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Leonardo DiCaprio’s Luxury Eco-Resort Blackadore Caye Proves an Impossible Dream

Leonardo DiCaprio, the world-famous actor, environmentalist, and activist, hardly needs an introduction. He is one of the most talented Method actors we have, a rare breed of celebrity unwilling to share his private life with the public and, just as importantly, a stark, determined, and committed environmentalist.
Blackadore Caye, a Restorative Island is Leonardo DiCaprio's eco-resort in the Belize, stuck in limbo 16 photos
Photo: McLennan Design
Blackadore Caye, a Restorative Island is Leonardo DiCaprio's eco-resort in the Belize, stuck in limboBlackadore Caye, a Restorative Island is Leonardo DiCaprio's eco-resort in the Belize, stuck in limboBlackadore Caye, a Restorative Island is Leonardo DiCaprio's eco-resort in the Belize, stuck in limboBlackadore Caye, a Restorative Island is Leonardo DiCaprio's eco-resort in the Belize, stuck in limboBlackadore Caye, a Restorative Island is Leonardo DiCaprio's eco-resort in the Belize, stuck in limboBlackadore Caye, a Restorative Island is Leonardo DiCaprio's eco-resort in the Belize, stuck in limboBlackadore Caye, a Restorative Island is Leonardo DiCaprio's eco-resort in the Belize, stuck in limboBlackadore Caye, a Restorative Island is Leonardo DiCaprio's eco-resort in the Belize, stuck in limboBlackadore Caye, a Restorative Island is Leonardo DiCaprio's eco-resort in the Belize, stuck in limboBlackadore Caye, a Restorative Island is Leonardo DiCaprio's eco-resort in the Belize, stuck in limboBlackadore Caye, a Restorative Island is Leonardo DiCaprio's eco-resort in the Belize, stuck in limboBlackadore Caye, a Restorative Island is Leonardo DiCaprio's eco-resort in the Belize, stuck in limboBlackadore Caye, a Restorative Island is Leonardo DiCaprio's eco-resort in the Belize, stuck in limboBlackadore Caye, a Restorative Island is Leonardo DiCaprio's eco-resort in the Belize, stuck in limboBlackadore Caye, a Restorative Island is Leonardo DiCaprio's eco-resort in the Belize, stuck in limbo
In that last capacity, DiCaprio is somewhat controversial. Always pushing for EVs as a substitute for ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles and often seen cycling around instead of driving, DiCaprio is always game for chatting and getting involved in issues related to climate change, pollution, and how to prevent either. At the same time, DiCaprio is often seen cruising around the world on megayachts, usually accompanied by a group of friends, flying private jets over short distances, or even flying by helicopter instead of walking.

Put it differently, despite his efforts toward raising awareness and affecting change on environmental issues, Leonardo DiCaprio is often accused of being a hypocrite. The same accusation is now leveraged against him on the issue of his luxury eco-resort in the Belize, the Restorative Island project that would have “healed” a small island and “changed the world.” Big words for a big mission, one that now seems stuck in limbo, delayed, and far removed from the dream it was meant to be.

In 2005, DiCaprio bought a small sandbar in the Caribbean Sea, close to the Belize Barrier Reef, called Blackadore Caye. He and a partner paid $1.75 million for the deserted island and, ten years later, announced the most daring project to that date: Blackadore Caye, a Restorative Island. It was an eco-resort of the most luxurious kind, one that would provide “restoration” both for the well-off individuals able to afford a stay in it and to the location itself, both the island and the environment around it.

Blackadore Caye, a Restorative Island is Leonardo DiCaprio's eco\-resort in the Belize, stuck in limbo
Photo: McLennan Design
Blackadore Caye is plagued with a series of issues, including coastal erosion to illegal deforestation, which had negative effects on the populations of animals and fish in the area. DiCaprio’s plan would change all that, as the project would plant back trees, protect the fish and the reef, and not just restore the island back to its former glory, but make it better.

The eco-resort was originally scheduled to open in 2018 and then in 2020. Now, in 2021, construction on it is yet to start, as The Sun reveals in a series of just obtained photos. The project remains in the early planning stages. According to the same reports, lengthy studies have been conducted in the area in the meantime. But a significant part of the project has already been scraped, that which saw the construction of villas on a platform supported by pylons in the ocean floor, one of the hottest selling points of the eco-resort.

The original plan was for Blackadore Caye to offer 68 guest villas and 48 villas for owners, priced between $5 and $15 million. Each unit would have its own infinity pool, access to private beaches and the jungle, an “anti-aging” wellness center, and the resort would feature all the expected luxury trappings while also being sustainable. Solar panels, eco materials and furnishes, air and water purification, wind energy all were phrases used in describing the resort.

The platform that would hold the villas would shelter ocean life underneath. Almost half of the island would be dedicated to research alone, and there would a full-fledged research center on location as well. DiCaprio himself said in an interview at the time that his project would “change the world,” offering a footprint for how island resorts of the future should be like and how to thrive while helping local communities thrive, too.

Blackadore Caye, a Restorative Island is Leonardo DiCaprio's eco\-resort in the Belize, stuck in limbo
Photo: McLennan Design
It was an admirable dream, to be sure. Until now, though, it hasn’t been able to live up to reality: various protest groups rallied together and got the project stalled on considerations that it would only do more harm than good. The platform would actually damage ocean life, the resort would negatively impact eco-tourism in the area, and the only real benefit would be for developers, for bringing the world’s richest men and women on vacation on a deserted island, it was said. DiCaprio was a hypocrite for saying this was anything else but an ego trip and a shameless attempt at becoming even richer with greenwashing.

Contacted by the same media outlet, Dr. Dionne Chamberlain, a representative for Blackadore Caye Development Group, stresses that plans for the eco-resort will “only” move forward when and if they meet “the most rigorous environmental and ecological standards.” You don’t have to be particularly versed in PR-speak to get the impression that Blackadore Caye, the world’s most sustainable and ground-breaking eco-resort, remains a dream. Probably an impossible one.
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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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