Yes, another CocoView vs AKR resort thread.

[Illini_Fan]

Pictures of CCV and RHR

CCV: CoCoView Explained In Pictures Photos by Doc_Adelman | Photobucket

RHR: Reef House Resort Roatan Photos by Doc_Adelman | Photobucket

thank you

 

[BDSC]

BDSC:

What did you think about shore diving Reef House Resort vs. CocoView?

Richard.

Don't know that I would rate one as being better than the other. If I remember correctly, and sometimes thats not always accurate, the shore dive at RHR was more "reefy like" with corals and such while the shore diving at CCV was more wall like diving. I though both places were decent shore dives.

I think in the end Illini_Fan, you can't make a wrong decision no matter where you go and stay. While I never stayed at AKR, I have heard good things about them. I have stayed at CCV, had a good time, and would go back if our group wanted to go there. But given the choice and if it were up to me, RHR would easily be my choice of a place to stay. The food was really really good at RHR and since I have been, I have been told the food has gotten even better. It's not fancy but I would say it's more like "mom's cooking". Very tasty and plenty of it. Better than what I had at CCV but I ate plenty there as well.

I think folks could go back and forth about the rooms, the food, etc. as to which resort was better. What is not debatable is who had the better diving. Hands down the diving experience at RHR was better. Only once during the week did we see another boat in the area they dive. They seem to have that part of the island all to themselves. When we were at CCV, I think we found maybe 2 or 3 seahorses during the week. No kidding, on one dive Davit, the DM, found 4. I guess he just knows where they are. I think for the week we found maybe 12 to 15. The area they go just appears to be more pristine as it has less diving pressure. Also, they have 3 scheduled boat dives during the day and they take you to 3 different spots and not 2 like CCV.

So when I look at the entire picture and then realize that RHR is less expensive, the decision on where to stay in Roatan is a no brainer. It's RHR every time.

 

[Doc]

.... the shore dive at RHR was more "reefy like" with corals and such while the shore diving at CCV was more wall like diving. I though both places were decent shore dives....

That is precisely correct. RHR has a gently sloping reef structure in front of their resort, CCV has the channel and formed by two vertical walls. The weather causes this... think about that.

I think in the end Illini_Fan, you can't make a wrong decision no matter where you go and stay.

+1 on that


....What is not debatable is who had the better diving. Hands down the diving experience at RHR was better. Only once during the week did we see another boat in the area they dive. They seem to have that part of the island all to themselves.

It is not debatable, you are correct. Because- it is so subjective as it relates entirely to the lifetime experience level of the diver. Seeing what lives on a sloping reef (RHR) is pretty simple as compared to the obscurity of macro life on a florid colorful wall (CCV). Bigger stuff that moves (Lobsters, Parrot Fish, etc) is easy to see and we all start by being amazed. The little stuff (Neck Crabs, Pipe Horses, Yellow Cup Coral, Decorator Crabs, Arrow Blennies) that you need a flashlight and hunting techniques for, plus great buoyancy skills along a vertical wall... that joy comes later.

RHR does indeed have that zone to themselves mostly. The other dive resort boats seen nearby RHR would be 4 weekly trips from CCV to visit Calvin's Crack, a dive site which I rate very highly. CCV has been making that 1/2 hour journey since one of the co-investors of CCV first started it as a dive site in 1985, his name was... Calvin. Occasionaly FIBR gets down to Calvins once a week, sometimes. The other remarkable dive site near RHR is "Hole in the Wall" (there's another with that name on the North/West side of Roatan). Occasionally, if weather allows, RHR will come down by CCV and do Doc's Dive, The Prince Albert Wreck, Gold Chain, Valley of the Kings, Two Tall Two Small and similar vertical wall dives. They usually also stop in to CCV for a potty break.

When we were at CCV, I think we found maybe 2 or 3 seahorses during the week. No kidding, on one dive Davit, the DM, found 4. I guess he just knows where they are.

Yes, he and all DMs know where they are. They are not generally on vertical walls, but then again, a lot of vertical wall macro is not found on a sloping reef. Different zones, different critters. Depends on what is there and what one has the ability to see.

.... The area they go just appears to be more pristine as it has less diving pressure.

The area of RHR is indeed more pristine, but it has nothing to do with divers, per-se. It is more an issue of no local development causing sedimentation run-off, but more to the point- this Eastern zone, the expanse of ocean front in the RHR, has some pretty constant battering by wind and wave. Again, understand the u/w geography... it didn't just magically shape itself into a sloping reef. Lots more wind and wave did that, this also does affect the diving.

Very seldom does the weather shut down boat diving at CCV, the boats are wide, stable and with the center moon wells for re-entry, it's safe in any sea. They are set up for 36 tanks but do not carry more than 14 divers. If bad weather and if you still have to dive, the CCV Front Yard is still doable just this side of a hurricane. At RHR, because of the very small boats, the more prevalent local high waves can be problematic. RHR does have a gem hidden in plain sight- that would be their "pool" area that lies within their concrete breakwall, and excellent shallow night dive- ignored by most. Just as in u/w geography, consider why that concrete breakwall got placed in front of the resort... it wasn't for docking boats. Different areas, different conditions.

Also, they have 3 scheduled boat dives during the day and they take you to 3 different spots and not 2 like CCV.

This is an oft heard statement that although arguably technically correct, it is very misleading. RHR runs single tank boat dives because of limited space on the boats. This means, that to get your full limit of 3, you have to spend a lot of time motoring back and forth to replenish tanks. The good part is that it fills up the day and gives you total option as to how many dives you want to do... surface intervals are spent in transit, plus you can easily duck into the resort for showers or snacks... or maybe just hang up your flippers and take a nap!

At CCV, even if you do all 5 dives in a day, you have a lot of nap time. After dives #1 & #2, you can snooze from 11:20 until 12:30, then again after lunch until 2pm. After you get done with dive #4, hit the hammock from 4:20 until dinner at 6:30. Dive #5 usually starts at 8pm, a shore entry. Even with 6 hours of daily BT, I get to snore a lot.

CCV's system allows you to skip the second of any boat dives, just stay on the boat and it will drop you at the dive deck back at the resort. If you do want the second of two boat dives (#2 and #4), you can be dropped off at either one of two walls, or just at "The Wreck". I agree that some newer divers might find this very boring. All we are able see in early logged dives is reef shape and architecture, that's why we love wrecks- they have an understandable shape. Once we progress, we start to notice the micro/macro which makes "the same old dive" morph at every moment. Same old dive? Try a different depth level.

When newer divers first see the Prince Albert Wreck, the CCV Shore Dive, they are enchanted by the shape of an intact ship underwater. They begin to see sponge and soft corals, hard corals, that kind of thing. Only much later do they start carrying a magnifying glass and flashlight, learning to see what was before not known... the myriad creatures hidden within.

The most important advice about Roatan is: SLOW DOWN (you might see something). Seeing Sea Horses with the assist of a DM? Ask them how they do this! At CCV, the DMs will point out Sea Horses, but the divers that show up are often sated with prior sightings, they want to see the elusive cousin of the Sea Horse, in this case the Pipe Fish and hopefully a Pipe Horse. The holy grail of your pursuits change as we learn.

So when I look at the entire picture and then realize that RHR is less expensive, the decision on where to stay in Roatan is a no brainer. It's RHR every time.

My brain is a little whacky. I was, over the years, offered two different freebie one week trips to resorts on Roatan. I decided to pay for my stay at CCV instead. Vacation time and the value thereof is a personal math computation for all concerned. I can't enjoy diving back home in Illinois. When I take time off from work, when I pay the airfare, I want to be in the water as much as possible. For me, the no-brainer computes to maximum bottom time.

Again, not everyone's algebra, but 27 logged dives in a week makes CCV a liveaboard that doesn't make you sea sick.

I like both resorts as well, and again, I have recommended RHR for several who have asked, but the quantitative and measurable distinctions can not be denied. Food and the firmness of the mattress is subjective.

Or it could be quite quantitative....

...I think folks could go back and forth about the rooms, the food, etc. as to which resort was better....

CCV food is pretty well pictured in the link I posted above. Take as much of whatever you want. Serve yourself. I don't eat seafood, yet I always gain weight there. I have never eaten at RHR (other than a ham and cheese), but I understand that the food is plated and served at meal times. I am also led to understand that the choices might be limited to two entrees, fish is one and "meat" is not always the other. People do occasionally rave about the cook at RHR.

RHR has in-room satellite TV. While at CCV, and I hope to heavens above, will continue their plan to never consider this. I would rather be on stilts over the ocean in a CCV room, set over an active thriving reef... being forced to listen to the waves... rather than in an A/C box watching CNN.

Some people need their Anderson Cooper. Everybody's different. Just know what you want, what you're paying for, what you'll get.

 

[BDSC]

Well, after thinking this thing through, I have come up with the perfect solution for you. Go for three weeks, stay one week at each resort, and then report back to us with your thoughts! I just took the guess work out of the equation!

 

[Illini_Fan]

Well, after thinking this thing through, I have come up with the perfect solution for you. Go for three weeks, stay one week at each resort, and then report back to us with your thoughts! I just took the guess work out of the equation!

As soon the proceeds from that winning PowerBall ticket are placed into my account, I'll take you up on this.

 

[Doc]

The way the airfare is, we usually stay for two weeks at a time every year. The ticket cost plus the full day of travel- why not?

South side shallow wrecks: http://s221.photobucket.com/user/Doc_Adelman/library/My Lifes a Wreck?sort=3&page=1

A few South Side oddities: Roatan South Side CoCoView Photos by Doc_Adelman | Photobucket

Including one of my favorite rare images...

 

[Illini_Fan]

I try to limit my Jan dive trip to a week - 10 days max. My wife stays home and does the single parent thing for that time and I don't want to abuse the generosity . Also, with only 4 weeks of vacation per year I reserve the other 3 weeks for spring break trip with just my wife, summer vacation with the whole family and some long weekends / slash time off around the holidays.

Someday I'll be retired and the office won't rule my calendar.

 

[Doc]

Next wife, get a diver.

just sayin'

 

[KevinG58]

I go to Roatan almost annually and alternate between RHR and CCV. This year I am going for two weeks :cool2: and will spend one at RHR the other at CCV. Shore diving is almost like falling in the water at CCV. Then you've got the front yard the Price Albert and bits of the walls accessible.
It's done at RHR but takes some logistical work, especially if you are going early in the AM say for a sunrise dive or a night shore dive.
Also at RHR you swim amongst coral heads if the trades whip up then that can be a little exciting. You can swim out to the RHR wall and drop.
I like both places, they each have their unique 'plus' features and maybe a drawback or two but imho you can't lose with either.

 

[drrich2]

Kevin

Very interesting. Your input is all the more valuable since you evidently like both and so have no 'my resort is better than your resort' axe to grind (not saying anybody else here did, just that it's natural to cheerlead for one's favorites - I do it, too).

So, please tell us why you alternate, instead of just staying with one. Is it to hit different dives sites that one or the other alone wouldn't hit?

Richard.