Need advise on lodging Roatan/Utila..

[ScubaDoobaDo]

:06: I am trying to decide whether to stay at CoCo View for 2 weeks (see if we can take a day trip to see whale sharks), or 1 week at CoCo View and 1 week at Utila Lodge.. Any suggestions?
My concerns: Is Utila Lodge toooo rustic?
I have a need to see whale sharks!
How long is the trip from CoCo View to Utila, and do they offer overnight trips?

Are there any personal photos of either lodge floating out there? :dazzler1:

 

[Doc]

:06: I am trying to decide whether to stay at CoCo View for 2 weeks (see if we can take a day trip to see whale sharks), or 1 week at CoCo View and 1 week at Utila Lodge.. Any suggestions?
My concerns: Is Utila Lodge toooo rustic?
I have a need to see whale sharks!
How long is the trip from CoCo View to Utila, and do they offer overnight trips?

Are there any personal photos of either lodge floating out there? :dazzler1:

A quick note- just before I leave tomorrow for two weeks at CoCoView. If you haven't seen both of the 'best of Roatan' , I'd split 'em up and see both worlds!

I like CCV because of the dive boats with the center moon wells, the rooms on the active reef and the 24 hour a day shore diving. There's no shore diving (really) at Utilla, altho it rated highly in Shore Diving in the big Rodales Scuba Diving survey (draw your own conclusions).

Utila Lodge is in no way tooooo rustic. It's the surrounding environs that are more rustic. Remember, on CCV, you're isolated on a private 10 acre key- you have no idea what's going on in town. I know what's going on in town- that's why I like to be at CCV.

On the other hand, Utila Lodge has great access to the little town and the great people of Utila. Think about it- the place is so small- if some local goof gets out of line, either his Aunt will beat him senseless or the local Police already know who he is.

My advice? Go see Utila before it catches up to Roatan. Go in style and stay at the Utila Lodge with an equal dive op on premises.

Whale Sharks? When they're being seen, CCV will run day trips to Utila to go for a look see. On April 2, they were seeing them right out in front of CCV. The bestest time to see the big boys is the Full Moons of March, April and May. (That's my opinion and experience).

I'm not quite sure what you're need to see 'personal photos' is founded upon. The pics on the websites are very representative of the reality of the accomodations and dive op. They're not real savvy marketers and their photos are primitive but accurate.

If you "need" to see Whale Sharks, dive a lot, dive in their vicinity and their best predicted time.

I am going to CCV in 14 hours for two weeks. I'm going to start a new thread here maybe titled "Trip Report in Real Time" and tell all about how the diving is and how the "Reef Creature Voluntary Interaction" program is going.

See ya, gotta go. I'll leave the lights on for ya'

 

[mjh]

We dove last year at AKR and had a great time but where looking for a little more "advanced" operation. We stayed in a non airconditioned room on the water and loved it. We have meet several couples who have dove w/CoCo View and Utila Lodge, and rave about it. So we have booked the last two weeks in July, soonest we could get away. I hear Whale Sharks are rare then but one can always hope.

 

[ajwutila]

:06: I am trying to decide whether to stay at CoCo View for 2 weeks (see if we can take a day trip to see whale sharks), or 1 week at CoCo View and 1 week at Utila Lodge.. Any suggestions?
My concerns: Is Utila Lodge toooo rustic?
I have a need to see whale sharks!
How long is the trip from CoCo View to Utila, and do they offer overnight trips?

Are there any personal photos of either lodge floating out there? :dazzler1:

Disclaimer: I sometimes work at Utila Lodge.

The Lodge isn't much more rustic than CCV. Each room has cable tv, two beds, dual vanities, A/C, hot water, ocean views, and the main building has wired and wireless high-speed Internet. Check it out at the Utila lodge web site.

Also the whale sharks are here now! Most of the dive operations on the island are finding them nearly every day, although this of course can change at any moment.

There also is great shore diving on Utila, but the best is from other parts of the island rather than the Lodge dock. Still, I've had some truly awesome night dives under the lodge dock -- octopi, juvenile eagle rays, southern stingrays, huge barra ... worth it!

-Andrew

 

[ScubaDoobaDo]

We've booked CoCo View and Utila Lodge for next April. I'm soooo excited. Does the lodge have a card reader for my photo's, or is there an internet cafe somewhere near that has that option? Thanks for your reply!

 

[ajwutila]

We've booked CoCo View and Utila Lodge for next April. I'm soooo excited. Does the lodge have a card reader for my photo's, or is there an internet cafe somewhere near that has that option? Thanks for your reply!

Kisty, one of the owners, has a dual SmartCard/CompactFlash USB reader that I believe is available to guests. And yes, there are about six Internet cafes nearby on the island, and at least one has a card reader for sure (Mango Tree Internet).

 

[suzanneshutters]

:06: I am trying to decide whether to stay at CoCo View for 2 weeks (see if we can take a day trip to see whale sharks), or 1 week at CoCo View and 1 week at Utila Lodge.. Any suggestions?
My concerns: Is Utila Lodge toooo rustic?
I have a need to see whale sharks!
How long is the trip from CoCo View to Utila, and do they offer overnight trips?

Are there any personal photos of either lodge floating out there? :dazzler1:

Check out Laguna Beach Resort at Utila.com...beautiful, gets good reviews and upscale from Utila Lodge.

 

[Doc]

Check out Laguna Beach Resort at Utila.com...beautiful, gets good reviews and upscale from Utila Lodge.

Welcome to ScubaBoard.

Tell us why you believe the above. Compare and contrast the facilities for us. You've looked them both over pretty carefuly, right?