I fell in love with Belize over 30 years ago as a young man and have come back many many times. In 2003 I decided to semi-retire and completed this house in 2006 as a place to live. It took two years to build and I was lucky to have Irish designer and Belize resident Brendan Odonoghue help me design and build my dream house.

I have traveled a good deal in my life and you will see some of my art collection in the house including a piece by my old friend and well known artist Gregory Amenoff whose large abstract painting greets you on the way into Kukulkan as well as paintings by local artists and others from travel to China and Bali. I lived at Kukulkan for almost 5 years before deciding to move back to Texas in 2010 and returned to Belize for another two years in 2015. Now I am off to Italy where my next project will involve wines and perhaps a small hotel.

I love Belize in large part because it is a special place filled with charming, warm and friendly people. I suppose it is the people of Belize more than anything that kept me and continues to keep me coming back to this beautiful country. I encourage my guests to get to know not just the physical beauty of this land but also the kind and gentle people of so many races and backgrounds who inhabit Belize and make it their home.

Alvin Granoff purchased this estate in 2006

I had been traveling to Belize since 1981 taking a week to rejuvenate myself every few months from my hectic life at the time in Dallas and Austin.. For many of those years in the 80s and 90s I had an active business and political life as a lawyer and member of the Texas House of Representatives and escaping to Belize was critical in keeping my sanity and putting things in balance. It still is.

My trip was always a mix of spending some time in San Pedro on the seaside and then going inland and staying at The Lodge at Chaa Creek. I remember in the early 80s when Chaa Creek first opened and had 3 cabanas and one outhouse. Today Chaa Creek is one of the finest mountain lodges in the world and its owners Mick and Lucy Fleming are among my closest friends. In 2003 when I decided to base myself in Belize it was the magnificent beauty of the Macal River Valley and the land around Chaa Creek that attracted me. I wanted to live in this rich green environment full of both the beauty of nature and charming and friendly people. At first I stayed with Mick and Lucy at Chaa Creek then rented a little home in town. Within a few months Mick Fleming found me this very special 50 acres right on the Macal River and just one mile down river from his own Chaa Creek. I bought it and proceeded to design and build my dream home with the help of the amazingly talented Brendan Odonoghue who is without doubt the leading designer in Belize. That dream home is Kukulkan. With Mayan ruins literally right on the property we named our villa in honor of the leading Mayan god who is featured in Chichen Itza.

Over the years we expanded the trails, built the swimming pool to hang over the valley and planted many fruit trees. Come in the summer and enjoy our mangos and avocados.

I love this 50 acres of greenery and trails and riverfront as much as I love the special house we built to sit atop it and be a part of this unique and special environment.

Let me simply make a list of some of the special things you should not miss while staying at Kukulkan.

1/ Just lay out on the comfortable lounge chairs on the deck in the evening and watch the stars. Do it for 20 minutes and your bound to see a shooting star and more stars than you ever saw in your life as well as whole clouds of galaxies in the distance.

2/ Always open the windows (we have screens) and listen to the sounds of the night when you go to sleep. You'll sleep well. I have come to miss it so much that when I'm in the USA I listen to recordings of evening sounds to help me sleep.

3/Take a walk on the Kukulkan trails with Leonardo or Manuel (and the dogs if you like) and make sure to visit the orchard area just above the river for a special memory and have a nice swim in the river which is quite safe and clean or in the pool when you're done.

4/Get Leonardo to drive you over to Chaa Creek for lunch and a visit to their museum and butterfly farm or maybe have a treatment at their elegant spa. If you feel energetic take our kayaks to get there . It will be harder getting there going upstream and quite easy downstream on the way back.

At Kukulkan you have your own full time private tour guide with Leonardo. Let him take you around or make any arrangements you want to explore the area.

Just relax and enjoy my home. And maybe take an outside shower on the master bedroom deck.

Everything is quite private at Kukulkan. I designed it that way. I know you'll never forget it.