Roatan's Pura Vida Hotel: Reviews? Info??

Anyone have any info on the Pura Vida Hotel? Prices/deals? Quality of accommodations? Personality of manager? I think they have their own dive operation, but the pix on their site show lots of people stuffed into a boat without a bimini. Anyone with info on that would be great. Also, it seems they are located in the middle of town. Is it noisy? How close is it to party central, Fosters.

I'll second that! Does ANYONE have any views about Pura Vida, please?

muppetman:

I'll second that! Does ANYONE have any views about Pura Vida, please?

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I did weeks on research on the smaller places and actually set up a database. Since no one wants to come forward and speak directly about the resort (except those with vested interests), let me just say that there are better deals--pricewise and accommodationswise. Without knowing what you want specifically, it's hard to say who is best--they all had trade-offs.

The problem I found is that the smaller places really aren't optimizing their web sites as a marketing tool, and the large and hugely overpriced resorts have not only marketing people, but "associates" in the states who are running trips and actively promoting those resorts to pump up their prospects. Hey, who can blame them? If I had something to gain, I would do it, too. It's called guerrilla-marketing. They even have a newer name for this kind of marketing because the public has become so jaded by traditional marketing that we totally discount it. However, this under-the-radar "peer marketing" does backfire, but because it happens on a one-on-one basis, the overall consequence to the firm/person using it is minimal. Let's just say that as a marketing strategy it has a large upside and a small downside. As all things on the net--buyer beware.

Ok, off my soapbox now. Keep googling and you'll learn what I did about all the neat little places on cliffsides or quiet beaches or charming hosts. Most publish prices and the sites will come up that include prices, most of them less than Pura Vida.

So that you don't feel cheated, I'll give you one name. After all my research, I liked Half Moon Bay Cabins. They're at the end of the main drag, away from the noise. The boats will pick you up at their dock. It's $38.50/night and has a terrific restaurant. The people are nice, too. Check it out.

Don't forget to take a weekend to visit Copan. The luxury buses to and from are CHEAP as are the pensiones.

Have fun, and I hope that helps. Although I sincerely regret that what I have written will bring out the trolls. Just click next when they pop up.

GD

I looked around on the net and on my last trip to Roatan. We looked at big and little places, all inclusives and small hotels plus independant dive shops. We found that, for us at least, we could getter better deals or at least as good a deal without being locked into a package. There are three of us that travel around together but only one is a diver and she likes to do morning dives and use the afternoons for snorkeling with the two of us.

Copan is nice. A variety of things to see and do - the ruins, horseback ride to an indigeno village, the bird sanctuary, butterfly/orchid garden, tubing on the river (depending on the season), etc.
http://www.hedmanalas.com has the bus schedules and fares from LaCeiba (where the ferry drops you) or San Pedro Sula (the airport) to Copan Ruinas.

Ok pura vida it's a nice little hotel i stayed there with my boss last year.Rooms are pretty decent nothing fancy but with the basic's Cable,ac,etc.

Price's compared to other places in roatan are a little higher ,But the location they have it's superb!!!!! in the middle of westend so u can catch any bar or restaurant with a small walk.They have at least 5 dive opts near by so it's pretty good. So u can make your choices.Ocean divers pretty friendly i would personally recommend a little pricier than the others but i guess i like paying a little extra for a nice dive opt.I hope this help's

Pura Vida is ok. Most hotels in that price range are of decent quality. Nothing luxurious by any means. Check out www.roatanet.com and there are listings for many hotels. Places Ive stayed that I found acceptable were Half Moon Bay,Kiefitos,Bungalow 7 ,Seagrape amd Georphis as well as Pura Vida. Georphis and Pura Vida are in the middle of town. The others are a minute or two walk from town and are much quieter,which was my preferance. Cant comment on anything else. There are lots of dives shops around and all of the above hotels are within a few minute stroll. Some will pick you up at the dock. Just talk to them when you get there and see who you feel comfortable with. The advantage of not going with a package is that you can always switch dive operations or even hotels if you dont find them to your satisfaction,although it has never happened to me. Ive dove with Native Sons,West End Divers and Coconut Tree in the past and didnt have anything bad to say about any of them. Coconut Tree will do a 2 tank morning dive and 2 single tank afternoon dive while all of the others offer 3 single tanks dives per day. Enjoy!