OUR COVID-19 RESPONSE
Employee Vaccination Information
Every single member of our staff has been fully (double) vaccinated against Covid 19. Our staff will receive boosters as soon as they become available in Belize.
About our Onsite Testing
Both rapid antigen and PCR tests are available onsite through our partners at Belize Diagnostic Centre. Receive your results from the rapid antigen test in 30 minutes and 90 minutes for the PCR test. Our front desk and concierges team will be happy to assist with arranging your tests. Advanced booking is not required.
Travel Insurance
We hope that you will find our new flexible cancellation policy suitable, however, for additional protection we strongly encourage our guests to purchase travel insurance to mitigate financial loss. For more information about travel insurance options, please visit Trip Mate.
Dear Guests,
Just like you, the GAIA team has been carefully monitoring the impact of COVID-19 worldwide. In challenging times like these, we’re reminded that our top priority is the health and well-being of our guests, staff and communities.
We are pleased to share with you the various steps we are taking to ensure that GAIA remains a safe environment for all of our stakeholders. We are proud to adhere to the Belize Tourism Board’s (BTB) Gold Standards as a Certified Gold Property, providing you with the distinctly intimate and restful experience that GAIA has to offer.
Please see below the answers to any of the questions you may have surrounding our Coronavirus protocols. Do not hesitate to contact our reservations team should you have any additional questions.
– Daniel Lighter, Owner & Director
What is the BTB’s Gold Standard Certification?
The Gold Standard Certification is a 9-point Program developed by the Government of Belize and the Belize Tourism Board. The Gold Standard Certification seeks to enhance health and safety standards for cleaning practices, employee and guest interactions, work place policies, and standard operating procedures. The goal is to instill confidence in employees and travellers of the cleanliness and safety of Belize’s hotels and restaurants while ensuring minimal impact on the guest experience.
Gold Standard Nine Points Protocols:
- A Gold Standard Program Manager has been appointed.
- Temperature Monitoring and Reporting System has been implemented.
- Physical Distancing Protocols have been implemented for employees and visitors.
- Enhanced Cleaning and Sanitization Procedures have been implemented.
- An Official Response Plan has been designed for quick action in the case of a positive Covid 19 case onsite.
- A Clear and Consistent Communication Plan has been developed to ensure clear and consistent messaging to guests, employees and the general public.
- Sanitizer Stations have been installed throughout property.
Technology has been deployed to reduce physical contact while on property. - Extensive Training has been conducted to ensure staff is prepared to implement and manage new protocols.
- Designated room for guest who contracts Covid and strict safety protocols for quarantine period for that guest. These include meals delivered to the room, designated staff, assurance of best possible comfort during the quarantine.
What should I expect when I visit?
The experience may look a little different in this new normal, but we hope it will feel the same; ultimately, it is still our people caring for you and delivering the same attention to detail and personalized service that you are used to at Gaia. We want to reassure you that we’ve put measures in place to keep you and our team safe so that you can confidently enjoy your stay with us. We firmly believe this needs to be a joint effort, so we ask you to please play your part in keeping everyone safe. In return we will be doing the same for you.
Our team, suppliers and partners
All of our teams, suppliers and partners are fully aware of our commitments and we have asked them to comply with our procedures and requests to ensure the safety of our staff and guests.
- Every single member of our staff has been fully (double) vaccinated against Covid 19.
- Every team member has been trained in new health and hygiene-related procedures and their responsibility to guests and fellow members of staff.
- We’re communicating with key suppliers and partners, to ensure that their policies and systems relating to health and hygiene meet our high standards.
- We have arranged a partnership with Belize Diagnostic Center to offer our guests pre-departure Covid testing, both Antigen and PCR on site at the hotel. BDC sends a qualified health professional to the hotel daily, between 8:00am and 11:00am for any guests requiring testing. Results are available within 20 minutes (Antigen) and 90 minutes (PCR) and offered via text, email or printed. The process is simple, seamless and convenient. The fee is paid directly to Belize Diagnostic Center.
- Close partnerships with local medical professionals in the event of a guest requiring medical attention.
- Recommended travel insurance providers to cover incidental costs relating to cancelation, change of flights, medical care, extended stay costs.
Keeping you informed
We’ll be honest, transparent, and up front with you – updating and sharing information with you as soon as possible.
- As we hear the latest Government directives, we’ll update all our pre-arrival email communications to provide additional information relating to health and hygiene.
- All guests will be emailed in advance of their reservation to confirm the details of their stay and to clarify the procedures that we’ve put in place at that hotel ahead of their arrival.
Cleaning
As a hotel and restaurant, we already operate with strict cleaning and health and safety measures, but we will now be taking extra steps to ensure that all public areas, rooms and the spa are thoroughly sanitized, clean and compliant.
- All team members have been trained in these new standards and timings of cleaning.
- We provide hand sanitizer for staff and guests at every possible opportunity.
Best practices
Physical Distancing but not Social Distancing!
We’ll always adapt our service style to adhere to Government guidelines, and have adjusted table layouts in our restaurants, chair layouts in our bar and lounger layout on our river islet to allow for the required distancing policy.
Gaia is private by nature, with plenty of space throughout the property and across communal spaces including the river, the lodge and the garden, so we are not enforcing hard and fast rules. We ask guests to please use common sense and be responsible for your own physical distancing during your stay when moving around the hotel for the wellbeing of both you, other guests and the team. We have asked the team to do the same for you.
Face Coverings
The Gaia team will be wearing face coverings at all times when on site at the hotel. Guests are required to wear a mask when walking around the hotel, except if they are seated waiting for or consuming food and drinks, relaxing riverside, or in their own bedrooms.
Restaurant and activities
GAIA Restaurant
In a Restaurant it is virtually impossible to remove every risk. Therefore, our policy is to mitigate the risk through best practice and risk assessment. We’ll take all necessary measures to deliver minimum contact, ensure hygiene standards and physical distancing.
In a Restaurant it is virtually impossible to remove every risk. Fortunately, our restaurant and bar are located within an open air facility with wonderful breezes. So the risks are very low and our policy is to mitigate the risk through best practice and risk assessment. We’ve taken all necessary measures to deliver minimum contact, ensure hygiene standards and physical distancing.
Tours and activities
Gaia’s in-house tours will operate at reduced capacity to accommodate physical distancing. Private tours are also be available to ensure all of our guests have access to our amazing experiences within their level of comfort. External tours will be provided exclusively by tour operators who have received Gold Standard Certification from the Belize Tourism Board.
GAIA Spa
The Spa facilities will be open, and as with the rest of the hotel we will be operating stringent hygiene measures.
- All appointments must be pre-booked in advance and we will not be accepting walk-ins.
- Our therapists have received additional training on health and safety protocols and will be provided with additional safety equipment to wear during all appointments.
- We ask that all guests please shower before arriving for their treatment, and wear a mask and use hand sanitizer before entering the treatment room. We will be taking temperature checks of guests and therapists before every treatment.