When you think of Francis Ford Coppola, you may associate him first as the director for the Academy-Award winning film, The Godfather. In addition to being one of the most famous directors of all-time, he expanded his business ventures to winemaking and has made his name known in Napa Valley with Inglenood Winery.
But if you can’t get enough of Coppola by drinking wine bottles with his name while watching Apocalypse Now and you truly want to experience life like Coppola, then the best way to do this is to stay at one of his resorts.
Known as “The Family Coppola Hideaways,” Coppola’s resorts were each personally discovered, renovated and curated to his specifications. Unlike many celebrities, Coppola did not just lend his name for these resorts. Instead, he has a personal connection to each resort as well as a personal love for each location and its culture. From Blancaneaux Lodge in Belize to La Lancha in Guatemala and Palazzo Margherita in Italy, each resort has its own Coppola story.
It all started in Belize at Blancaneaux Lodge, where Francis initially considered buying a private island in the Phillipines. He fell in love with the region while filming Apocalypse Now, but his wife thought the Phillipines was too far away.
Not one to give up on finding an oasis to write his films, Coppola had heard that the mountain and jungle region of Belize was similar to the Phillipines and once he saw the Blancaneux Lodge, he purchased it as a personal retreat before opening it up to the public in 1993. Years later, in 2001, he added the sister property of Turtle Inn after seeing how popular Belize is for diving and snorkeling.
Turtle Inn
Coppola then went a little further and opened La Lancha in Guatemala. Said to be his personal favorite, this 10-room lodge is above the second largest lake in Guatemala — Lago Petén Itza. To make it feel more like his home, the furniture, fabrics and carvings from local Guatemalan artists that decorate it were personally selected by the Coppola family.
And to expand further than Central America, Coppola went back to his roots. With his Italian heritage, a passion project became Palazzo Margherita. It took five years to restore this 19th century palazzo in the Basilicata region of Italy. Located in the town of Bernalda, there’s a special family connection here because it’s the ancestral town of his grandfather.
Region of Basilicata
In The Godfather, one of Don Vito Carleone’s most famous lines is, “A man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.” And what better way to spend time together as a family than a vacation?
