Alexandra
Contributor
Here you go:
Travel:
We took the united flight via Houston to Roatan on a Thursday. The flight arrived on time but the passport check process is a bit slow - 15-20mins. Bags took about the same time so it wasn't a big deal. Anthony's key rep met us by the luggage carousel and took our bags to the air conditioned truck waiting for us outside the airport. We were very lucky as there were only 3 of us heading to AKRON so no waiting. We got to the resort in barely 15mins.
Departure was just as easy. We left on a Sunday. Packed out bags and left them outside the room by 9:30, checked out, relaxed a bit, and took the van with 5 other people, got to the airport by 10:30. After paying the $39 departure tax, Check in for the flight was pretty fast. We definitely got there before the crowd. Security check was easy too although my wrench was confiscated. We then waited in the one and only gate area for about 1.5hrs till boarding. At least the wait area has A/C.
AKR - the resort:
Check in on Thurs around 1:15pm ish was a breeze, especially since there were only 3 of us. We got our keys, got a super fast orientation, had a quick lunch on the island, and managed to make the 2:15pm boat dive.
We were in room 37, on the north side of the island. The room had a king bed and a full bed, plenty big, and great A/C. We had our own deck, with 2 hammocks, and fabulous view of the sunset.
The shower worked well although you definitely want to bring your own soap, shampoo, conditioner, etc. Beds were ok, nothing great. There was some closet space as well as a chest of drawers. We opted to get the Internet ($25 for a week and $15 for 3 days). It worked well and we were able to download a few movies to watch in the evening. (start the download in the am while we were out all day). A side note, the cabins on the main island had a lot of steps to get to so keep that in mind.
The main building where we have meals is on the main land. The water shuttle to cross from the main land to the island is a no brainer. It's barely a min to cross.
The pool and pool bar are on the island side, in the middle. Nice area, great pool bartender (Raul), but the pool itself is more Iike a large bathtub given the water temp.
The gift shop is pretty big with everything from t-shirts, sandals, jewelry, souvenir crap and some essentials.
As a whole, definitely a beautiful location, well kept grounds and nice landscaping.
AKR - the food and drinks:
Yummy! Given that it was all inclusive (and pretty much used up all our savings) we did not venture off the resort for any of meals. Breakfast is made up of orange juice, coffee and tea, fresh fruit (pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe), croissants and sticky buns or sometimes donuts, cereals, and then you can place an order for eggs or omlets, bacon (super crispy), sausage, toast, hash browns, French toast or pancakes, or any combo of the above.
Lunch menu changed daily and was usually a choice of salad or soup, then fish or meat, side of rice or fries and a desert. They also always had hamburgers as a fall back option. Dinner was along the same lines. Most of the meals were honestly pretty good. And if you were still hungry or curious to try a bit of the other dish, you just had to ask. Best meals... Picnic lunch on Maya key, steak dinners, chickrn parmesan, and grilled fish sandwich for lunch. Skip the lobster ravioli.
Sodas and alcoholic drinks were not included although they weren't very expensive. Wine was $4 glass or $15 bottle. Mixed drinks were $7 and beers $2 or $3. Happy hours on Mon-Wed-Fr at he main bar were 5 to 7pm and gave you 2 for 1 drinks. Pool side happy hour from 5 to 6pm was on Sat and Sun. The trick was to use your cooler in the room to store your beers you bought at 2-for-1 price.
see photos of the resort and food:
https://plus.google.com/photos/1095...ms/5751114024888465729?authkey=CNylpbCZzY3TfA
AKR - the diving:
First we checked in with the dive shop, right on the dock where all the boats leave from. We showed our c cards, and got locker keys and our boat assignment. We were on the Haydee most of our stay, except for 2 days when we were on the Andre. The boat schedule was 8:30, 10:30 and 2:15 - save for 2 days when we had 8:00 dpt times. Since the light and birds pretty much woke us up around 6am, we had plenty of time to hset up our dive gear ont the boat, have a leisurely breakfast, and then hang out till everyone was ready to go.
The dives were mostly on different reefs around the island, including going through some extraordinary canyons, and 2 wrecks. On Monday, the take everyone to Maya key for a picnic so the first dive is on the south side (often Mary's place - great dive albeit super darned crowded) and the afternoon dive on the way back is back on the north side.
The reef is in excellent shape, really quite impressive! The coral looked fabulous, tons of sponges, and fish. We also spotted a bunch of lobsters, crabs, turtles, and a few rays. Not one shark. We did see some lion fish but not too many and some of the DMs did have spears with them on the afternoon (less crowded) dives. Excellent show watching him spear the lion fish and tear it a bit to then feed it to a grouper who pecked at it a bit and then swallowed in one gulp.
Their night dives are tues and thurs right after sunset. We only did one, which was nice but nothing super special and the boat was a bit crowded. Note, the light rental for the night dive is $15.
The shore dive was way better than expected. Super easy entry on the north side of the island, and a beautiful reef, including canyons and swim-throughs, abounding sea life... The only pain is having to lug your dive gear from the boat/locker area to the shore dive area. They do have tanks in a shack right where you enter the water. That beach dive area is also great for snorkeling.
The dive boats are well set up, have an overhead so your aren't frying in the sun (although most dive sites are barely 5-10mins away), have a cold water cooler and ice box so you can keep your drinks or snacs cold.
The captain or DM will put your gear together for so if you want and help you off and back on the boat. We did find, having 2 divemasters during our trip that one was a lot more interactive underwater, pointing things out, than the other who basically lead us back to the boat or was leading the drift dive but that's about it. They will certainly help and/or watch out for inexperienced divers. We just happened to be a boat of DMs, instructors and experienced divers.
see photos of the diving:
https://plus.google.com/photos/109594787951670682311/albums/5750533707594159313
Overall, the diving was really fabulous.
We did not do the shark or dolphin dives but heard that both were really excellent adventures.
and lets not forget just going to visit and play with the dolphins which was an unforgettable experience.
https://plus.google.com/photos/1095...ms/5751109206454052481?authkey=CIrQ_ba_8eObVg
Travel:
We took the united flight via Houston to Roatan on a Thursday. The flight arrived on time but the passport check process is a bit slow - 15-20mins. Bags took about the same time so it wasn't a big deal. Anthony's key rep met us by the luggage carousel and took our bags to the air conditioned truck waiting for us outside the airport. We were very lucky as there were only 3 of us heading to AKRON so no waiting. We got to the resort in barely 15mins.
Departure was just as easy. We left on a Sunday. Packed out bags and left them outside the room by 9:30, checked out, relaxed a bit, and took the van with 5 other people, got to the airport by 10:30. After paying the $39 departure tax, Check in for the flight was pretty fast. We definitely got there before the crowd. Security check was easy too although my wrench was confiscated. We then waited in the one and only gate area for about 1.5hrs till boarding. At least the wait area has A/C.
AKR - the resort:
Check in on Thurs around 1:15pm ish was a breeze, especially since there were only 3 of us. We got our keys, got a super fast orientation, had a quick lunch on the island, and managed to make the 2:15pm boat dive.
We were in room 37, on the north side of the island. The room had a king bed and a full bed, plenty big, and great A/C. We had our own deck, with 2 hammocks, and fabulous view of the sunset.
The shower worked well although you definitely want to bring your own soap, shampoo, conditioner, etc. Beds were ok, nothing great. There was some closet space as well as a chest of drawers. We opted to get the Internet ($25 for a week and $15 for 3 days). It worked well and we were able to download a few movies to watch in the evening. (start the download in the am while we were out all day). A side note, the cabins on the main island had a lot of steps to get to so keep that in mind.
The main building where we have meals is on the main land. The water shuttle to cross from the main land to the island is a no brainer. It's barely a min to cross.
The pool and pool bar are on the island side, in the middle. Nice area, great pool bartender (Raul), but the pool itself is more Iike a large bathtub given the water temp.
The gift shop is pretty big with everything from t-shirts, sandals, jewelry, souvenir crap and some essentials.
As a whole, definitely a beautiful location, well kept grounds and nice landscaping.
AKR - the food and drinks:
Yummy! Given that it was all inclusive (and pretty much used up all our savings) we did not venture off the resort for any of meals. Breakfast is made up of orange juice, coffee and tea, fresh fruit (pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe), croissants and sticky buns or sometimes donuts, cereals, and then you can place an order for eggs or omlets, bacon (super crispy), sausage, toast, hash browns, French toast or pancakes, or any combo of the above.
Lunch menu changed daily and was usually a choice of salad or soup, then fish or meat, side of rice or fries and a desert. They also always had hamburgers as a fall back option. Dinner was along the same lines. Most of the meals were honestly pretty good. And if you were still hungry or curious to try a bit of the other dish, you just had to ask. Best meals... Picnic lunch on Maya key, steak dinners, chickrn parmesan, and grilled fish sandwich for lunch. Skip the lobster ravioli.
Sodas and alcoholic drinks were not included although they weren't very expensive. Wine was $4 glass or $15 bottle. Mixed drinks were $7 and beers $2 or $3. Happy hours on Mon-Wed-Fr at he main bar were 5 to 7pm and gave you 2 for 1 drinks. Pool side happy hour from 5 to 6pm was on Sat and Sun. The trick was to use your cooler in the room to store your beers you bought at 2-for-1 price.
see photos of the resort and food:
https://plus.google.com/photos/1095...ms/5751114024888465729?authkey=CNylpbCZzY3TfA
AKR - the diving:
First we checked in with the dive shop, right on the dock where all the boats leave from. We showed our c cards, and got locker keys and our boat assignment. We were on the Haydee most of our stay, except for 2 days when we were on the Andre. The boat schedule was 8:30, 10:30 and 2:15 - save for 2 days when we had 8:00 dpt times. Since the light and birds pretty much woke us up around 6am, we had plenty of time to hset up our dive gear ont the boat, have a leisurely breakfast, and then hang out till everyone was ready to go.
The dives were mostly on different reefs around the island, including going through some extraordinary canyons, and 2 wrecks. On Monday, the take everyone to Maya key for a picnic so the first dive is on the south side (often Mary's place - great dive albeit super darned crowded) and the afternoon dive on the way back is back on the north side.
The reef is in excellent shape, really quite impressive! The coral looked fabulous, tons of sponges, and fish. We also spotted a bunch of lobsters, crabs, turtles, and a few rays. Not one shark. We did see some lion fish but not too many and some of the DMs did have spears with them on the afternoon (less crowded) dives. Excellent show watching him spear the lion fish and tear it a bit to then feed it to a grouper who pecked at it a bit and then swallowed in one gulp.
Their night dives are tues and thurs right after sunset. We only did one, which was nice but nothing super special and the boat was a bit crowded. Note, the light rental for the night dive is $15.
The shore dive was way better than expected. Super easy entry on the north side of the island, and a beautiful reef, including canyons and swim-throughs, abounding sea life... The only pain is having to lug your dive gear from the boat/locker area to the shore dive area. They do have tanks in a shack right where you enter the water. That beach dive area is also great for snorkeling.
The dive boats are well set up, have an overhead so your aren't frying in the sun (although most dive sites are barely 5-10mins away), have a cold water cooler and ice box so you can keep your drinks or snacs cold.
The captain or DM will put your gear together for so if you want and help you off and back on the boat. We did find, having 2 divemasters during our trip that one was a lot more interactive underwater, pointing things out, than the other who basically lead us back to the boat or was leading the drift dive but that's about it. They will certainly help and/or watch out for inexperienced divers. We just happened to be a boat of DMs, instructors and experienced divers.
see photos of the diving:
https://plus.google.com/photos/109594787951670682311/albums/5750533707594159313
Overall, the diving was really fabulous.
We did not do the shark or dolphin dives but heard that both were really excellent adventures.
and lets not forget just going to visit and play with the dolphins which was an unforgettable experience.
https://plus.google.com/photos/1095...ms/5751109206454052481?authkey=CIrQ_ba_8eObVg
