a little locally owned inn in West End
Chillies? You know that's a
youth hostel right? Not a lot of privacy...if that's it, get the better single cabins otherwise there's no hot water either. Personally I'd find it a little too rustic for my honeymoon but you may have other priorities. Kitchen facilities are shared also if that matters. It is a good location but so are 4-5 other properties on the same block. Native Sons is a good choice though. Nice people and a single boat operation so not too crowded.
There is other options in the West End also. Many well under $100/nt. Since dives are $30/35 each you're not really going to have a lot else to spend money on either. You don't need a car - most everything is within walking distance. And cabs are cheap. We never paid more than $20 to go completely across the island. Shorter trips to AKR or West Bay were like $6. It's $25 fixed from the airport. There's a couple small food stores in the West End for basics and the trucks sell nice looking produce/fruit daily on the street. Even fresh fish. They keep it all well and covered as needed so we bought from them several times.
Due to liabilities it's not the best idea to drive on Roatan - you're fine till you hit something - like one of the suddenly coveted as a cherished family pet - mangy, flea-infested stray dogs running around. They rent scooters if you want to run around one day.
I'm not recommending this place in particular but for a little more (45-60/nt.) than you're paying at Chillies you could get a small apt. at Posada Arco Iris practically next door. With it's own deck, private bath and small kitchen. And a real bedroom. Downside of that one is the resort is fronted by the Argentinean Grille so it's not quite as relaxing as it appears till about 11PM.
Cocolobo is pretty nice, secluded yet still walking distance to town/dive shops. Posada Los Orquideas or Seagrape Plantation are options next door also. They're all located 5mins. walk from town on the east point of Half Moon Bay. I rent a house next to Cocolobo and have walked over - it's as nice as it seems. And has the wanted pool. Those properties are all on ironshore though so you'd have to walk to Half Moon Bay beach to touch
sand.
nice beaches, or at least hotels with lots of sun and a pool
Honestly that's not in the West End. Half Moon Bay beach is decent on one end but it tapers to nothing on the other. Otoh, West Bay Beach two miles west is the
nicest on Roatan. See what you think of Bananarama - although the cruise excursions also use their beach. Want to see a nice pool? Look at Mayan Beach Resort. Want to see an even nicer pool? Infinity Bay Resort. Neither meets your small lodge concept though...
The only resorts in the West End with pools are the Coral Vista condos (too big for you) and Cocolobo. Maybe one more I'm not thinking of currently. Seagrape might have a pool also.
Sueno Del Mar in the West End is one of few small hotels with it's own narrow beach. About a 10min. walk to town from the west side is Luna Beach Resort - it's a little nicer, has it's own beach, pool and dive operation. From there you'd walk to the West End for dinner - they only serve breakfast/lunch. The water taxi also picks up there. If you want splurge a little, they rent the smaller "Tree Houses" to honeymooning/non couples also. Couldn't hurt to be a little uphill on Roatan where you might catch a breeze. And they look really nice.
Some other options:
Roatán Accomodations | Scuba Diving | Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras | PADI
A few shops run day trips over to Utila
on demand. Not sure who does now though. That's really going to be hit/miss for WS snorkeling though - you'll sort of have to commit with the expectation that some will be found that day. And the info relayed over the VHF - it usually is because most operators are limited to 2 drops per sighting so they cooperate with each other. We scheduled a trip with an operator that no longer does it - they cancelled on us because they said the ride back would've been too rough. They have a 40' boat - it was actually SeaGrape Dive at the time. In March...
There's ziplining on Roatan - one option is Gumbalimba Park in West Bay. We did see some wild colored birds near the road once - my buddy thought they were lorikeets? There's both Gumbalimba park and another garden/animal sanctuary near AKR. You may not like GP though as the Macaws are caged. Don't plan to make a day of the "Zoo" either - you need something to do the other 6 hours...
You can also go over to AKR and snorkel/dive with the dolphins - you don't have to be a guest to do that - just bring money. The dive is 60' on a sandy bottom and they encourage you to plant yourself so it's well within your qualifications. The snorkel is in the pens and just about anyone can do that.
If you're interested you can actually overnight trip over to the mainland to see the Copan ruins also. The Galaxy ferry runs twice a day from Dixon Cove on the south side. La Ceiba where it lands is one option for many eco tour type activities - not sure if they offer ruins excursions from there but someone might.
Do yourself a big favor and skip San Pedro Sula - fly directly into Roatan. Houston or Miami are U.S. departure points.
Bring lots of DEET in March...we only got rained on once but the next day was bad. Little suckers live under the few restaurants with tablecloths at night also.
