Coco Beach, like most of the new building going on in Belize, is of concrete, shaped and painted as if it were soft, tan stucco. Palm trees may be picturesque as all get out, but they shed parts, and groundkeepers are out early every morning raking up wagonloads of debris.
My quarters in Reykjavik was the Marina Hotel, right on the waterfront. By some standards the hotel looks old-fashioned and, dare I say it, a little ratty.