bkpix
Contributor
Has anyone stayed at Clarks Cay or heard any reports about it? Looks interesting.
Clarks Cay, Guanaja
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I haven't, but if you are interested in Guanaja, you should consider this: ATA/BAR Divers | Home
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By their websites alone, two polar opposite properties in terms of vibe and visuals.
It's apparent that Clarks and Dunbar Rock are combined in stateside booking and their dive ops. Their 800 number is answered by Roatan Charter which was the first booking agent established for the Bay Islands. They do not rep anything that is likely going to garner any complaints....they're picky about what they sell and promote.
Guanaja? I've been all over it. I prefer south side properties and usually south side dive sites. There are any number of dives that I've done right of Clarks and its environs, but never before knowing its name. Kind of surprised they don't offer or feature shore diving.
Go for it. You'll be able to say, "Clark Cay? I was there back in 2018". And thus begins you great bar story.
It's apparent that Clarks and Dunbar Rock are combined in stateside booking and their dive ops. Their 800 number is answered by Roatan Charter which was the first booking agent established for the Bay Islands. They do not rep anything that is likely going to garner any complaints....they're picky about what they sell and promote.
Guanaja? I've been all over it. I prefer south side properties and usually south side dive sites. There are any number of dives that I've done right of Clarks and its environs, but never before knowing its name. Kind of surprised they don't offer or feature shore diving.
Go for it. You'll be able to say, "Clark Cay? I was there back in 2018". And thus begins you great bar story.
Damselfish
Contributor
We stayed at Dunbar Rock this past April on an LDS trip (for which I still haven't written a review) and they were talking about Clark's Cay then, it was still under construction. AFAIK it's simply the same owner opening another property.
Dunbar Rock was an all-around good experience. Well run, simple but tasty food, great service, delightful manager, and certainly an interesting and unique place physically. Dive op was great. I'd be happy to stay there again, and I'm hoping/assuming the place on Clark's Cay will be at least as well run. I'd read some iffy reviews of DR in the past that made it sound not really completed or 100% open, but they have definitely gotten it together. The property did change ownership at some point. I forget exactly when they said that was, but possibly that had something to do with it. They had a little construction going on, they were adding a room or 2 - probably hard to imagine from the pictures where they might do that, but they were.
The big downside was the wind, which prevented us from diving the south side most days, and conditions never allowed a night dive. We got in a few dives on the south side, and they were way better than the north side. Most nights, the winds sounded and felt like a tropical storm. Opening and closing the door to the dining/common area was a major challenge. A significant amount of water would blow out of the illusion pool some nights and they'd have to refill it. I don't think it's like that all the time (the LDS did a previous trip there in August and I think they said it was fine.) Next time I'd do some research to see when the wind might be less likely to be a problem.
The water around Dunbar Rock is quite shallow. You are welcome to shore dive if you want to, but with the wind no one in our group even considered it. Clark's Cay is on the same side of Guanaja and not that far away, but looks like it is positioned closer to real diving. Whether that diving would be swimable from Clark's Cay I have no idea, but I imagine it would be an awesome house reef if you could.
Oddly for a coffee producing country, they only had instant coffee on the rock and didn't seem to understand why anyone would want something different. (I don't even drink coffee, and I get it.) One person in our group was having none of that, she needed real coffee, good Honduran coffee, was willing to pay to obtain it, and they took care of her. I don't know if the coffee was found in Bonacca town, or sherpaed over on some flight.
They had a masseuse come to the island most afternoons, who took over the small rooftop gym. He was pretty decent, if a bit unusual and clearly not trained in the same way most are. Maybe self taught. In the first world problems category, the hours he was there mostly interfered with afternoon diving or dinner, so if you wanted a massage you'd have to skip diving or rush dinner. The rooftop gym itself I found amusing, as the whole place is like living in a giant stair climber anyway.
(I guess I can cross writing that review off my todo list...)
Dunbar Rock was an all-around good experience. Well run, simple but tasty food, great service, delightful manager, and certainly an interesting and unique place physically. Dive op was great. I'd be happy to stay there again, and I'm hoping/assuming the place on Clark's Cay will be at least as well run. I'd read some iffy reviews of DR in the past that made it sound not really completed or 100% open, but they have definitely gotten it together. The property did change ownership at some point. I forget exactly when they said that was, but possibly that had something to do with it. They had a little construction going on, they were adding a room or 2 - probably hard to imagine from the pictures where they might do that, but they were.
The big downside was the wind, which prevented us from diving the south side most days, and conditions never allowed a night dive. We got in a few dives on the south side, and they were way better than the north side. Most nights, the winds sounded and felt like a tropical storm. Opening and closing the door to the dining/common area was a major challenge. A significant amount of water would blow out of the illusion pool some nights and they'd have to refill it. I don't think it's like that all the time (the LDS did a previous trip there in August and I think they said it was fine.) Next time I'd do some research to see when the wind might be less likely to be a problem.
The water around Dunbar Rock is quite shallow. You are welcome to shore dive if you want to, but with the wind no one in our group even considered it. Clark's Cay is on the same side of Guanaja and not that far away, but looks like it is positioned closer to real diving. Whether that diving would be swimable from Clark's Cay I have no idea, but I imagine it would be an awesome house reef if you could.
Oddly for a coffee producing country, they only had instant coffee on the rock and didn't seem to understand why anyone would want something different. (I don't even drink coffee, and I get it.) One person in our group was having none of that, she needed real coffee, good Honduran coffee, was willing to pay to obtain it, and they took care of her. I don't know if the coffee was found in Bonacca town, or sherpaed over on some flight.
They had a masseuse come to the island most afternoons, who took over the small rooftop gym. He was pretty decent, if a bit unusual and clearly not trained in the same way most are. Maybe self taught. In the first world problems category, the hours he was there mostly interfered with afternoon diving or dinner, so if you wanted a massage you'd have to skip diving or rush dinner. The rooftop gym itself I found amusing, as the whole place is like living in a giant stair climber anyway.
(I guess I can cross writing that review off my todo list...)
Last edited:
PamInParadise
Registered
Hi - Popping in here to update some information. I do handle the reservations for both Dunbar Rock and Clarks Cay but have been a long time member here and do my best to give honest and complete information.
Villa on Dunbar Rock and Cabañas on Clarks Cay are now owned by the same person. Clark's Cay was purchased less than a year ago and major remodeling and construction have been going on since. It was opened technically mid November but to date we have not had our first guests - that will happen the first part of January.
Roatan Charters, although a fine Wholesaler of Travel, is not the reservations office for them. I believe they may handle the reservations for a Roatan property, but we are not affiliated in any way.
Clarks Cay was originally used as a base for kiteboarders....although we will still see some during March and April, we are now a scuba diving focused operation. The island is more family friendly than Dunbar (you can see why you wouldn't want little kids at Dunbar by looking at the pictures). I love the island feel and am especially excited about the new pool that takes up one end of the island - it has its own lazy river and a Jacuzzi tube for 10! I hear there may even be some water toys off that end of the island. The cabañas have all been redone - some are getting upgraded bathrooms with tile showers instead of acrylic. There is a new open air kitchen/restaurant/bar right by the pool and a new beach area as well. There are both one bedroom/two bedroom/two bedroom with living area cabañas scattered around the island.
One of the first things I asked about was the shore diving around the island and for the most part there is none. There is a reef line that is a short distance away but not a safe way to get to it right now. I have heard that a walkway of some sort might be in the works to get people to where they can dive it. I am taking my friends and family group back there in March and we have some pretty tough northern divers who might be able to check it out - hopefully we will have staked some shore diving after our trip.
For those of you going to Dunbar - please don't miss diving around the Rock. I finally was able to do a dive in October and I have to say it was one of my best dives of the week. I saw so many cool critters and will make sure I make time for a Rock dive every trip I make.
The other thing that I think has made a huge difference in Dunbar is the hiring of Jenny who is not only over the operations at Dunbar Rock but the Food and Beverage Manager over both properties. She has taken things to a new level. She is originally from Honduras but moved to the US years ago to be trained in culinary school and she spent a number of years working for the Four Seasons line of hotels and resorts. Jenny was looking for a way to move back closer to family in Honduras so it was a match made in heaven.
Damselfish, I was at Dunbar with my friends and family group in April as well - we didn't experience the same weather your group had - it as almost like glass. I go two to three times a year myself and I have been there during a storm and it was as you discussed for a day for two so totally get how disappointed you were. As for the instant coffee - if that is really what it was, I would have been throwing a temper tantrum as well. I knew there was a group that didn't like the particular brand of coffee we used and we did go get another one for them so I'm not sure if that was the situation that you mentioned.
So hope this gives you all some more information. I usually answer the phone when you call the US office but if I don't, feel free to ask for me if you have other questions. I'm a diver first and want everyone to feel it was the best trip of their life and that they spent their money wisely!
Pam (in Paradise!)
Villa on Dunbar Rock and Cabañas on Clarks Cay are now owned by the same person. Clark's Cay was purchased less than a year ago and major remodeling and construction have been going on since. It was opened technically mid November but to date we have not had our first guests - that will happen the first part of January.
Roatan Charters, although a fine Wholesaler of Travel, is not the reservations office for them. I believe they may handle the reservations for a Roatan property, but we are not affiliated in any way.
Clarks Cay was originally used as a base for kiteboarders....although we will still see some during March and April, we are now a scuba diving focused operation. The island is more family friendly than Dunbar (you can see why you wouldn't want little kids at Dunbar by looking at the pictures). I love the island feel and am especially excited about the new pool that takes up one end of the island - it has its own lazy river and a Jacuzzi tube for 10! I hear there may even be some water toys off that end of the island. The cabañas have all been redone - some are getting upgraded bathrooms with tile showers instead of acrylic. There is a new open air kitchen/restaurant/bar right by the pool and a new beach area as well. There are both one bedroom/two bedroom/two bedroom with living area cabañas scattered around the island.
One of the first things I asked about was the shore diving around the island and for the most part there is none. There is a reef line that is a short distance away but not a safe way to get to it right now. I have heard that a walkway of some sort might be in the works to get people to where they can dive it. I am taking my friends and family group back there in March and we have some pretty tough northern divers who might be able to check it out - hopefully we will have staked some shore diving after our trip.
For those of you going to Dunbar - please don't miss diving around the Rock. I finally was able to do a dive in October and I have to say it was one of my best dives of the week. I saw so many cool critters and will make sure I make time for a Rock dive every trip I make.
The other thing that I think has made a huge difference in Dunbar is the hiring of Jenny who is not only over the operations at Dunbar Rock but the Food and Beverage Manager over both properties. She has taken things to a new level. She is originally from Honduras but moved to the US years ago to be trained in culinary school and she spent a number of years working for the Four Seasons line of hotels and resorts. Jenny was looking for a way to move back closer to family in Honduras so it was a match made in heaven.
Damselfish, I was at Dunbar with my friends and family group in April as well - we didn't experience the same weather your group had - it as almost like glass. I go two to three times a year myself and I have been there during a storm and it was as you discussed for a day for two so totally get how disappointed you were. As for the instant coffee - if that is really what it was, I would have been throwing a temper tantrum as well. I knew there was a group that didn't like the particular brand of coffee we used and we did go get another one for them so I'm not sure if that was the situation that you mentioned.
So hope this gives you all some more information. I usually answer the phone when you call the US office but if I don't, feel free to ask for me if you have other questions. I'm a diver first and want everyone to feel it was the best trip of their life and that they spent their money wisely!
Pam (in Paradise!)
Damselfish
Contributor
No apparent storm, no rain, plenty of sun - simply windy enough to interfere with diving some areas, and windy enough at night to interfere with staying on your feet. It was weird. Would have been great for a kiteboarder I suppose.
Not a big coffee drinking group, mostly one (very nice not tantrum-throwing) woman who asked to get better coffee, but I'm pretty sure what was there was instant.
Damselfish
Contributor
@PamInParadise - did you get there in March? Any updates about shore diving potential at Clark's Cay, or anything else?
PamInParadise
Registered
Hi Damselfish,
So sorry it took so long to respond. I don't get on the board as much as I would like. For the time being, I would consider there to be no shore diving at Clark's Cay. Eventually they may build a walkway that takes you over and outside the reef line off shore. If that happens, there will be shore diving when the water is not rough.
My group had a blast - accommodations were great (not as large as Dunbar but more than adequate). Food was fab, loved the island feel, the staff was great. I actually skipped most afternoon dives and spent it floating around the lazy river. Then when the others would come back from the afternoon dive, we would get in the hot tub, have happy hour drinks and snacks and then clean up and have dinner. The whole trip left me with a smile - it was just fun, plain and simple. Each trip I am seeing more and more of larger fish. The efforts they have made in establishing the marine park and killing the lionfish are gradually showing results. The dive staff have gotten really good at finding and pointing out the macro creatures.
So sorry it took so long to respond. I don't get on the board as much as I would like. For the time being, I would consider there to be no shore diving at Clark's Cay. Eventually they may build a walkway that takes you over and outside the reef line off shore. If that happens, there will be shore diving when the water is not rough.
My group had a blast - accommodations were great (not as large as Dunbar but more than adequate). Food was fab, loved the island feel, the staff was great. I actually skipped most afternoon dives and spent it floating around the lazy river. Then when the others would come back from the afternoon dive, we would get in the hot tub, have happy hour drinks and snacks and then clean up and have dinner. The whole trip left me with a smile - it was just fun, plain and simple. Each trip I am seeing more and more of larger fish. The efforts they have made in establishing the marine park and killing the lionfish are gradually showing results. The dive staff have gotten really good at finding and pointing out the macro creatures.
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