SeaGrape Plantation - Roatan

[MrChen]

My cousin and I are planning to go to Roatan in May 2024. We made reservations at Seagrape Plantation for 7 days and 14 dives. Does anyone have any tips or advice for us to maximize our stay at this resort? Where did you eat dinner, are there any must go places? How long and safe is the walk to go eat? Does it make sense to take a taxi? Any tips for scheduling special dive trips, like the string of pearls (we scheduled during the full moon)? How good was breakfast and lunch? I've read online reviews which were good, but I'd like to hear from my fellow ScubaBoarders whom I trust more

 

[Gdog]

Seagrape is situated on the quiet end of West End. We like to stay in that area as well. The walk isnt long, and is pleasant. Maybe half mile, maybe less? Honestly, it doesnt feel far. First place to eat outside of Seagrape would be Stowaway Gastrobar, right outside of Seagrape. Very small, nice, more upscale menu. Next is Loretta's, right before you come into West End Proper. Great food, more local fare. From there, plenty to pick from as you go on into town. Part of the pleasure of West End is that it really isnt that far from one end to the other. Easy to get to any place you want to eat at in West End. Only way you need a taxi is if walking is a problem physically. Lots of people walking. As far as eating at Seagrape, have never tried it.
But our go to places are Sandy Buns for breakfast, Gingers for lunch, Anthony's Chicken for dinner, Pazzos for dinner, Luna Beach for dinner (you may need a taxi for that one). Plenty more besides that. Then hit Sundowners on the walk back to Seagrape for a drink and often live music.
Plenty of good dive ops. We love Roatan Divers, but there are several good ops. And the good ops are well aquainted with showing you the String of Pearls.
You will enjoy yourself. This is a pretty laid back place for the most part.

 

[DiverDave65]

Been a few years but I had a great time at Seagrape several years ago. Rooms were not luxurious but clean and adequate with good air con and water pressure. Close walk to the full service dive shop with great staff. Don't remember any on site restaurant but West End just a short walk. I would return in a heart beat!

 

[MrChen]

Thanks for the dining feedback!

How does the Seagrape dive op work? I see there's a board listing boat trips, do you add your name to reserve a spot?

 

[MrChen]

Another question, for those who've been, do you recommend staying the bungalow or the hotel rooms and why?

 

[ReefHound]

I was there last November with a group of 12. I'm probably not much help since the logistics was handled by the trip leader but I'll share what I can.

We had booked the 14 dive package and they knew some of us would be diving every available slot so we just showed up in time to analyze our nitrox tanks. There's usually someone there at the dive counter so you could probably just tell them the day before or maybe even up to the next dive time. Our gear was stored at the dock so we only carried jackets, drybag, and cameras to the room.

Our package included breakfast and lunch and I'm really glad it did. The food was decent and the staff was super friendly but mainly it was the convenience. Though it's only a 5-15 minute walk to town, it would have made for a tight lunch break between dive 2 and 3. Especially with all the time spent deciding where to go, what to order, paying, etc. It was nice to pop in and have lunch on the way from boat to room. The dining pavilion was directly on the path from boat to rooms. Plus we were there in November rainy season and it was pouring buckets several mornings until early afternoon. So glad not to have to go into town then. Only twice did we have rain in the evenings though. On those occasions we caught a taxi back to the resort.

We had the oceanfront villas. I don't think they were much more. Seems more private since the only ones that would be using the walkway in front of them are people staying in them. We usually left shoes and jackets on the porch. Some of the other rooms further in have foot traffic constantly going by.

 

[ROUS]

This is great information. I've heard good things about this resort and have been considering spending a week there this spring. This info helps.

 

[MrChen]

I was there last November with a group of 12. I'm probably not much help since the logistics was handled by the trip leader but I'll share what I can.

We had booked the 14 dive package and they knew some of us would be diving every available slot so we just showed up in time to analyze our nitrox tanks. There's usually someone there at the dive counter so you could probably just tell them the day before or maybe even up to the next dive time. Our gear was stored at the dock so we only carried jackets, drybag, and cameras to the room.

Our package included breakfast and lunch and I'm really glad it did. The food was decent and the staff was super friendly but mainly it was the convenience. Though it's only a 5-15 minute walk to town, it would have made for a tight lunch break between dive 2 and 3. Especially with all the time spent deciding where to go, what to order, paying, etc. It was nice to pop in and have lunch on the way from boat to room. The dining pavilion was directly on the path from boat to rooms. Plus we were there in November rainy season and it was pouring buckets several mornings until early afternoon. So glad not to have to go into town then. Only twice did we have rain in the evenings though. On those occasions we caught a taxi back to the resort.

We had the oceanfront villas. I don't think they were much more. Seems more private since the only ones that would be using the walkway in front of them are people staying in them. We usually left shoes and jackets on the porch. Some of the other rooms further in have foot traffic constantly going by.

Thank you for your insight! When you say you dove every available slot, I assume that's more than 14 dives. Did you have to pay for the extra up front, in real time, or at checkout?

What's the sign they have on the front of the dive shop for? Is it just the planned scheduled? Then you just tell them which dives? With a group of 12, did you all fit on the boat?

 

[ReefHound]

What I mean is that with a group of 12 each doing 14 dives, there was always a group diving. We didn't tell them individually before each dive, yes I am diving, no I am not diving. Some of us did more than 14 dives and we settled up on the last day. But that may have been handled because we were a group. When all 12 dived we were split on two boats. They don't like more than 8 divers on the boat. We made an exception for 9 or 10 a few times though. At our request. No idea what the sign is about. Never paid any attention to it.

Again, not sure our group situation applies to individuals. They might have been a lot more flexible since they were making over ten thousand dollars from us, had plenty of contact info, and knew we were all leaving together.

From my perspective, they are real easy to work with. You shouldn't have any problems.

 

[MrChen]

Here's a picture of the sign that I'm referring to. On this specific pic, I see 8:30a, 10:30a, and 2p departures. It looks like there are names and a special 2 tank dive with maybe site names. I ask because I'm curious if it works like it did when I stayed at Captain Don's in Bonaire. They had a board with all the planned trips and you wrote your name and indicated Nitrox or Air. Writing your name reserved your spot on the boat and they made sure an appropriate tank was waiting for you on the boat.

8 divers is one of the items I wanted to know.

Zooming in on the pic: