Arrival: Jan.2 – Jan.9, 2009 Upon arrival in Roatan, several mini buses were at the airport to bring us to the Resort. Our room numbers were pre-assigned, and the bus ride to the property was only about 20 minutes. Once at the hotel, we simply filled in some paperwork for check-in, while snacks and welcome drinks were served, and proceded to our room. The luggage arrived about 10 minutes later. The whole arrival experience was quick and painless – in fact, the plane arrived in Roatan around 10:15am and we were on the resort’s beach by 11:45am!!
Rooms:
The rooms at the Henry Morgan are very functional and comfortable. Although some of the fixtures are a bit tired as some people have previously mentioned, the rooms are clean, airy and in everything was in good working condition. The housekeeping staff do a great job!
Restaurants and Bars:
There is one main restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There is also a snack bar at the beach where they serve a small spread for lunch. The dining room is very casual. You don’t have to get dressed up for dinner each night. Some of the ladies wear dresses, but for the most part, this is a very low-key place. Men do not need to wear long pants in the dining room. If you are the type of traveller who is looking for "a la carte" options, and gourmet meals – this is probably not the right resort for you! For us, this atmosphere was perfect. The food was always plentiful, tasty and traditional. The service staff are extremely pleasant and they greeted us by name at every meal. They even went so far as to buy some local "hot sauce" for us at the grocercy store in Coxen Hole when they found out that my husband loved spicy food! Thank you Jorge and Lenny! There are two bars – one on the beach, and the lobby bar. The all-inclusive drinks were limited to house wines, local beer, and the local bar rail.
We rather enjoy venturing out from the resort. We found a fabulous little bar, just down the beach, at the Los Rocas Resort. During happy hour, from 3pm to 5pm, they served "two for one" drinks – including daquaries, mojitos, pina coladas, and many other fancy drinks. Drink prices are extremely inexpensive here and for a change in atmosphere, and the fun we had with the bartenders (Mike and Winston were the best!!), we thought it was well worth it! By the way, you can catch a great sunset from there as well as from the resort’s beach.
Beach/Pools/Grounds: The Henry Morgan’s beach at West Bay is truly the nicest on island – the sand is soft and white; the ocean is warm and turquoise! We walked along the beach as far south as "the wall" and as far north as we could. It is possible to walk all the way to West End, but you’d need shoes for this. West End is the closest town – by water taxi it’s about a five minute ride and only $3 USD. We found a great litle rotisserie chicken, and fish restaurant in town. They had the best "fixin’s" I’ve ever tasted – and the best coconut rice and beans!
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Roatan is well known for scuba diving and snorkeling. Although we didn’t do any diving on this trip, we did enjoy the snorkelling that was best just down the beach towards "the wall". Here, we saw many varieties of colorful fish and reef life. We also rented a car to tour the island for a day. It was a great way to see all of the towns and get a feel for the local way of life. We visited Coxen Hole, where the cruise ships come in, and French Harbour, where we ate a great lunch at Gio’s. We did venture off the main roads, but after experiencing a flat tire on the dirt roads, we’ll make sure to rent a truck or jeep next time!!! Another good restaurant just down the beach from the Henry Morgan was Foster’s. We had heard from a local that they’d be serving a "lobster special" the night before we left. We walked over, with a few other people from the resort, and found that happy hour was in full swing! We ordered appetizers first, and discovered the best "ceviche" we’ve ever tasted! For the experience of enjoying a lobster dinner on the beach, we thought this was a great deal.
Other Comments: We thoroughly enjoyed our week at the Henry Morgan resort. We loved the relaxed atmoshere, and found the staff to be wonderfully friendly. Raphael, our Conquest Rep was proffessional, and was always available to anwer all of our questions. We would, and have recommended this resort to our friends, and would love to return ourselves!