We spent 3 nights at Coral View Beach Resort on Utila over Christmas 2011. I picked it because it was not smack in the middle of backpacker hell in Utila's main village but still not so far that we couldn't walk to town in about 10 or 15 minutes. I also liked the idea of the so-called penthouse, which is really just lodge-speak for a single room on the top floor. The view was definitely good as we could see both the bay (behind) and the sea (in front).

I organized a single price for room with breakfast and 4 dives for each of us. The diving was good (but not as good as Belize; see my other reviews), the food was definitely ordinary and I guess because it was Christmas, our room was serviced only once on the morning after we arrived. There was free wifi (though the penthouse is beyond the signal limit) and a very nice two-storey dock out front from where the snorkeling is supposed to be very good. We didn't have time.

If we did it again, we'd rent bikes for the duration of the stay to making going back and forth to the village easier, and we'd invest in some headlights as after 6pm, the walk to town is by moonlight. It's still do-able if it's not wet and you don't have to watch where you walk.

I had the opportunity to spend time while doing a scuba instructor course through the dive shop. My son and I went shore diving several times. While swimming out of the shallows we once saw an octopus and were able to interact with it and its conch shell while snorkeling. On dives I have seen porcupine fish, balloon fish, spotted eagle rays, hawkbill turtle, and toad fish just to name a few.

Restaurant fare is pretty basic but tasty. I have heard some people complain about the size of the meat part of their dish, but I found it to be satisfactory, especially if you order fish which they usually have fresh. The proprietors are extremely friendly and helpful.

The dive shop is superb. It would be hard to find a better group of staff.

If I had ten lempira for every time I heard someone say how lucky they were to have such great snorkelling conditions right off the dock at Coral View, I could have paid for my week at the resort and had change left for a sunset beer on the glorious pier. To complain about cosmetic shortcomings of the rooms or oversights by the staff is missing the point: Utila is a backpacker’s paradise and anyone who comes here for five star accommodation should get back on the boat and head elsewhere.

I spent a week at Coral View as part of a school group learning to dive via Operation Wallacea. After a week in the jungle, Utila and Coral View were indeed luxurious, albeit nowhere near Western standards. I didn’t realise it until reading the reviews below, but I stayed in the resort’s prime room, the fourth floor “penthouse” with adjacent balcony, from which I could sunbathe or watch shooting stars. For our purposes, the room was fitted with three bunk beds, which presumably get moved or removed to suit each week’s clientele. The room had an air conditioner and a small refrigerator, but neither was working because of the cost of running them. For me, the tropical sea breezes and ceiling fan were sufficient in late July and the basic, but hot shower did the trick after a day of diving. There is a murky pool where we did some snorkelling skills and a volleyball court.

I’m not sure if the crew of diving instructors our group had are year-round residents, but everyone in our group received excellent training and all of us passed our PADI open water course under their expert tuition. The rota ran like clockwork with two dives a day, including “fun dives” exploring the reef and its varied sea life. Most people said that snorkelling in the area was even better than scuba diving, but I only did the latter.

Because we were with a large school group, I don’t think the meals we were provided were typical of Miss Tonia’s usual output. We were given scoops of rice, potato salad, and stale tortilla chips with movie-theatre cheese sauce, washed down with plastic pitchers full of Kool-aid style juice. Meat occasionally made an appearance, but we very rarely had any fresh produce, which is a shame given the abundance of fresh fruits available on the island. We were told that it was because produce is so expensive and it tends to “go off” too quickly. As we were on a pre-paid student deal, costs were being kept down. I think paying guests get better quality fare, including hamburgers and fries that can be ordered from the kitchen. I saw Miss Tonia and her family tucking in to ripe avocadoes and other treats, so I know it’s possible. There’s a water cooler in the restaurant for filling up bottles.

Miss Tonia is an outgoing and very welcoming host who went out of her way to treat our group well. She even whipped up a huge strawberry flavoured birthday cake for one of the school girls and she accompanied us to the ferry on our final day to make sure all our luggage got put into the same part of the hold. The rest of the staff were unsmiling and didn’t seem to enjoy their work much, but maybe they were tired of cleaning up after school kids. They did wash a bag full of jungle-dirty laundry for five dollars and, although it wasn’t cleaned to Western standards, I was very grateful for the service.

One negative experience was the amount of petty theft that was going on throughout the resort during our stay. Every day, people’s sandals, shorts, diving boots, and cash were taken from the docks and it made me very uneasy about taking anything down with me when I went diving. No telling if it was locals, school kids, university students, or pelicans doing the thieving, but it’s best to let Miss Tonia lock away your passport.

In my experience, the walk into town is an easy twenty minute one, provided you steer clear of the Kamikaze mopeds and all-terrain vehicles that tear up and down the island; and hiring a taxi, which costs just under two dollars, was never necessary. Even in the blazing sunlight, you know you can cool off with a frozen lemonade in Munchies bar (look for the “iguana garden” out back) once you reach the town.

To summarize, Coral View was probably the nicest accommodation I saw on the island, though I’m told there are swankier ones to be found in other parts. It was not immaculately clean or perfectly fitted, but it afforded wonderful views, fantastic diving, a friendly owner, convenient snorkelling, and sustaining, basic food. It’s a perfect place for backpackers, students, and those who don’t need luxuries to have a good time in a great location.

The dive shop and hotel staff are wonderfully accommodating. They tailored a flexible package to meet out needs. It was a tremendous value compared to other places on Utila and far better than anything we could find on Roatan. The dive shop had new equipment and no add on charges (all equipment was included in the dive cost). After a familiarization dive they took us anywhere we wanted to go...on wrecks, night dives, deep dives, two tank dives in small groups of two to four divers. It was unbelievably fun and uncomplicated. All we had to do was walk 50 yards to to the dive shop from the hotel and the divemasters had everything ready for us to go. The instructors were there to take care of us and insure we had a great time.

The hotel is run by a very friendly family and staff that will do anything to make your stay enjoyable. The atmosphere is very congenial and we were immediately welcomed by the owners and other guests in the dining room and bar when we arrived. The room we had was large, air conditioned and clean but definitely a no frills experience. This is a small economical hotel and it is a 20 minute walk from town. My son and I took a taxi to town once during our 4 day stay to go shopping and were perfectly content relaxing at our hotel the rest of our visit. We were not interested bar hopping and were happy eating all meals in the hotel. Visiting with the other guests and staff from all over the world during the family style meals was an unexpected pleasure.

If you are looking for a safe and memorable diving experience in a comfortable hotel I cannot image a better choice. The prices were very reasonable for the excellent services that we received.