Fantasy Island Resort - Roatan Diving

[DivingTemptress]

Hello Divers !!
I have just spent a week diving in Roatan and staying at Fantasy Island Resort ... GREAT customer service and wonderful diving. The crew is very safety conscious and the guides find the cool critters for my "Kodak Moments" ;-)

The food is yummy, the rooms are nice and the Thanksgiving party was sooo much fun !!!

And now for a lionfish update ....
the divemasters are training the eel to eat the lionfish and several divers were trained on how to use the Hawaiian Sling with prongs on the end to stab them ... then they are fed to the eels -- the eel free swim here more than any other destination I have ever been to - great photo opps !!

 

[browntrout]

I watched one of those free swimming eels come out and bite on to the fin of a diver in our group. The op we dive with in Roatan feeds them to Yellowtails which are a little less menacing when they are looking at divers as a source of lunch.

Glad to hear your had a good experience with Fantasy Island.

 

[DandyDon]

The eels are free swimming with divers only because they have been fed by divers - old story, redone, same risks.

You can't train eels to hunt lionfish, just to expect divers to hand them food.

Glad to hear Fantasy Island is making a good comeback. Always liked the property since my first international dive trip.

 

[Mike]

the divemasters are training the eel to eat the lionfish

Ugh. When will this madness stop???? 5 years and counting and there are still 'professinals' in the dive industry completely clueless

Here is the reality :

the divemasters are training the eel to associate divers with a feeding

 

[j yaeger]

thank you for the trip report!!!!!!
glad it was perfect!
that's what vacations were meant to be!
have fun
yaeg

 

[Doc]

Ugh. When will this madness stop???? 5 years and counting and there are still 'professinals' in the dive industry completely clueless

FIBR DMs have always fed fish on dives. I have seen some DMs do this to amuse guests in lieu of Naturalist skills. As to hunting Lion Fish while being a Dive Guide/Naturalist and also acting as a devoted DM, that's yet another consideration.

I do not give credence to SCUBA critique found on Trip Advisor, but hotel/accommodation comments have usually been believable. Recently entered reports on TA paint a wildly conflicting picture of FIBR and it's current product.

TA doesn't have much reportage considering they just hosted 145 guests, but what you read doesn't make you run to make a reservation. Their biggest issue has always (and appears to continue to be) consistency. It's early on in their return, but spottiness seems to remain. I look from the outside, but ending FIBR's long standing relationship with Nick (the guy you see at dive shows, their US booking agent) in such an abrupt and un-harmonious fashion is of further concern.

I'd give it some time, see what is really going on.

 

[Brewone0to]

Recently while on a cruise and took a private guided tour of Roatan
and visited Fantasy Island while there 11-20-13.
We visited it specifically during our tour to see
if we would like to book there for this spring/summer.
What we saw is that the overall condition of the property has declined dramatically.
the once lush courtyard is now mostly brown plants.
There also were none of what used to be numerous very large iguana.
We were also told by our guide that the monkeys have been removed from the property.
Several years ago we stayed at Fantasy Island for a week and
thoroughly enjoyed our stay there, so we had high hopes of returning.
Sadly it will not come to be, as rates have risen and property condition has declined.
Wish I had taken photos of the conditions, perhaps the original poster has some current pictures from their stay.

 

[Mike]

Recently while on a cruise and took a private guided tour of Roatan
and visited Fantasy Island while there 11-20-13.
We visited it specifically during our tour to see
if we would like to book there for this spring/summer.
What we saw is that the overall condition of the property has declined dramatically.
the once lush courtyard is now mostly brown plants.
There also were none of what used to be numerous very large iguana.
We were also told by our guide that the monkeys have been removed from the property.
Several years ago we stayed at Fantasy Island for a week and
thoroughly enjoyed our stay there, so we had high hopes of returning.
Sadly it will not come to be, as rates have risen and property condition has declined.
Wish I had taken photos of the conditions, perhaps the original poster has some current pictures from their stay.

I thought the place was undergoing/done with major renovations????

 

[divin'dog]

I look from the outside, but ending FIBR's long standing relationship with Nick (the guy you see at dive shows, their US booking agent) in such an abrupt and un-harmonious fashion is of further concern. I'd give it some time, see what is really going on.

Sad to hear that Nick is no longer repping FIBR. On my last trip there, which was Jan '13, it was a disaster. Nick met us at FIBR and tried to make amends for all that was going wrong. I'd have to give him an A+ for effort. He really tried to make everything right for us. Since my first visit there in '06, I'd say it's been a downhill slide ever since. They do have a nice dive op with some new boats. Unfortunately, I've heard that the owner has no idea how to manage the place.

 

[Thook]

My wife and I have been trained to eat lion fish....