Roatan Accommodation
 

Would appreciate information on where to stay. Leaning towards West Bay area. Fosters, La Rocas, West Bay Beach Village? Any opinions? Also, what's the best way to get there from Canada.
Thanks

I chose Bananarama Resort in West Bay for a trip in March. This will be my first time there, so I have no opinion of the place. It seems OK though. When researching airfares to Roatan, I found that the most convenient way to get there is to go through either Houston or Miami. TACA flies from those two cities directly to Roatan on Saturday (Houston) and Sunday (Miami). If you prefer to travel during the week, you will probably have to make a connection on the mainland of Honduras.

My husband and I (and our 2 children) spent 2 weeks in Roatan in August. Our first week, we rented a house in West Bay Beach Village -- our 2nd week was at Anthony's Key Resort for the dolphin camp. Let me know if you're thinking of staying at WBV and I'll share the ups and downs with you. I thought Fosters, where we stopped on the beach for a drink, looked a little funky. La Rocas is all the way down at the far end of West Bay Beach, and the beach area was very rocky (la rocas!).

We had a very easy flight on Sol Air from Dallas to Roatan -- I think it's Saturdays only. We paid $418 or 428 or so. Dinner and drinks included. It was the best of all the TACA flight horror stories we heard about while we were there.

Send me an email at [email protected] if I can help you at all -- I had a difficult time finding information when I was planning our trip, so I just stumbled around once we got there. If you're looking at West Bay Beach Village, I will tell you more about the place we first booked, and the place we ended up at -- it got a little complicated, once we arrived and saw what we had reserved.

All the best, Katie

We stayed in St. Mac's Villa - upper unit at West Bay Village and loved it. The beach is great and the shore snorkeling and diving were the best we've seen anywhere in the Carribbean. The caretakers at WBV are most helpful and gracious. We also met the people who own Barefoot Dream and its been completely renovated. Is beautiful.

Flew on the TACA saturday flight through Houston from Minneapolis. Met in Houston our dive partners from Toronto. We all flew Continental to Houston. No problems going or coming. Continental booked all the flights. Heard all the horror stories about TACA - true if you go any other day and must make small local connections - no problems on saturdays. Excellent service.

If you have more questions, email me at [email protected] before I leave for the month of November.

What and where is Barefoot Dream? I have heard some good things about Fosters West Bay - any opinions?

Can anyone recommend a West Bay Beach accommodation with a pool? Just thinking if the bugs get bad the pool is always an option.

Barefoot Dream is one of the houses at West Bay Village.
www.westbayvillage.com/

Try Paradise Beach Villas
www.roatanvillas.com/

When we stayed at West Bay Village recently, we reserved the upper unit of Barefoot Dream. It was very nice, but we found it impossible to stay since a MAJOR construction site is underway just a few feet away. As early as 6:30 a.m., diesel smoke, loud machinery, and lots of shouting between the workers would wake us up. It was impossible to hear each other talk even in the same room, and this would go on all day long. The photos on their web site have not been updated, so there is no sign of how much the area right next door has changed (there are no longer any beach views whatsoever), and the caretakers never mentioned the problem to us when we corresponded with them. They told us that they never mention the construction to guests prior to arrival since it should have all been finished long ago (??) After 2 days, we had to pack again and move.

The construction for the hotel was just getting started when we were there in August, and the progress looked very slow. Hope this is helpful to you as you make your plans.

Golondrini:
Where did you move to and what was it like? We are now looking at the Paradise Beach Club and the Island Pearl. Are the bugs really bad there?

I am SO sorry to hear about the demise of WBV. It was beautiful when we were there and we would have gone back in a heartbeat. Too bad "progress" has to be such an unwelcome change. Thanks for the update.

Ari, Since we had paid in full in advance for our week at Barefoot Dream, we asked to be moved to St. Mac's (which TC had highly recommended). That left us with a row of houses between us and the construction noise, which was somewhat of a relief. St. Mac's is quite a bit more expensive, but we asked the caretakers for consideration in the rate, since it was such an inconvenience and disappointment to us -- and we were limited in how much more we could afford. They showed us other rentals, which were all rather dark and dreary, and then agreed to move us to St. Mac's (with a rate increase of $300 on top of what we had already paid). It was a spectacular place to stay, the best spot on West Bay beach, actually. We went out to eat less to make up for our unexpected hotel costs.

The bugs were not too bad for us -- we sprayed with Off (with deet) several times a day. Our second week, at Anthony's Key Resort, was much worse and I, especially, got eaten alive. I was happy to have cortisone cream (both 1 and 2%) along, and wished we had brought along an antihistimine to ease the itching. (The Benedryl I had packed turned out to only be a decongestant, which didn't help at all). Also wished we had packed imodium, since 3 out of 4 of us got quite sick.

TC was VERY helpful to me when we were getting ready for our trip -- so between the 2 of us, maybe we can answer all your questions as you get ready for an awesome trip!