Most Relaxing vacation

Guest: Debra (Agoura Hills, CA)
Date of Stay: 12/23/11 Review Submitted: 01/13/12

The hardest part about staying at Casa Cowee was leaving. This was a bit like finding yourself at a modern day version of the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse, and wanted to cash in and stay forever. The views from the breakfast porch were fabulous, and we watched the dolphins get fed every morning. Whether you enjoy napping in a hammock or taking a few steps off the property to the best reef snorkeling ever, you will find what you need here. Not luxury, but comfort. This place is rustic, but very comfortable, and the ocean breezes through the house made the air feel great. Having Joel meet us at the airport and help us find the place was great. Omar was wonderful with his help on anything we needed. Overall, we had a great Christmas and New Years and found we just didn't want to go home.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, adventure seekers, families with teenagers.

Paradise over and below the waterline

Guest: kati (Framingham, Mass)
Date of Stay: 03/19/11 Review Submitted: 04/01/11

Casa Cowee was everything we expected and more.... four of us rented the house for a week this March, and it is ideal for up to 6 people, as long as two dont mind being in the loft, which is also perfectly comfortable; it is ideal for kids. We did not use the loft, we had the master bedroom and our friends used the next door cottage, and we were surrounded by the most exquisite vegetation through every window, orchids hanging over our heads on the stairwell, exquisite green/blue geckoes staring at us from the porch pillars, and those sunsets.... not two were alike. The dolphin pond next door is easily accessible by swimming over, and as long as we dont hang onto the mesh, one can watch them training and feeding from above or under the water (with goggles) at our leisure as many times a day one has a desire for. (The trainers do get annoyed if we distract them though, I spent way too much time there.) The coral reef directly in front of the house is about as good as you will find anywhere on the island; we hired a motor boat to take us to various sites - of which by far the best is the Tabayana resort area at the very end of the beach - but much of what we saw there we also found in front of our place over several days of exploring. We have snorkeled pretty much all over the caribbean and central america, and this is by far the healthiest and loveliest coral reef we have ever seen. Another advantage is the very close location (a very short walk on the beach) of The Blue Bahia Inn which has a fabulous restaurant by the beach with excellent service and first class margaritas. We did rent a car at the airport which made us very independent, but I understand if you chose not to you can easily get taxis anywhere, and there are people associated with the property who will gladly do errands and take you places for a fee. Locals will come to you offering take you on fishing trips or snorkeling, and there are many places on the island you can do the same. Go and have the vacation of your dreams!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+, families with teenagers.

All We Could Want!

Guest: Nancy (Tallahassee, FL)
Date of Stay: 12/18/10 Review Submitted: 03/26/11

Comfy, 'Old-Beach', barefoot and naps...Wake up and leave our 4 coffee mugs on deck, walk down the stairs and Snorkel right off our own dock! A magnificent, Marine Sanctuary abundant w/ Fish and Coral. Me and my Husband, and our 21 & 23 yr old kids, could all be as independent as possible and yet enjoy being together as a group. Well stocked-spices/ towels- just like home. .And Oh Yes; Blue Bahia Restaurant 4 houses away down the beach> Great Food--Super Folks-See Kent! He made our Christmas, with his Santa by Boat arrival with many presents to well over a 100 local kids. This is it! We will return soon .

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, sightseeing, adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers.

home away from home

Guest: Ute W. (washington state)
Date of Stay: 03/14/10 Review Submitted: 05/06/10

We spent 2 weeks at casa cowee this spring and were very happy with our experience.We found Don, the owner very good to work with and the property was like advertised.We especially loved the outside deck and the hammocks were a much contested item,I understand that Don is getting extra's.The dock was used some by the locals but in our 2 weeks it never was a problem, and people were friendly.We also liked that we could snorkle off the dock and even the children easily managed to get to the corals and enjoyed the fish.having such easy access was really fun and we spent a lot of time in the water.All the greenery around the house and deck gave it a cosy and tropical feelAnother thing we really liked was the easy avaliability of cheap taxi's to get to town,no need to rent a car.There also is a very good restaurant close by.You really could watch the dolphin show from the deck which usually caused a few uh and ah's of entertainment..Our teenagers had their own little house and felt very grown up.I would not recommend this for families with toddlers as there is a drop off the deck that would worry me for very small children.the stairs up are well built and no problem but could be hard to manage for people who could not walk well.otherwise I would recommend this place without reservations.we hope to come back sometime , thank you Don for sharing your pleasant house with us

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, age 55+, families with teenagers.

We were broken-in and robbed here.

Guest: Chicos (Creston, NC, USA)
Date of Stay: 02/20/10 Review Submitted: 04/24/10

There used to be a safe, in a small walk-in closet, screwed into a 1X8" shelf. We trusted the caretake when she said we would not be bothered, and the handy-man when he said he would lock up after himself after he finished some re-wiring of the outside lights we had requested. That safe was gone on our third day, along with passports, all our money, credit cards, ID, iPods, Bose headphones and suitcase they took just in case it contained something valuable. Our experience with the owner was not satisfactory. We feel that they should have done more. We loved Sandy Bay, but if ever we retrun, we'll stay at a regular hotel with security. There are just too many 'sharks' around, waiting for an opportunity. Be careful if you stay here. Be Aware and hide your valuables well. Don't use the safe, assuming they replace it. We also killed to very large rats. One in the kitchen in a trap the caretaker set, leaving a dead rodent and blood all over the floor for us to clean up in the morning, and another in the shower that I bashed-in with an old water ski. They finally fixed the lights down to the dark beach on our next to last day. Also, the "private pier" at one time had two boats and 30 locals using it. The noise from the partying carried on into the night.

Owner response:We were saddened by the February incident, as we haven’t experienced a robbery in over 11 years (when my wife’s watch was stolen). Because our family has been a good neighbor in this community for over two decades, we never had any other security problems in our home. In this incident, the safe was actually removed from the wall of the master bedroom – which guests normally lock when leaving the property but which, unfortunately, in this case, was not locked. As soon as our guests informed us that they had lost cash, credit cards, their passports and other miscellaneous items stored in the safe, I contacted a number of my friends and business associates on the island – notifying them that I would pay $300 for the safe return of the passports. My $300 reward paid off, as the passports were, in fact, returned to our guests within a couple of days. I also immediately provided them with a cash refund equal to half the week’s rent and supplemented that with a 100% cash refund of their deposit fee. As they chose to remain in the house for the second week of their reservation, I assumed they were satisfied with our response. A new, very heavy, safe has been installed and bolted to the floor and interior wall. We’re also having a new security system installed, with motion sensors with extra key pads. Our property has been occupied every day since December 23rd with no other reports of “rat sightings” from our guests. Our housekeeper did notify us of one fruit rat, caught in a trap, which she promptly removed and immediately sanitized the area. The motion detector that turns on the lights down the back steps to the beach has been replaced with a brand new system. The lighting for the front steps to the beach (through the gate) is in excellent working order. Our dock: Because we’ve been in this community for over 20 years, we haven’t discouraged our neighbors from using our dock. Even if we wished to, the first 30 meters from the high tide is considered a public right-of-way and our dock begins right at this point, so we can’t force them to stay away. Sometimes the dock is used by local children in the afternoon, but they do not cause any problems. We do not advertise our dock as “private.” Casa Cowee is our family home, and we're proud of the overwhelmingly enthusiastic remarks we’ve receive over the years from our guests.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers.

Guest: Kam Anderson (-)
Date of Stay: 03/01/10 Review Submitted: 03/01/10

Dear Donald, I am writing to share my gratitude for a lovely stay at your island home, Casa Cowee. We stayed with the Burkes last week and we are still trying to adjust life in the "real" world. Your home is magical and provided us with rest, renewal and relaxation. It is an open, causal home surrounded with lush gardens.I enjoyed waking up to the birds. Iris was friendly, helpful and a diligent cleaner. The location was perfect, quiet but in a friendly local neighborhood yet it was quick to take a taxi to town.We enjoyed many conversations with our neighbors and also enjoyed their furry friends who would come to visit. We enjoyed walking to the Blue Bahia, and taking a snorkel at the Octopus dive school. My husband and I went snorkeling with the dolphins on Anthony's Key, that was a magical experience. We also took a few walks in the botanical garden across the way; beautiful!! We had many nights at "home" sitting outside seeing the sun set and making delicious food with local fish and fruit. And of course the snorkeling!! Need I say more. I spent endless hours swimming here and there and everywhere about the lagoon and beyond. It was heaven to be surrounded by all the colors of the rainbow!!! So all in all it was perfect and we would love to return again!! So thanks so much!! Warmly-Kam Anderson

Owner response:Thank you, we're thrilled that you enjoyed your stay -- and we look forward to your return to Casa Cowee!

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Guest: Deb Schilder & Frtiz Burke (Maine)
Date of Stay: 02/23/10 Review Submitted: 02/23/10

We arrived home last night. I want to post this positive review right away of our absolutely, positively WONDERFUL stay at Casa Cowee. EVERYTHING about our 8-day stay went perfectly! We were picked up by Joel at the ferry as planned, stopped at the supermarket buy provisions & then arrived at the house, where we were met by Iris & her son George.The house is absolutely lovely- every bit as lovely as promised. It was spotless, spacious and secure. It was great having the safe for our passports and we were able to lock the house up securely when gone. Our 2 teens really appreciated the music system and life in the spacious loft. We appreciated the great hot showers, comfy beds, and on just a couple of nights the ac in the bedroom. But usually we just opened the floor to ceiling windows and enjoyed the lovely ocean breezes and the sound of the surf crashing on the reef.The house is very unique--somewhat rustic – beautifully landscaped. The kitchen so easy to work in & well provisioned. Great having the washer and clothes line. The master suite, loft, guest house & 2 bathrooms wonderfully accommodated our party of 6. Covered decks & dock provided tons of space for lounging in sun or shade. Great location! Snorkeling off the dock, swimming and kayaking was great. The house was located in a friendly safe neighborhood. Just down the beach to the west was a wonderful restaurant and low key dive center (we took the dive boat out one afternoon for $15 to snorkel the other side of the reef.) Heading up to the road, there was a friendly little comedor were we got tacos and baleadas for less than $1 each, and 2 little markets with basic supplies. The house was a 10-min walk to Anthony's Key resort which housed a very interesting museum ($1), and a marine science center w/ 20 or so dolphins, as well as a bar/ restaurant. Across the road is a must see- beautiful CARAMBOLA gardens- entrance fee well worth $6.The house was very convenient to the main road where we easily caught taxis into West End, West Bay & Coxen Hole for a $1 or so. Didn’t rent a car- & felt it was very easy and economical to get around w/ taxis. Glad we rented the two kayaks for our stay.Often neighborhood kids/ families used the dock to swim or fish- and that was very fun. We got to meet many friendly people. It was great watching the dolphins at Anthony's Key and the sunset off the deck. It rained a few days while we were there, but we enjoyed reading books on the cover

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Guest: Dan25 (Kissimmee, FL)
Date of Stay: 08/08/08 Review Submitted: 08/08/08

We had a great time staying here! It is a beautiful house, and Iris and Joel were great help. Best diving and snorkeling we've ever done. The beautiful view during breakfast, lunch, dinner, or napping in the hammocks was fantastic! We'll be back!

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Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 06/22/08 Review Submitted: 06/22/08

Our experience at Casa Cowee was wonderful. The views were spectacular. The reef in front of the house has been well maintained and had extraordinary sea life. The house and guest house could easily accomodate six people. Don and his staff were very attentive to our needs and offered many great suggestions. Wished we had mentioned the refrigerator not cooling earlier, but we thought it was due to the power outages. When we did mention it, it was repaired immediately. We used BIBR for diving and even have pictures of a seahorse from one of the dives. DON'T rent a scooter-massive charges to VISA and a trip to Anthony's Key Resort for treatment after being run off the road-AKR has a good clinic and very reasonable rates! The private dock was great the couple of times we got to use it-the neighborhood children took it over most of the time, but hey, this is their island and we are only visitors. Would we go back and stay at Casa Cowee? Absolutely and have already recommended it others. Thanks for opening it up to us and sharing its history.

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Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 02/02/08 Review Submitted: 02/02/08

Casa Cowee is in a lovely part of Roatan. It was my favorite place to stay during my Central America trip. I could access the lagoon right in front of the house and swim and snorkel to my heart’s content. At night it was so peaceful sleeping to the sound of waves breaking and intermittent rain pattering on the roof. What a restful visit it was for me at Casa Cowee!A well-rested guest

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