Trip Report Turquoise Bay Resort, I'm here now and really liking it

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

I was at turquoise bay about 5 years ago. One of the dive magazines had named it one of the top dive resorts in the world and that snookered me in. When I got there, I found that to be QUITE a stretch but I was happy enough with the place that if/when I return to Roatan, I will probably stay there again. Sand fleas were vicious- next time I will take picaridin with me instead of deet. With 3 dives a day, some of the sites felt pedestrian while others were stupendous. Food was good for Honduras but many of the reviews I had read before grossly exaggerated the quality (and a few were unnecessarily HARSH).
 
Sure thing, I have been noodling over my rankings since leaving. Here is what I think based on various criteria:

Hotel Staff: Grade A. Very nice and helpful folks, many would learn your name and preferences. Front desk was great
Resort Grounds: Grade A. Very pretty setting with wonderful views even of the late Farah Fawcett's house which is next door. I think that place was paid for with posters on teenage boy's walls! Having Molly the donkey and horses wandering around was really cool. Molly is very personable, the horses kept their distance. It is not a super polished arrangement but very comfortable.
Rooms: Grade B. The B is for the overhead fan that didn't work in our room, other than that they were large enough with nice bathrooms. Of course you can't drink the water but that is the situation island wide.
Beds: Grade A+. The most comfortable bed I have had in the Caribbean, tied with Bamboo Bali in Bonaire.
Air Conditioning: Grade A. Quite sufficient. No need to leave on when you are not there, it will cool the room down quickly.
Beach: Grade B. The beach would be an A+ if not for the sand fleas. They are doing what they can but you can tell who spends time on the beach based on the number of red dots on their body. I am sure that the over water cabana area, once complete, will not have that problem. After 3 dives, I have little interest in the beach anyway. I am ready to shower and get dry.
Food: Grade C. Take this with a grain of salt, my guts were off from the get go so I didn't eat much. I eat low carb so could usually find something to my liking but not always. Since I didn't have a huge appetite it was not an issue. Breakfasts were generally really good. Sushi night was a disappointment. It was gas station sushi, and not a nice gas station. Pasta night was a big hit with the carbers. I am a passionate griller and know how to cook meat that is delicious and tender, the cook here is apparently not.
Dive Operation: Grade A+. Seriously the best land based operation I have dived with. Excellent safety protocols and terrific service. I happily provided large tips to all. Fills were always 3000+ PSI, Nitrox was steady at 32% and there was plenty of lead on the boat if you needed to swap things around.
Diving: Grade B. The topography and viz was great. Vis was reduced in the channels as you would expect. Lots of coral, a little heavy on the algae due to over fishing. Fish quantities to the west were better but there was plenty to look at straight out. Ironically, the largest grouper I saw was off of Punta Gorda which is the last holdout of illegal fishing. I saw it while searching for the remains the lost fisherman.

Would I return? Yes, planning on it. My wife wants to meet Molly!
As you know, Bruce-- I was on the other side of the island-- I had the privilege of seeing this Goliath Grouper for 3 days straight in 20 feet of water on our house reef at Coco View. A rare site to be sure- so I kept pinching myself --
upload_2018-8-7_19-55-35.png
 
Thanks. Other than the diving and the dive shop my concern was the food.
 
As you know, Bruce-- I was on the other side of the island-- I had the privilege of seeing this Goliath Grouper for 3 days straight in 20 feet of water on our house reef at Coco View. A rare site to be sure- so I kept pinching myself -- View attachment 473359
I'm spoiled seeing GG year round in Boynton Beach, aggregation in August/Sept can be quite amazing.
 
Thanks. Other than the diving and the dive shop my concern was the food.

There's usually enough variety in the buffet that you'll find something you like. Although personally when in tropical paradise I tend to focus on fresh fruit and veg, so I'm not that hard to please. The bar was our peeve: with mainland vacationers sipping drinks all day I can see how you might want to water those down so they aren't totally s*t-faced by dinner... So beer was about the best option on the menu and I don't even like beer all that much.
 
I just got back from a second visit to Turquoise Bay. When they had a buffet, the food was exactly as I remembered it: edible but not memorable. We happened to be there on a really SLOW week (only 6 guests) so they ended up serving meals a la carte from 2-3 options. The food was MUCH better when they did this- sadly, we were only able to dive the local dive sites the first three days of the trip and had to move over to the other side of the island because of a storm for the remainder of the trip. Call me crazy but I think that some of the dive sites near TB are better or at least as good as Mary’s Place- I honestly don’t understand the hype about that spot. It was just a crack and not a particularly deep one at that. Everything I saw there I had already seen elsewhere.

I think Turquoise Bay, when visited during a promotion, MUST be the best all-inclusive deal on the island.
 
I agree on Mary’s Place being just ok. Labyrinth is a much cooler dive and gives the group some room to spread out and just play follow the leader.
 
Concur on Mary's - It had been so over-hyped to me and fell so short of expectations. I hear from friends that Guanaja has truly incredible and lengthy swim-throughs.
 
I agree on Mary’s Place being just ok. Labyrinth is a much cooler dive and gives the group some room to spread out and just play follow the leader.
Yes and they didn’t take us there this time. It was a favorite from my first visit.
 

Back
Top Bottom