Coco View Resort in Roatan

[freston4]

I am thinking about planning a trip to Roatan and staying at the Coco View resort. Can anyone that has stayed there and experienced their overall operations share their feedback?

I would also be interested in hearing about alternative operators on Roatan that you like and why. Thanks

Randy

 

[RickyF]

I have been to Roatan for the last four years. I have never stayed at Coco View so I can't comment except to say that they have large boats with sometimes a lot of divers. If you don't mind what I call "cattle boats", that's fine. I do know they have shore diving available which most of the other resorts do not.
I have always stayed with Barefoot Cay and used their dive shop. They have smaller boats and usually only carry a max of six divers with two DM's. They do three dives a day and return to the resort between dives. The dive shop is great IMHO and the resort is small and friendly. The food has always been awesome. The dive lofts are well furnished and have a full kitchen if you don't want the AI option.

 

[Doc]

I have been to Roatan for the last four years. I have never stayed at Coco View so I can't comment except to say that they have large boats with sometimes a lot of divers. If you don't mind what I call "cattle boats", that's fine.

Like Ricky said, he's never been there.

55' boats, very few divers assigned to them. They are set-up to carry 34 divers, never assigned more than 16 and that is for groups from dive shops that "have to dive together". More like 8 on a boat after the shore-divers decide to go that way.

5 dives a day, that makes for 27 in one week. Eat, sleep, dive. Night life occurs under-water at 8pm.

Not for everyone, just divers.

There are many, many alternatives on Roatan. None will give you the same ease and volume of diving along Roatan's very unique South shore.

Lots of comments on Scuba Board, here's a few pix: CoCoView Explained in Pictures pictures by Doc_Adelman - Photobucket

 

[herman]

I agree with Doc on this one, while the boats (4 ) are fairly large, I have never seen them crowded. If you want night life or excitememnt other than eating, sleeping and diving then CCV is not your place, it's prefect for me. The rooms and resort in general are clean but rustic, again, not for everyone. Others seem to have a different opinion but to me the food is just OK. It taste OK and there is plenty of it but a 5 star restaurant it's not but again I don't go for the food. Bottom line, if you want a lot to do outside of diving or gormet food, go elsewhere. If you want a charming place that is 100 % about diving, CCV is it......damn I need to get back.

 

[DeputyDan]

Have been the COCO View three times and the most that was ever on the boat was 14.
And that's because our LDS had a group of 14 go on that particular trip.

If your focus is diving - give Coco View a try.

 

[parrotheaddiver]

yup to what others have said about CCV..have been going there since the 80's...and will be returning there in June...few steps from the gear locker to the boat...staff schelps your gear and sets it up for you if you want...or leaves it to you just let them know...

 

[scuba e]

Never been to Roatan or Coco View but let me give you my opinion anyway.....
Just kidding. As noted above the boats are 55' long and in five trips we have not had more than 12 n board and that varies day to day as other get tired. They also have a center well or opening to get on board. It is very handy when you get onboard in rough seas.
You get 4 boat dives a day. 2 are drop offs and I hear some complain that they get redundant but if you slow down and really look aroundyou will find too many critters to list.
The shore dive is great. Two walls and a wreck to choose from. We usually do a prebreakfast dive and a night dive. Thats 6 a day for six days! If you ears can take it you will be pushing 40 hours underwater in a week.
That said, Coco is for diving only. There is little to nothing else to do on the island the resort sits on. The food is not 5 star nor the accommodations. We go there to dive, and just to dive. If you are looking for comfort and cushy look elsewhere. If you want 6 dives a day you will be too narced to notice.

 

[large_diver]

Just got back last night from my first trip there - WE LOVED IT. I'll post a trip report once I get my pictures processed....but some quick observations from a CCV newbie (myself and my newly-certified teenage daughter):

- Relatively easy to get to - 3 hour flight from Atlanta for us (connecting there from Boston)
- 20 minutes from Roatan airport
- VERY organized dive-op = great boats, great DMs, excellent/well-stocked dive shop. Patty Grier the dive shop owner is fantastic. New rental gear in great condition. In-house photo expert offering instruction, photo/video services, etc. Patty is also a trained paramedic and they have a resident, experienced RN who provides medical care on a volunteer basis = both were a huge help with my newbie daughter's ear issues....getting her back in the water despite some equalization issues.
- As much diving as you are going to find almost anywhere in one week = I didn't even dive as hard as I could have since I was there with my daughter (doing her OW check-out dives)...I got in 20 dives. Many folks managed up to 27 in a week.
- Arguably some of the best house reef shore diving in the Caribbean, with a wreck, 2 great wall dives to choose from
- Rustic but clean and comfortable accommodations - all right on or over the water. We stayed in an oceanfront room on the second level......great ocean breezes/views, hammock on our deck with deck chairs for relaxing. My daughter was glued to the hammock whenever we were back in our room.
- VERY RELAXED vibe = all I brought were t-shirts, 4 bathing suits and 2 pairs of shorts. Like diving camp for adults
- Great dive boats. We had some wavy conditions...re-entry through mid-boat "well" made things easy, even for my newbie daughter
- Good and plentiful food, buffet-style
- Great, friendly staff
- Mellow bar scene....not a big party/night life place
- All rooms were booked when we were there last week - things never felt crowded. We had 10-11 on our boat all week and were blessed with a very nice group of folks who jelled pretty well.
- Regarding cattle boat comments above - with 10 divers on a boat dive following a DM....things can sometimes get a little crowded when the DM or anyone else spots something interesting. This doesn't have to be a problem as long as you manage your pace/proximity to everyone else. Counterpoint - in the wavy conditions we saw last week (3-4 foot waves with occasional 6 footers), a smaller boat would have been pretty uncomfortable. The CCV boats were able to handle this and with the mid-boat entry, re-entry to the boat was much safer for those who were newer to boat diving (my daughter in particular).
- There are bugs..probably worse later in the summer vs. now. We applied bug spray and despite a few bites had no major issues. We sat outside quite often on our deck and really weren't bothered; consistent breezes probably helped with this.
- Marine life is more macro = lots of great small life; the only larger stuff I saw during the week was 1 turtle, a large tarpon and some sizeable grouper. Macro life was beautiful = more sea horses than I've seen in all my previous diving to date combined, morays, drum fish everywhere, tons of angels (queens, french, gray), butterfly fish, toad fish, etc., etc.

This place is really all about diving. No pool, no TVs, etc. If you like a relaxed atmosphere with a ton of potential diving and not many other distractions, this is the place for you. We are already trying to figure out when we can go back

Chris

 

[k8brandt]

Hey Doc, CCV has a new chef, who is putting more diverse food on the menu. Of course, there will always be the favorite rice and beans for lunch and dinner. What did you think?

 

[Doc]

Hey Doc, CCV has a new chef, who is putting more diverse food on the menu. Of course, there will always be the favorite rice and beans for lunch and dinner. What did you think?

I didn't lose any weight.

Whenever someone mentions "rice & beans", it fortifies the urban myth that says this is all there is to eat. It's just there if someone wants it. Lots of other food choices at all meals.

I don't eat anything that comes from the sea, so I'm missing out on some of the best stuff being offered. Still, I manage to eat very well. I really only found one lunch all week where I wasn't thrilled- the deli meats were good, but just something else I have no urge to eat. There were always a lot of beef and pork products, along with trays of steamed veggies. I may skip the Lobster and Shrimp, but never went hungry.

Did I mention the Bacon? Double up on the Lipitor, dear.

The OP mentioned something about alternative option Resorts. On Roatan, I think that AKR consistently gets higher marks on food only because they have waitstaff service and choices that you order off a menu. This wouldn't fly at CCV because of the time issue. The divers who go to CCV want to eat and then get back to diving. When you look at the CCV daily schedule, this becomes quickly apparent:

0645 Breakfast Starts
0800 Morning Boat Departs
0820~0920 Dive #1
1000~1100+ Dive #2
1200 Lunch starts
1400 Afternoon boat departs
1415~1515 Dive #3
1545~1645+ Dive #4
1820 Dinner
2000 Night Dive

Any discussion of diving vacations should start with: what is the expectation for actual diving itself? How many dives a day and for the week does the vacationer really want? Once you get past the folks who are afraid to admit they want one or two a day and then want "night life" (let's call it what it is- the bar scene)~ as long as everybody really identifies what kind of vacation they really want- then it limits the decisions~ certainly on Roatan. The above schedule paints a vivid picture of a day at CCV, now add to this the distance to the only bar scene on the Island (the West End), and you'll deduce that this is a place for people on a Dive Vacation, not just a vacation with some diving.

As far as there being nicer rooms on Roatan, well sure, I guess, but there's no way to maintain the character of any room that is situated on posts out over and active changing tidal basin and live reef. You got to keep it simple and rustic, as the corrosion factor and humidity is huge.

Right next door there is Fantasy Island, an un-steady resort that also offers some diving~ brightly tiled (read: slippery) rooms with TV, some object that you might think is a working telephone, and sometimes even hot water. Just like the Holiday Inn located in North Springfield, Ohio. If that's what you want, you should have it.

If you fear that the CCV rooms are not to your visual taste, consider the view just outside and at your feet. I'll skip the fancy room for that feeling of being in-touch with the Ocean.