BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Dec. 20, 2018– All Belize City residents no doubt witnessed Golden Tree Hotel’s grand transformation. The hotel got a total makeover and now has 9 floors, a pool, and a state-of-the-art gym, along with fully air-conditioned rooms, among other amenities.

That makeover was no cheap investment, and less than a year after the fully completed renovations, Golden Tree has been shut down by the Belize Tourism Board (BTB).

The impressive hotel which sits on Coney Drive was significantly behind on paying their taxes, and according to News5, BTB officials, along with members of the Police Department, went over to the hotel to close its doors today.

News5 also mentioned that Golden Tree’s management has been trying for some time to pay the outstanding balance that had accumulated overtime, but they were still not in accordance with the Hotel and Tourists Accommodation Act, which states that failure to pay taxes can result in closure.

BTB has confirmed, in an email to News5, the closure of the hotel until they are able to clear their debt. The exact figure of the debt, which they had been trying to collect for an extended period of time, is not known.

Tonight, we spoke with Hon. Tracy Panton, Minister of State in the Ministry of Economic Development, but she told us that she was occupied and could not speak to us at this time.