Laguna Beach Resort Closing - Utila Options?

[KeithG]

Any ideas for nice dive focused Utila dive op for people that want to dive?

We have scheduled 2 weeks in late August & early September in Honduras with the first week being Cocoview on Roatan and the second week was supposed to be Laguna Beach Resort on Utila. The idea was to take an extra week and dive a little less intensely than our normal very liveaboard pack-it-all-in-a-week vacation. The second week was really for rest and relaxation and a few dives.

Our travel agent just informed us that Laguna Beach Resort is closing and can not host us - but they have offered "luxury" villa lodgings combined with the same dive boat operation staff option. The villa offering appears to be a very nice single villa with a personal chef. $$$$. Not really our thing.

This would be our second week of diving, so we do not need 5 dives a day. 1 morning and 1 night may be enough when we reach Utila? We really do not care about above water entertainment (we do know about the flies!)

Things we love:
- bonaire freedom

Things we hate:
- mandatory group dives with the DM
- cluster dives
- short dives
- long boat rides

My very short investigation reveals Utopia Village as a potential replacement and a large hate for anything located close enough to town to hear the backpackers partying in the bars after it gets dark...

ideas...


P.S. Worst case we would do 2 weeks on Roatan. So suggestions for some options there are welcome...

 

[laurenceh]

utopia is very nice, probably nicer than lagunna. its small and the new owners have made big physical improvements in the last year (new pool, revamped public area's).

another couple of options (if you don't mind doing some of your own cooking):

1/ treasure beach, its about a mile west of utopia opposite the utila cays and is inside the reef (very calm, its in the area where utopia keeps their boat at night, safe from the big waves). it has a great reef just feet from the beach and is serviced by utila cays diving ( a highly recommended dive company that takes a maximum of 8 divers on its boat). treasure beach has two lovely rental homes, the coral house and the pineapple house. very private (boat access only) and peaceful. they can arrange for a local chef to prepare some dinners for you at around $25 per person. its within kayaking distance of the cays, so you can experience the local fishing village on pigeon cay or go to uninhabited cays and have picnics on "desert islands".
2/ sandy cay and little cay, for the ultimate get away. rent one of these islands, each little island only has one rental home on it so you get the whole island to yourself. great snorkeling and both islands are also served by utila cays diving.

this south western end of utila is the most beautiful part of the island thats inhabited, all be it sparsely. the area around the cays, treasure beach, joes point and pine point is where utilians and expats from town go when they get a day off and want to be reminded how beautiful utila really is. its picturesque, quite, there are miles of empty beaches, the snorkeling from shore is fantastic and its closest to the great dive sites on the north side.

 

[cmaha76]

When is Laguna beach resort closing? Is this permanent or temporary?

 

[laurenceh]

i am almost certain its just a seasonal closing (sept-thanksgiving is slow season), not a permanent thing.

 

[sbtag]

i am almost certain its just a seasonal closing (sept-thanksgiving is slow season), not a permanent thing.

Have they closed during slow season in the past or is this a new thing?

I put in a call to ask but they haven't gotten back to me yet.

I'd be sad to see it go. It is such a nice, secluded, quaint place. Very mellow relaxing, even when diving 3 or 4 times a day. Great food too.

I would think they would still be getting a lot of business potential in September. The rainy season doesn't really kick in on the Bay Islands until October or so.

 

[laurenceh]

they generally close for a few weeks each year for maintenance but you are correct, it is very unusual for any place on utila to close outside of october and/or early november.

 

[KatieMac]

Why Utila over West End Roatam?

 

[Doc]

Why Utila over West End Roatam?

Read in the OP, "things we hate"

 

[tarponchik]

Things we love:
- bonaire freedom

Things we hate:
- mandatory group dives with the DM
- cluster dives
- short dives
- long boat rides

Looks like we are soulmates, I won't be able to say it better. However, our DMs in Utila, Matt and Izabel, were best ever. Diving with them was very relaxed and educational. Matt was especially good in finding things in the sand: sea horses, pipefish, stargazers, etc. I'd go with them again but, unfortunately, Deep Blue is reportedly not functioning anymore.

As for Roatan, we enjoyed Turquoise Bay Resort last Spring. I found there some of the staff I knew from Fantasy Island, diving was very relaxed and smooth. Though no shore dives are available there, we loved it. The only long boat dive was to the wreck but the dive was great.

 

[sbtag]

Why Utila over West End Roatam?

Hi Katie and welcome to Scuba Board.

Congratulations on getting your OW!

I'm writing because I'm a bit confused. I got an alert from this thread that there was a new response (I have it set as a "watched thread" because I'm trying to find out of LBR really is closing).

My alert said you replied the following post to this thread:

"It's too bad. The place is so nice. But it is a ghost town. I was just in West End in March and Laguna Beach was empty and the dive shop was closed. Rumour has it that it is for sale."

That is very interesting, if sad, information.

I just don't understand why I don't see this message on the thread.

I never heard back from LBR when I tried to contact them.

Thanks!