Arrival: March 20 – 27 We flew Canjet direct from Calgary. The flight crew were fantastic, young, energetic. Seats were OK, not jammed in like most planes. We were served a cold breakfast which was good, filled the hole ! Headsets were $3 and they showed 2 movies. Arrived in La Ceiba, off the plane onto the steaming hot tarmac, walked into the terminal. Thru customs no problem, all done by hand, no computers ! Luggage arrived within 10 minutes, they put thru X ray before you leave the building. Busses to the resort were all waiting, everyone had a "check in package" which for some included TV remotes and keys to their rooms. Ours didn’t as we stayed in a villa. Busses were escorted by Police to the hotel (about a 30 minute trip) we saw it as a goodwill gesture instead of "security". Check in for the villa folks .. quick and easy, they give you your key and they help you with your luggage.
Rooms
I found out later that the villas are privately owned, some by local Hondurans, some by Canadians. We had a Honduran owned villa, very sparce, needed a lot of work but it worked for us, 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. Kept very clean, had a small kitchen, stove, fridge and microwave, dining area with glass table, living room with TV and 2 couches. Also came with an apartment sized washer/dryer which sure came in handy! Every room had a ceiling fan and also central A/C which we needed!
Restaurants and Bars
Buffet restaurant was quite large, however we noticed when the new planeloads of tourists arrived, there was quite the line up in the Buffet. Solution: Keep the a la cartes open every night to accommodate everyone. The food in the Buffet was just fine. Breakfast: fruit, made to order omelettes, always had scrambled eggs, always had spicy sausage, never saw bacon once but we didn’t miss it really ! Make your own toast, always had 2 or 3 types of breakfast juice, however we found most were made from crystals (when there’s abundant pineapple, watermelon, etc). Lunch: Always had salads, chicken, beef, fish, fruit, breads. Dinner: Always had soup, breads, salads, a chicken, beef and fish, carbs (like rice or potato). We never went hungry and didn’t tire of the variety. A la Cartes: IMHO should be open every night instead of Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday, the Italian was very good, lots to choose from. Atmosphere was very relaxing.
Chinese: which is really Thai food, was very good, scrimped on the soup – could have used another scoop there guys ! Food was OK, I guess it was their version of Thai 🙂 Only one bar to service the whole resort, got very busy at times but we didn’t mind, we’re not big drinkers. We brought our Bubba mugs which really helped, one visit for the whole afternoon (good for the environment too) and one visit for the evening. Had lots to choose from, the local Cervesa was really good !
The Nacho bar in the afternoons was a godsend, they were really good, fresh ! Make your own. Sometimes they had burgers, other times they had hot dogs. Always had fresh fruit.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
The grounds were immaculate, very well kept, beautiful, clean. The pools were kept well too, the water was warm, 2 private pools at the Villas which was very nice and convenient. Beach was heaven. Water was surprisingly warm, some days it was wavy which stirred up the sand so it wasn’t crystal blue and clear but no worries from us ! It was very clean, well kept and lots of beautiful shells.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We took a private taxi into La Ceiba to shop and sight see. Very nice trip, relaxing and safe. Did the Pico Bonito tour and that was absolutely amazing. Day was extra hot, tour was fabulous, the lunch that was included was fabulous. Kudos to everyone who runs the Lodge, very well kept, lush, green, beautiful. The guide knew his stuff, very safe, the river was sooooo cold but refreshing ! Saw lots of plants, trees, flowers, saw a Toucan and some lizards Cayos Cochinos: Hubby wanted to dive daughter and I did the snorkeling. We were lucky because there was only 1 diver so we all went to the same spot, we to snorkle, he to dive with the divemaster, Exson. He was very good. We were lucky enough to see a Leatherback turtle and thousands of beautiful tropical fish, hubby saw tons of corals, fish, etc. Did the dinner at Sambo Creek as well, bus took us right to the restaurant, dancers greeted us, were handed a cocktail. Seafood dinner was incredible, started with a very spicy seafood soup, dinner was lobster, shrimp, crab, beans & Rice, was very good. Entertainment was local folks dancing and singing, it was good. Not sure if it was with the $30 US (perhaps $25 would have been better) but we enjoyed ourselves.
Other Comments
I would recommend this hotel to friends and family. I would caution that it really is not a 4*, but perhaps a 3+*, go now before the hoards of vacationers discover this gem out in the middle of nowhere. The weather was hot, hot, hot every day, not a spec of rain (which would have been a blessing some days). No negative comments about this hotel really, a few suggestions about the a la cartes and maybe another bar but I`d go back again (and plan to next year) and would recommend to friends !
gailieb@shaw.ca