Yoda-X
Contributor
Xtasea500 (My gorgeous wife) and I traveled to Roaton from Aug 9th-16th. This was our first trip to Roatan and we chose Turquois Bay Resort and Subway Watersports (on premesis) on the recommendation of a friend who has stayed there twice in the past. Part 1 of this review will be about the actual resort. Part 2 will be posted later today on Subway Watersports and the diving if I can figure out the color saturation on my videos.
TURQUOISE BAY RESORT
Our trip began with a long and intense internet search for acceptable resorts with above average diving. Being a little older (late 40’s), we weren’t interested in the loud, crazy party scene that seems to be the big draw for most of the Caribbean resort areas. So, our priorities were:
1) Uncrowded dive sites
2) Variety of sea life
3) Relatively quiet evenings
4) All-Inclusive would be a plus
We wanted something that was easy to book without any hidden fees, constant upcharges, and a personable resort staff. It was also XTREMELY important that we had a well-qualified dive staff that takes diver safety and enjoyment seriously. To make a long story short, we found Turquoise Bay Resort (TBR) and Subway Water Sports on the Island of Roatan. While they are separate businesses, these two entities work together to make TBR a “dive resort”.
While we have all been told that you “get what you pay for”, sometimes it pays to shop around and look for the best deal. After countless hours of searching for the best bang for our buck, we found that TBR was not only less expensive than similar resorts in the area, but offered a better (subjective) dive package with access to more remote dive sites. Again, our focus was on the diving and not on the resort, so we weren’t looking for a 5 star atmosphere. If we were, then we would have looked elsewhere as TBR is an older resort complex, but it has been well taken care of by the onsite staff.
Travel to the Island of Roatan is fairly easy with daily flights out of Houston, Texas. The only travel consideration when it comes to flights is where you are coming from in the U.S. We were flying out of Eugene, Oregon and in order to catch the flight to Roatan we were required to fly the red eye so that we were in Houston for the mid-morning flight. Other than being a little tired from flying, the trip through customs was seamless and we were met at the airport by a member of the staff who took our bags and loaded us into the air-conditioned van for the 30 minute drive to TBR.
Upon arrival at the resort we were welcomed with a cold beverage and our bags were immediately taken to our room. We were given a quick tour of the facilities, introduced to the staff, instructed on how and when meals were served, and then we were escorted to Subway Watersports where we were introduced to the dive shop manager Darin. (More on this in part 2)
After all of the formalities were complete we left for our room to relax after 15 hours of travel.
The rooms at TBR are nice. Not great, but well maintained, clean and comfortable. Again, this is an older resort…..not a luxury resort. We had a comfortable king sized bed, wicker cushioned couch, desk with chair, TV with cable, wireless internet, air-conditioner (which is a must have item in August) a patio with an ocean view and a bathroom with hot and cold running water and a “cascading” shower head. The linens were clean and of good quality and the floor was all tiled. There were three rooms per building and we rarely heard our “neighbors”.
Dining: Meals at TBR are a mix of buffet and ala carte items. The food was good quality, fresh and a mix of Western food alongside traditional Honduran cuisine. If you have a sensitive palate, you should mention it to the head chef David XXXXX, who will do everything possible to ensure you are taken care of.
Breakfast would usually be eggs to order (scrambled or omelets with choice of cheese, ham, onion or bell pepper), pancakes or French toast, sausage, bacon, cold cereal, yogurt, fresh fruit, toast, coffee and juices of your choice.
Lunch would be salad, fresh veggies (from their own garden and organic), fresh fruit, pizza, soup, beans, rice, and an entrée of different meats and fish each day. Drinks were juices, water, coffee, sodas, and of course beer, liquor or wine (unless you are going on the afternoon dive.
Dinners were incredible! There was always rice, beans, French fries, potatoes, veggies, salad and fruit. The entrees we had were roast pork, lobster, shrimp, steak, ribs, different types of chicken, fresh made tortillas with beans, cheese, egg, sour cream and avocado (so, so, so good).
The food was endless and you could eat as much or as little as you wanted. Some nights that was not a good thing as I would eat so much I had to go lay down and pray I wasn’t still full the next morning.
RATINGS
I always hate giving ratings on a scale, but it seems to be the best way to convey different aspects of a resort. So we decided to use a scale from 1-10 with 1 being horrible and 10 being the greatest thing since sliced bread. We have also broken things down into a few different categories so we can try to give you an overall feel of the resort instead of just one score for the entire resort. I am basing this rating on the fact this is a resort that is budgeted (cost wise) as a 3 star resort. So I am basing it on the premise that we are in a 3 star resort. It wouldn’t be fair to rate against a five star resort. So, let’s start with the resort:
STAFF: 10
I’m not sure how they did it, but all of the staff greeted us by our first names and went out of their way to make sure we had everything we could want or need. We rarely ever opened a door for ourselves or carried a bag. Someone was always there to help and they did it with a smile. We got the feeling that every member of the staff loved their jobs and took your comfort on as their #1 goal.
ROOMS: 7
While the rooms were clean and comfortable, they were older and some of the appliances were on their last leg. For example; my bedside light would short out from time to time and I would need to play with the on/off switch to get it to work. The same thing happened a couple of times with the main light. The other issue we had was ants. They were everywhere. Not in huge numbers, but we would find them in the toilet, some on the walls and on the porch. Not a huge issue, but when you lift the toilet seat to sit down and there are a couple of large red ants in the bowl it makes relieving yourself in the middle of the night an exercise in frustration as you would have to turn on the light and check the bowl first. Again, not a huge issue, but enough to bring the room score down from what would have been a little higher score.
FOOD: 8
If you left hungry then you either didn’t want to eat or had a delicate palate. The food quality was great, quantities were never ending and the selection was robust. The cooks will do whatever it takes to make you happy. One night after diving I brought in some of the lion fish that we harvested on the dives. The chef asked how I wanted it prepared and I told him to surprise me. They made the most delicious ceviche I have ever eaten, then made an additional plate of stir fried noodles and lion fish. It ranks as one of my favorite meals ever. On the day we were leaving we were scheduled to leave at 1030am. The chef offered to make us a lunch of whatever we wanted that they had before we departed. While I didn’t take him up on the offer, it speaks volumes about the quality of treatment you get.
AFTER DIVING ENTERTAINMENT: 8
On the resort property you could use sea kayaks, paddle boards, sit on the beach, swim, or wander onto the extended deck and watch the fish swim by. There was always someone on the beach to get you drinks or towels and to help with anything you needed. The only negative comment I can make about the beach was the sand fleas. They were fierce and if you missed any part of your body when applying “bug juice” they would find it and chomp on you like a fat kid on a cupcake. My understanding is that raking the beach would help with this sand flea issue, and it didn’t look like the beach was raked very often. Most evenings they had some sort of event planned. They brought in local kids one night with their drums and did a performance that was charming. They had a bar-b-que on the beach, dive video reviews, and a “social event”. I felt they did a pretty good job of providing entertainment opportunities.
TOUR OPPORTUNITIES: 10
I think most of the resorts would be in the “10” category here as they all want to sell you on the tours. TBR was great about getting you to and from any of the tours and didn’t charge for the transportation. The driver was always there just as we got done. Never had to wait on a ride. Very professional.
OVERALL: 8.5
Well maintained, comfortable, treated like royalty, greeted by name, and by the time you leave you will feel like a small part of their family. We were impressed with TBR and will go again…..hopefully soon!
TURQUOISE BAY RESORT
Our trip began with a long and intense internet search for acceptable resorts with above average diving. Being a little older (late 40’s), we weren’t interested in the loud, crazy party scene that seems to be the big draw for most of the Caribbean resort areas. So, our priorities were:
1) Uncrowded dive sites
2) Variety of sea life
3) Relatively quiet evenings
4) All-Inclusive would be a plus
We wanted something that was easy to book without any hidden fees, constant upcharges, and a personable resort staff. It was also XTREMELY important that we had a well-qualified dive staff that takes diver safety and enjoyment seriously. To make a long story short, we found Turquoise Bay Resort (TBR) and Subway Water Sports on the Island of Roatan. While they are separate businesses, these two entities work together to make TBR a “dive resort”.
While we have all been told that you “get what you pay for”, sometimes it pays to shop around and look for the best deal. After countless hours of searching for the best bang for our buck, we found that TBR was not only less expensive than similar resorts in the area, but offered a better (subjective) dive package with access to more remote dive sites. Again, our focus was on the diving and not on the resort, so we weren’t looking for a 5 star atmosphere. If we were, then we would have looked elsewhere as TBR is an older resort complex, but it has been well taken care of by the onsite staff.
Travel to the Island of Roatan is fairly easy with daily flights out of Houston, Texas. The only travel consideration when it comes to flights is where you are coming from in the U.S. We were flying out of Eugene, Oregon and in order to catch the flight to Roatan we were required to fly the red eye so that we were in Houston for the mid-morning flight. Other than being a little tired from flying, the trip through customs was seamless and we were met at the airport by a member of the staff who took our bags and loaded us into the air-conditioned van for the 30 minute drive to TBR.
Upon arrival at the resort we were welcomed with a cold beverage and our bags were immediately taken to our room. We were given a quick tour of the facilities, introduced to the staff, instructed on how and when meals were served, and then we were escorted to Subway Watersports where we were introduced to the dive shop manager Darin. (More on this in part 2)
After all of the formalities were complete we left for our room to relax after 15 hours of travel.
The rooms at TBR are nice. Not great, but well maintained, clean and comfortable. Again, this is an older resort…..not a luxury resort. We had a comfortable king sized bed, wicker cushioned couch, desk with chair, TV with cable, wireless internet, air-conditioner (which is a must have item in August) a patio with an ocean view and a bathroom with hot and cold running water and a “cascading” shower head. The linens were clean and of good quality and the floor was all tiled. There were three rooms per building and we rarely heard our “neighbors”.
Dining: Meals at TBR are a mix of buffet and ala carte items. The food was good quality, fresh and a mix of Western food alongside traditional Honduran cuisine. If you have a sensitive palate, you should mention it to the head chef David XXXXX, who will do everything possible to ensure you are taken care of.
Breakfast would usually be eggs to order (scrambled or omelets with choice of cheese, ham, onion or bell pepper), pancakes or French toast, sausage, bacon, cold cereal, yogurt, fresh fruit, toast, coffee and juices of your choice.
Lunch would be salad, fresh veggies (from their own garden and organic), fresh fruit, pizza, soup, beans, rice, and an entrée of different meats and fish each day. Drinks were juices, water, coffee, sodas, and of course beer, liquor or wine (unless you are going on the afternoon dive.
Dinners were incredible! There was always rice, beans, French fries, potatoes, veggies, salad and fruit. The entrees we had were roast pork, lobster, shrimp, steak, ribs, different types of chicken, fresh made tortillas with beans, cheese, egg, sour cream and avocado (so, so, so good).
The food was endless and you could eat as much or as little as you wanted. Some nights that was not a good thing as I would eat so much I had to go lay down and pray I wasn’t still full the next morning.
RATINGS
I always hate giving ratings on a scale, but it seems to be the best way to convey different aspects of a resort. So we decided to use a scale from 1-10 with 1 being horrible and 10 being the greatest thing since sliced bread. We have also broken things down into a few different categories so we can try to give you an overall feel of the resort instead of just one score for the entire resort. I am basing this rating on the fact this is a resort that is budgeted (cost wise) as a 3 star resort. So I am basing it on the premise that we are in a 3 star resort. It wouldn’t be fair to rate against a five star resort. So, let’s start with the resort:
STAFF: 10
I’m not sure how they did it, but all of the staff greeted us by our first names and went out of their way to make sure we had everything we could want or need. We rarely ever opened a door for ourselves or carried a bag. Someone was always there to help and they did it with a smile. We got the feeling that every member of the staff loved their jobs and took your comfort on as their #1 goal.
ROOMS: 7
While the rooms were clean and comfortable, they were older and some of the appliances were on their last leg. For example; my bedside light would short out from time to time and I would need to play with the on/off switch to get it to work. The same thing happened a couple of times with the main light. The other issue we had was ants. They were everywhere. Not in huge numbers, but we would find them in the toilet, some on the walls and on the porch. Not a huge issue, but when you lift the toilet seat to sit down and there are a couple of large red ants in the bowl it makes relieving yourself in the middle of the night an exercise in frustration as you would have to turn on the light and check the bowl first. Again, not a huge issue, but enough to bring the room score down from what would have been a little higher score.
FOOD: 8
If you left hungry then you either didn’t want to eat or had a delicate palate. The food quality was great, quantities were never ending and the selection was robust. The cooks will do whatever it takes to make you happy. One night after diving I brought in some of the lion fish that we harvested on the dives. The chef asked how I wanted it prepared and I told him to surprise me. They made the most delicious ceviche I have ever eaten, then made an additional plate of stir fried noodles and lion fish. It ranks as one of my favorite meals ever. On the day we were leaving we were scheduled to leave at 1030am. The chef offered to make us a lunch of whatever we wanted that they had before we departed. While I didn’t take him up on the offer, it speaks volumes about the quality of treatment you get.
AFTER DIVING ENTERTAINMENT: 8
On the resort property you could use sea kayaks, paddle boards, sit on the beach, swim, or wander onto the extended deck and watch the fish swim by. There was always someone on the beach to get you drinks or towels and to help with anything you needed. The only negative comment I can make about the beach was the sand fleas. They were fierce and if you missed any part of your body when applying “bug juice” they would find it and chomp on you like a fat kid on a cupcake. My understanding is that raking the beach would help with this sand flea issue, and it didn’t look like the beach was raked very often. Most evenings they had some sort of event planned. They brought in local kids one night with their drums and did a performance that was charming. They had a bar-b-que on the beach, dive video reviews, and a “social event”. I felt they did a pretty good job of providing entertainment opportunities.
TOUR OPPORTUNITIES: 10
I think most of the resorts would be in the “10” category here as they all want to sell you on the tours. TBR was great about getting you to and from any of the tours and didn’t charge for the transportation. The driver was always there just as we got done. Never had to wait on a ride. Very professional.
OVERALL: 8.5
Well maintained, comfortable, treated like royalty, greeted by name, and by the time you leave you will feel like a small part of their family. We were impressed with TBR and will go again…..hopefully soon!
