Avoid Pura Vida restaurant in West End!

[thescubageek]

Unless you enjoy getting ripped off, I highly advise that you avoid dining at Pura Vida restaurant in West End, Roatan. While you'll most likely enjoy their decent (but not great) food, you'll be stunned to find that your bill is at least 30% higher than what you anticipated. Why? Bogus "Honduran" taxes (12% for food, 17% for alcohol, 10% for service, each applied separately) are slapped onto your bill without prior warning.

Now I don't know the legitimacy of these "taxes" (they may very well be real), but the fact is that NO other bar or restaurant in West End applies these to their prices.
When you consider that a Salva Vida beer runs you 25-30 lempiras at most places but costs 42 lempiras at Pura Vida, you can start to see how it quickly scales up.

Do all the incoming tourists and broke instructors a favor and avoid Pura Vida restaurant until they join with the rest of West End and change their policies.

 

[Doc]

Unless you enjoy getting ripped off.

Didn't a similar post come from another first time poster beating on this same operation a few months ago?



Give it up.

 

[undefined]

Edited to remove my foot from my mouth.

 

[Bay Island Diver]

Just so no-one calls me a troll, how many posts do you have to make saying nice things before you are allowed to say something negative?

These boards are a great source of info to avoid some of the less than honest businesses around the world, but only if people report bad experiences. So thankyou scubageek for your information, I already knew all about those added taxes having lived in the west end for nearly four years. The pizza is good there though, although not as good as Pizza Mira in Sandy Bay.

 

[thescubageek]

Well I find this all highly amusing. I live in Roatan for a year and a half, only recently find out about Scuba Boards through undefined himself, and here I try to put up a post with a genuine warning about a very unpleasant dining experience in order to warn incoming travellers about a major ripoff and get blasted for being a troll.

First time poster? Yes. Troll? No way. Show some decency please... I reckon I know far more about the island than most people on this forum, and though I hate to parade the experience card, such troll accusations leave me little choice.

That said, the Pura Vida pizza also gave me indigestion.

 

[undefined]

LOL!

thescubageek - you wouldn't happen to make a kick*** Shrimp Pasta, now would you?

If so, my apologies. This board often gets people who show up for a single post to complain about a dive op, restaurant, or other business and then disappear forever.

As for Pura Vida - see my recent trip report. Pura Vida always gives me indigestion, every single time we eat there.

 

[rainmaker]

Thanks for the info, I'll be in Roatan next month.

 

[herman]

Welcome to the board scubageek.
An introduction like in your second post would help, it adds a lot of credibility to your post. We occasionally have new posters show up and trash some place with no real proof or an established rep on the board. A new poster who's first post is a harsh review on a single place tends to make many of us wary of them. While justified bad reviews are welcome, they do need to be fair.

 

[Harro10]

thescubageek
I was also hit with a "special tax" at Pura Vida that did not appear at any other restaurant during my stay last month. I thought that it was a way to add a service charge to the bill and also have me leave a tip. I do not know the local economy so I was planning to give them another chance on my next trip. If this is a recurring problem I will have to give them a pass.

 

[Doc]

Welcome to the board scubageek.
An introduction like in your second post would help, it adds a lot of credibility to your post. We occasionally have new posters show up and trash some place with no real proof or an established rep on the board. A new poster who's first post is a harsh review on a single place tends to make many of us wary of them. While justified bad reviews are welcome, they do need to be fair.

That said....flesh out your profile as well.

Hat in hand, I now also say, Welcome to the board.