in on those scorchingly hot days. It’s not small but is best for relaxing and socialising in rather than swimming in. The water is a welcome reprieve, especially in the hottest months of the year.

Just beside the pool is a pool bar and a traditional woodfire pizza oven. This gets fired up on special occasions like the build-your-own-pizza social evenings that Mark and Sheila run every few weeks.

In this area, there is also an outside BBQ for guests to use at their leisure. Although we’d recommend checking in with Sheila and Mark for advice before using it.

Patio

The patio area in front of the pool bar is a great social space. It has a few hammocks, sun loungers, chairs, and picnic tables for guests to use as they wish. When it’s quiet, this area is also very peaceful and is decorated with a selection of plants and greenery.

Dining in The Royal Rat Hostel

Whether you wish to self-cater for your whole stay or pitch in for a communal meal, there are plenty of options for all kinds of travellers.

Communal kitchen

Save money on eating out by preparing your own meals in the fully stocked kitchen. The kitchen is well-equipped with two fridge-freezers, hobs, two small ovens, a kettle, and all the utensils, cutlery, and crockery that you could need to prepare home-cooked meals. You can store your pantry food or unopened snacks in one of the cupboards to save space in your room, too. Pick up some tasty fresh produce from independent roadside vendors or head to Publics (the local supermarket) for ingredients.

Poolside bar

The poolside bar is stocked with beer and soft drinks to quench your thirst. The bar works on an honesty box system where guests can take a drink at their leisure and simply deposit the money owed in the box on the bar. Local beers are usually $5 USD, and a bottle of soft drink is around $3 USD.

Social nights

Mark and Sheila host a rotating schedule of social events to break the ice, introduce you to other travellers, and give the place a family feel. These events include a potluck dinner, pizza night, and movie night. Each social night may have a small fee per person to help pay for the cost of ingredients. We really enjoyed a pizza night with an add-your-own-toppings bar, plenty of veggie options, and delicious pizza cooked in the woodfire oven.

Book The Royal Rat Hostel here!

Things to do at The Royal Rat Hostel

Whilst Placencia has some excellent local spots, The Royal Rat Hostel itself is a great place to relax and enjoy the stunning Belizean weather. We have included some highlights below.

Challenge Mark to a game of darts!
Make the most of the communal lounge and play a board game or watch some TV
Prepare a meal in the kitchen
Kick back with a cold beverage and some friendly company in the patio area
Relax in the refreshing pool under the hot Belizean sun
Curl up with a book or doze in one of the hammocks
Take part in a social night and make some new friends

Be sure to ask Mark and Sheila for tips on the best local spots and if you would like to organise any tours. The hostel is only a 15-minute walk from the nearest accessible beach and is close to some excellent local restaurants. We had a lovely meal on Dan’s birthday in Blue Lagoon, which is only a 5-minute drive north of the hostel and has great sunset views.

Other popular day trips and things to do in the area include:

Shopping in Placencia Village
Strolling down the Placencia Promenade
Taking a boat tour to Laughing Bird Caye
Snorkelling the Silk Cayes
SCUBA diving at Gladden Spit
Hiking in Cockscomb Basin Jaguar Reserve
Day tripping to Hopkins and lounging on the bach
Visiting the Serpon Sugar Mill

The Royal Rat Hostel Services

A variety of services are offered at The Royal Rat Hostel to make your stay more enjoyable. We have listed the highlights below.

Free bike hire

At The Royal Rat Hostel, you can use bicycles for free! This works on a first-come, first-served basis, so be sure to get one nice and early if you have somewhere you’d like to cycle to. Having a bike in Placencia is super handy as the peninsula is long and it can take a while to walk into town without a bike or car.

Complimentary WiFi

There is complimentary WiFi throughout The Royal Rat Hostel that works well in the rooms as well as in the common areas. We had some remote work to complete during our stay and found it to be super fast with a good upload and download speed.

Check-in and checkout

Check-in is any time from midday to 8:30 PM. Checkout is by 11:00 AM. As Mark and Sheila live onsite and are available through WhatsApp, communication is super clear, and check-in is a super-easy process.

Gift shop

There is a small onsite gift shop located within the reception area where you can purchase any amenities you may have forgotten, including toiletries and products to make your stay more comfortable.

Laundry

A laundry service is offered for around $8 USD per load. This is a super handy service if you’ve been on the road for a while!

Luggage storage

If you have to wait around for a while when you check out, Sheila and Mark are very accommodating and can help you with whatever you need. The communal spaces also remain open throughout the day.

Parking

Parking is available for guests. Be sure to mention to Sheila and Mark that you have a vehicle, and they can advise on the best spot to park. We had a 4×4 we’d rented from Dangriga Auto Rentals to drive the Hummingbird Highway following our stay in Placencia, and were able to park it safely in front of the hostel.

Shared lounge with TV and games

Enjoy the social area and make use of the dartboard, play card games and board games, or settle into a cosy corner and use it as a reading or working space.

The Royal Rat Hostel Sustainability Initiatives

There are a number of sustainable practices that are conducted at The Royal Rat Hostel. We have listed the main ones below:

Guests are encouraged to turn off lights and fans when not needed.
Minimal AC is used on the hostel property aside from within the self-contained cabana. Fans and ventilation replace the need for air conditioning in communal buildings, the dorms, and in the private rooms.
Free bicycle rentals encourage a reduction in the carbon footprint of guests.
Netted windows keep out mosquitoes whilst making use of the natural cooling breeze.
Sheila and Mark have a good standing in the local community as they have lived in Placencia for a number of years. They encourage you to support local businesses, and they themselves have employed local workers to assist in the building of the hostel.

Our experience in The Royal Rat Hostel

When researching Belize for our trip, we were looking for affordable accommodation and found The Royal Rat Hostel through its impressive ratings online (9.6/10 on Hostelworld, 10/10 on Expedia, and 5/5 on Google Reviews). Dan is a social butterfly, so we wanted to find somewhere we could meet other travellers and have a good laugh on his birthday. The Royal Rat ended up being the ideal place for us on all fronts.

Check-in was super smooth and we immediately hit it off with Mark and Sheila, and got chatting about our mutual love for travel and New Zealand (where Mark was born and where we lived on a working holiday visa). The communal lounge was ideal for relaxing and getting work done, as was the desk in our room. The kitchen allowed us to save money by self-catering, and the outside BBQ area was a social hub at night – the perfect setting for playing card games and making friends. Lucy even used the oven in the kitchen to bake a birthday cake!

We were renting a car and exploring further afield, and The Royal Rat Hostel was the perfect base for us to go SCUBA diving from Placencia, go to the beach, daytrip to Hopkins, and also try out some local restaurants. We could also easily do these things without a car as there was a selection of walkable beaches and bars, and the free bike hire was ideal for little outings.

Our private room had a good-sized desk, bedside shelving, and a comfortable bed. The days were hot as we visited in dry season, but we were perfectly comfortable with open netted windows and a fan.

The Royal Rat Hostel Rates

Royal Rat Hostel strives to make its accommodation as affordable as possible. These are the average costs per night:

Dorm Room: typically around $26 USD per night

Private Room with Shared Bathroom: typically around $60 USD per night

Self-Contained Cabana: typically between $100 to $112 USD per night

How to get to The Royal Rat Hostel

Depending on your travel plans and method of transport, you will need to allow enough time and make the necessary preparations for the journey to Placencia. The Royal Rat Hostel is located north of Placencia Village and is marked by a large roadside sign at the entrance.

By Plane

Both Tropic Air (which we flew with over the Great Blue Hole) and Maya Island Air offer flights to the local airport in Placencia. The Royal Rat Hostel offer an airport pickup service for a small fee of $5 USD.

By car

The hostel is around a 30-minute drive from the nearest exit off the Southern Highway, and just a 5-minute drive from Placencia Airport. Local taxis will also drop you off at the hostel, but we recommend messaging Sheila and Mark prior to your arrival before booking, as they may be able to assist with this.