Fantasy Island update requested

[scorman]

We are vacationers and not planning on 5 dives per day ...some boat dives, nice clean room, reasonable buffets, shore diving/snorkeling, pool, beach, kayaks ... don't care about night life, shopping, site-seeing.....we like to just relax too

We had our first intro to Roatan at West Bay last May and were pleasantly surprised. MY trip report was detailed:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ba...atan-may1st-may11th-west-bay.html#post7155836

We have read all the horror stories from years past about what was lacking at Fantasy Island. A more recent thread claimed they reopened as of Nov 1st, 2014, the resort had supposedly invested $900K to do some major upgrades.

We had been to mega resorts in Riviera Maya ..not expecting the upscale meals here , nor fancy grounds, BUT salt water showers in room...really?
Is this by design or a faulty desalinization system that is being repaired.

The photos of the 109 rooms seems quite modern, yet people complain of poor room maintenance, sewage smell.

Some complain that the food is "terrible", yet others have been back for many years ..if the dinner buffet has fish, chicken , pork, beef in different preparations ...what is exactly lacking? Some complained lack of "local food" ...at West Bay, local means sides of either fried plantain or rice/beans with fried fish ..most palatable to us...but that is the extent of it. BTW, is one of the restaurants air conditioned?
Waiting for the cuisine report from CCV when my daughter returns tomorrow ...they have been to Palace in Cozumel last two years
(upscale?), while we just got back from Iberostar Cozumel ..definitely not upscale, a bit boring, but we didn't starve!

Drinks are included, but some claim extremely limited ..don't they have the four local beers (ala Salva Vida) and serve some variety of mixed drinks? note: CCV charges way much more for 28 less modern bungalows and no drinks incl)

Pool looks nice and beaches are artificial, but CCV has none of either...

I would appreciate any FIBR loyalists who have been there since renovation past few months to make a comparison or report that it is same/old same/old. If you are a first time traveler, detailed impressions are appreciated.

Stew Corman from sunny Endicott (NY)

 

[Colo Hippie]

I can't comment on post renovations but when we were there the buffet was pretty much the same thing every day and tasteless, lots of potatoes. The free local beers were Corona & Bud, you had to pay for Salva Vida & Port Royal.

 

[scorman]

Just got the skinny on CCV from my daughter who returned yesterday.
As others, she reported great night life at CCV ...but it is at 8pm under water.
She claimed it was like sleep away camp for divers.
Food served in open air buffets and was "good", and lunch and diner were different every day...breakfast was fine with omelet station and the usual.
They had one of the units over the water ..like all rooms just basic.
There is no pool and sand flies on the sand ..no real beach and no pool.

Typical day was get up for breakfast, go to boat, first dive is guided, second dive is swim back unguided ...many did not take second dive.
Get back to prepare for lunch, go to boat as before, second dive swim back.
Shore dive at night or late afternoon ....wall dive was close by.

One complaint which I didn't expect from high end operation: upon arriving you get assigned to one boat and one DM along with 12 others,
so if everyone that week shows up for the same dive, you have 14 in your group with one DM.....really??

As far as comparison, she claims she saw more fish, bigger fish , and more color in Cozumel ...only saw one turtle, one shark all week.
This does totally not jive with my experience at West Bay last May, where we saw more color, lots of turtles, but I did report few schools of fish,
and very little large rays or sharks.

We may go back to Paradise Hotel, West Bay when they finish new construction, because I haven't seen enough posting of Fantasy Island having gotten their act together since the Nov upgrade. Next trip will be end of April/May but looking for positive reports from Allegro Cozumel since they reopened in Dec after repairs from major fire.
We were at the Iberostar Cozumel and the Dressel dive op was quite a zoo, so looking for an alternative in the south end that has beach and pool and smaller "personal" dive op ala Dive with Martin.

Stew Corman from sunny Endicott (NY)

 

[diversteve]

I read your trip report trying to get a handle on what you're looking for and I have a couple of comments. There's no shore diving in West Bay. Also the only sharks you'll see on Roatan are on the shark feed dive.

You might consider Anthony's Key Resort - not much of a beach there either though - you can see it all in one of their website header photos. They have the dolphins there also. Food was acceptable but we only ate dinner there once. Five minutes by cab to the West End if you tire of it. Most of the better restaurants are there - except for the few in West Bay 2 miles farther west.

If you don't mind being a little farther from things, Turquoise Bay Resort farther east has Subway Watersports on-site - and a small but nice beach. IDK the food situation there.

More upscale and smaller is Barefoot Cay if you're looking for something on the south side. It's also pricier.

 

[Doc]

..... so looking for an alternative in the south end that has beach and pool and smaller "personal" dive op

Confused here- are you looking for something on Roatan's Southern shore? I think so, yes?

Same answer as before provided in thread that this split off from. BFK, FIBR, CCV, RHR, and if you stretch definitions, MLR South Side (Media Luna Resort).

One complaint which I didn't expect from (CCV) high end operation: upon arriving you get assigned to one boat and one DM along with 12 others,
so if everyone that week shows up for the same dive, you have 14 in your group with one DM.....really??

She was assigned to a 50' boat that had positions for 32 divers (there were 64 tank holders). So it was loaded to 1/2 theoretical capacity, it never has more than 16, though.

After Day 1 at CCV, many divers simply go and shore dive, the boat is rarely full to 16. Not sure specifically what your (her?) comment regarded in terms of the 16:1 ratio. Was she looking for or expecting some kind of service from the DM other than being a Naturalist Guide, Leading the group, then getting all divers back safely on-board? Did they fall short in some manner?

If you want the Southern shore with it's shallower diving along more florid walls (but I guess that view is contrary to previous information), it really looks like Fantasy Island is your answer. They're the only ones with the pool. (and potatoes)

Paradise Bay would be a good choice. They have a pool and a pond. The pool would be good for you.

That might have to do until so additional rare FI Reports come in and can bring this thread back onto your original track.

 

[Roatan Joe]

Just got the skinny on CCV from my daughter who returned yesterday.
As others, she reported great night life at CCV ...but it is at 8pm under water.
She claimed it was like sleep away camp for divers.
Food served in open air buffets and was "good", and lunch and diner were different every day...breakfast was fine with omelet station and the usual.
They had one of the units over the water ..like all rooms just basic.
There is no pool and sand flies on the sand ..no real beach and no pool.

Typical day was get up for breakfast, go to boat, first dive is guided, second dive is swim back unguided ...many did not take second dive.
Get back to prepare for lunch, go to boat as before, second dive swim back.
Shore dive at night or late afternoon ....wall dive was close by.

One complaint which I didn't expect from high end operation: upon arriving you get assigned to one boat and one DM along with 12 others,
so if everyone that week shows up for the same dive, you have 14 in your group with one DM.....really??

As far as comparison, she claims she saw more fish, bigger fish , and more color in Cozumel ...only saw one turtle, one shark all week.
This does totally not jive with my experience at West Bay last May, where we saw more color, lots of turtles, but I did report few schools of fish,
and very little large rays or sharks.

We may go back to Paradise Hotel, West Bay when they finish new construction, because I haven't seen enough posting of Fantasy Island having gotten their act together since the Nov upgrade. Next trip will be end of April/May but looking for positive reports from Allegro Cozumel since they reopened in Dec after repairs from major fire.
We were at the Iberostar Cozumel and the Dressel dive op was quite a zoo, so looking for an alternative in the south end that has beach and pool and smaller "personal" dive op ala Dive with Martin.

Stew Corman from sunny Endicott (NY)

FYI, if you decide to go back to the Paradise Hotel, the house dive shop is no longer West Bay Divers. West Bay Divers moved down the beach to their own building. West Bay Divers still offers the same great personalized service, but they are no longer associated with Paradise. West Bay Divers is now located behind Beachers and Argentianian Restaurant, which is located directly on the beach north from Paradise. I'm sure Malc and Luke would be happy to see you again..