The accommodations were charming wood bungalows including several mod cons - fridge, AC, hairdryer, and best ceiling fan yet. It was a private bungalow with a covered deck over the water with two hammocks for between-dive lounging. Great bird watching in the adjacent small area of mangrove which was a haven for birds. No TV or phones (didn't miss the TV but phone would have been handy). I was a snorkeler - the reefs offered a plethora of fish - the snorkel guide Ross was great, making sure all had a great time. The divers in our group were enthusiastic about their diving experience. The grounds were very well kept, truly a tropical paradise. The down side - going in January when the rainy season is still evident, which meant lots of sediment in the snorkeling areas, with decreased visibility after a hard rain. Take mosquito repellent.

What could be nicer? I had a private cabin on a small island and my porch was over the water. No TV, radio or phone, but the cabins are new and well maintained. The dive operation is excellent! 3 dives a day and two additional night dives per week. They do limit dive time - first dive in the AM is 40-45 minutes and the second and third is about 50-55 minutes. They say that maximum depth is 80 feet, but that is not enforced. Nice dive sites, but not great. Coral is very beat-up and not a lot of fish, although we did see many eels, grouper, stingrays and even a very large spotted eagle ray. Food is good and plentifully, but limited and not great. Staff is friendly and very helpful. I'll be back!

I do love the diving at Roatan and Anthony's Key dive resort has the capacity to handle a lot of divers which may be part of the problem - too many divers per guide, the worst equipment I have rented, and not much dive guides pointing things out and with everyone diving the same route almost together. As noted by the cruise dive reviewer below. Roatan is still a favorite for diving and I liked my dives there and their resort is beautiful - both recommended by a US Keys dive shop owner that was also along on my dives and using his own gear. I didn't get to catch his opinion of our cruise ship dives this day.

At Roatan I went for the ship's 2 tank dive. At $99 with equipment included this deal seemed as good or better than what I could get on my own. The tour was run by Anthony's Key Dive resort - a very large and popular Roatan dive shop and resort. A good deal except for the equipment - it was the worst I ever experienced. I never recall much trouble with rental gear other than some torn velcro closures or some minor leaks around the low pressure inflator. I thought I checked out my gear enough but when I went to big stride in, I noticed one side of the mouth piece had been bitten clean off and the other side was barely hanging. Underwater I soon changed to the octopus regulator and gave up on the main regulator. Then I was sinking despite multiple minor attempts to puff air into my bcd. The bcd must have had a bad valve stuck open and the air was escaping as fast as I could put it in. Fortunately I must have been near perfect weight. I found out after surfacing that the DM, not being able to fix the inflation problem, took 2, one pound weights out of the back pockets on the bcd. I still noticed the rest of the dive that my bcd wasn't inflating but with proper efforts to control my position I was able to stay barely off the coral the rest of the dive. At least 2 other divers talked to me about problems they encountered with their Anthony's Key rental gear - regylators and bcds. I dived Roatan once before from a cruise ship in a different area and thought it was fantastic, Anthony's Keys was no different - keeping Roatan as one of my top fav dive destinations - nice wall on the first dive, lots of marine life, and lots of hard coral and small canyon with sandy bottoms through the coral. Similar on the second dive plus we got to briefly visit an old steel ship wreck in about 70-80 feet of water. Changed gear on the second dive served me well except for some minor leaks around the low pressure inflator and the gauges connection. I felt the dives were great, a good value, but their equipment was too used and a little scary. The dive operations/guides etc didn't seem into it that much.

Don't be scared away by the reviews by people on the cruises. We never had contact with the cruise ships and had a completely different experience. This was a very laid back resort with lots to do. Sandals, swimsuits and very very casual wear. Food was good, but not gourmet. Drinks not included and priced similar to bars in US. Stay on the island. Water taxi service was easy and fast. Cabins were not luxurious, but were clean and comfortable beds. Hammocks on the porches. Our cabin did not have a/c or windows, only louvers and screens. Recommend upgrading to a/c. Otherwise when windy, sand blows throught the screens. People were wonderful. Diving was fun. I was tired at end of day and the 4-5 flights of stairs to restaurant were long, but felt great when you got there. Sunsets were wonderful, Laid in my hammock and watched the dolphin show from my back porch. Good equipment and good service on boat. You did lug your gear morning and night to a locker, but was convenient to boats. Take a flashlight and bug spray!!