MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 25, 2026--
Fort George Hotel & Spa today announced the debut of its new Signature Sea View Tower, marking the next chapter for Belize City’s landmark waterfront hotel. Opening this fall, the six-story addition will add 66 guestrooms and suites, bringing the property’s total accommodations to 130 while elevating the experience for leisure, business and group travelers.
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More than adding new accommodations, the project represents a significant investment in the future of Fort George Hotel & Spa and Belize City. Designed to honor the property's rich heritage while embracing Belizean hospitality, the expansion introduces new dining venues, meeting spaces, wellness amenities and gathering areas that further establish Fort George as Belize City's landmark waterfront hotel, inviting travelers to experience the city's culture, history and vibrant waterfront.
"This expansion represents one of the most significant milestones in Fort George's history," said Scott McArdle, vice president of hospitality at Fort George Hotel & Spa. "While we're nearly doubling the size of the hotel, our vision has never been simply to add more guestrooms. We’re building on Fort George’s legacy while creating new ways for travelers to experience the culture, character and hospitality of Belize City as an essential part of their Belize journey.”
Designed by Arguelles Architects, the Signature Sea View Tower draws inspiration from Belize's coastal landscape while complementing Fort George Hotel & Spa's historic waterfront setting. Expansive windows frame views of the Caribbean Sea, while interiors feature natural textures, locally inspired artwork and thoughtfully curated details that reflect Belize's culture and sense of place. The expansion also includes a new waterfront pool, complementing the property's existing Courtyard Plunge Pool.
The expansion introduces a collection of new experiences and amenities designed to elevate every stage of the guest journey, including:
The new tower also adds approximately 4,500 square feet of meeting and event space, including a 1,300-square-foot meeting room, an 800-square-foot meeting deck and a 2,400-square-foot fourth-floor venue overlooking Belize City and the Caribbean Sea.
Together, these additions complement the hotel's existing amenities, including K'IN Spa, BurnBox Gym, Treehouse Restaurant, and thoughtfully curated wellness, dining and gathering experiences, creating a more complete hotel experience that balances relaxation, connection and discovery while placing guests at the heart of Belize City.
Located in Belize City’s historic Fort George neighborhood, the hotel places travelers at the heart of the city’s history, culture and waterfront, while providing easy access to the experiences that define the wider destination, from the Belize Barrier Reef and ancient Maya sites to rainforest adventures and communities throughout the country.
The expansion follows continued recognition for the property within the meetings and hospitality industry, including being named Best MICE Hotel 2025 and earning a nomination for The MICE Awards 2026, further reinforcing Fort George Hotel & Spa's reputation as one of Belize's premier destinations for leisure, business and group travel.
Reservations for the new Signature Sea View Tower are now available for stays beginning in Fall 2026. For more information or to book a stay, visit www.fortgeorgebelize.com.
About Fort George Hotel & Spa
Fort George Hotel & Spa is a landmark waterfront hotel located in the historic Fort George neighborhood of Belize City. Long connected to the life and evolution of the city, the hotel combines generations of history with contemporary accommodations, dining, wellness and gathering experiences. The property currently features 64 guestrooms and suites, Treehouse Restaurant, SeaViche Bar, K’IN Spa, BurnBox Gym, the Courtyard Plunge Pool and the Lord Ashcroft Centre, offering 6,815 square feet of flexible meeting and event space for up to 500 guests. Less than 30 minutes from Philip S.W. Goldson International Airport, Fort George places guests within easy reach of Belize City’s cultural and historic attractions while serving as a convenient starting point for exploring the Belize Barrier Reef, Maya sites and experiences throughout the country. In Fall 2026, the hotel will debut its new 66-room Signature Sea View Tower, bringing the property to 130 guestrooms and suites and introducing new dining, leisure, retail and meeting experiences. Fort George Hotel & Spa is also preparing for its planned transition to Fort George, Belize, Autograph Collection later this fall. For more information, visit https://www.fortgeorgebelize.com/ and follow Fort George Hotel & Spa on Facebook and Instagram.
Fort George Hotel & Spa announces the debut of its new Signature Sea View Tower, marking the next chapter for Belize City’s landmark waterfront hotel.
It was a telling remark, especially when revisited two months later.
“I probably won’t be real happy and smiley,” then-England cricket captain Ben Stokes told reporters after beating New Zealand in a hard-fought test match at Lord’s in June, “until I get up there and share a proper beer with the boys.”
After all, having a post-match drink with teammates and sometimes rivals in the dressing room is a cricketing tradition as old as time.
Is English cricket taking it to the extreme?
The off-field conduct and drinking habits of England's men's squad are back under scrutiny this week after another nightclub incident involving one of its players.
This time it was Brydon Carse, a 31-year-old fast bowler and one of the team’s success stories in recent years. The images of him outside a club in the early hours of Sunday in handcuffs and surrounded by police officers were hard to ignore, especially as the saga came days after a plea by newly appointed England captain Joe Root.
“Ultimately you’re grown adults,” said Root, speaking after England's leadership opted to scrap a midnight curfew that had been imposed on the men's team following a string of controversial late-night incidents.
“You know what it takes to play for England, you know what your responsibilities are off the field, and we need to make sure we don’t find ourselves with any little situations off the field.”
Seems the message didn't get across to his players.
“If I’m being brutally honest, I’m really hacked off. I’m really disappointed,” Root said in a news conference on Tuesday.
“It’s not the isolated incident itself,” Root added. “It’s the fact we continually keep making stupid mistakes away from the game and it’s detracting from what we’re doing on the field.”
And so, with England's Cricket Regulator getting down to work investigating another off-the-field issue, it's back to square one.
Is it time for a cultural reset? In this age of sports science and ultra-professionalism, there are wider questions over whether cricketers should have a beer after a match. Or do players just need to be a bit smarter?
“Just have some kind of brain cells amongst you, seeing what’s just gone on,” former England captain Alastair Cook said on the Stick to Cricket podcast released Tuesday. “Surely someone says either don’t go to that place, or at 12 a.m. or 1 a.m. say, 'Let’s go and find ourselves somewhere quieter if we want to carry on.”
Here's a look at the late-night incidents that have brought shame on English cricket:
Before going to Australia for what proved a humiliating Ashes series, England traveled to New Zealand in October for a white-ball tour.
A day before the third and final one-day international, team captain Harry Brook was hit by a bouncer after being denied entry to a club in Wellington. Teammates Jacob Bethell and Josh Tongue also were present on the night out.
Brook was fined about 30,000 pounds ($40,300) at the time and given a final warning about his future conduct — sanctions not made public until months later, after the Ashes series that England lost 4-1.
“I want to apologize for my actions,” Brook said. “I fully accept that my behavior was wrong and brought embarrassment to both myself and the England team.”
Between the second and third tests in the Ashes series against Australia in December, England visited the resort town of Noosa on the Sunshine Coast for some downtime in the midst of a long tour.
While there, footage was taken of England opening batter Ben Duckett looking disorientated as he talked to a group of people on a night out and saying he was unable to remember how to get back to his hotel.
“I am sorry for that incident, it was not professional and shouldn’t have happened,” Duckett later said. “There is no hiding away from it.”
Rob Key, England managing director of men’s cricket, said he would investigate the drinking habits of the England team.
Chastened by the Ashes hammering in the winter, England began its so-called “reset” with a home series against New Zealand in June.
After winning the first test, Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson continued their post-match celebrations at Lord's by going on a night out in London, during which a member of England’s security staff was reportedly struck by a rugby player from English club Saracens.
The fallout was huge: Stokes and Atkinson were left out of the second test amid an investigation that ultimately found that no “regulatory breach” had occurred. Stokes then returned for the third match, only to announce his retirement from international cricket midway through it, saying the past few months had “taken its toll.” Brendon McCullum then was fired as test coach, while Key said the England and Wales Cricket Board was considering imposing an alcohol ban on the team.
Strictly speaking, Carse's night out wasn't while he was on England duty. It came after his club side, Durham, completed a big win over Derbyshire in the domestic County Championship on Saturday.
Carse was among the players selected in the England squad for the first test against Pakistan last week, but wasn't picked to play in the match and was released to feature for Durham.
Ahead of his ill-fated night out, Carse had been retained in England's squad for the second test starting Thursday. He was dropped on Monday because an investigation was ongoing into the incident, which saw Carse held in handcuffs by police after, according to Britain's Press Association, being briefly arrested.
England bowler Matthew Potts was with Carse on the night out, while footage that circulated on social media showed Stokes watching on as Carse was in handcuffs.
With Carse yet to comment on the incident, it was left to Root to say his teammate is “very upset, has been very apologetic, and understands his actions.
“I don’t think it has been a very good look, the recent past, if I’m being brutally honest,” Root said. “At all.”
See AP’s full cricket coverage here
FILE - England's Ben Duckett leaves the pitch after losing his wicket during the first day of the test match between England and New Zealand at Lord's cricket ground in London, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - England's captain Harry Brook,plays a shot during the second T20 cricket match between England and India in Manchester, England, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson, File)
FILE - England's captain Ben Stokes walks onto the field before the start of play on the fourth day of the Test match between England and New Zealand at Lord's cricket ground in London, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - England's Joe Root leaves the pitch after losing his wicket during the second day of the test match between England and New Zealand at Lord's cricket ground in London, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - England's Brydon Carse appeals unsuccessfully for the wicket of Australia's Travis Head during play on the last day of the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker, File)
