A taste of paradise

Guest: Andy (UK)
Date of Stay: 04/24/12 Review Submitted: 05/23/12

Awesome, awesome location. If you want to get away from the hustle and bustle then Bastimentos is the place to go. No roads, no cars. The house is in a great location too. It is about a 5-10 minute walk to the little dock and store on the island. So close enough to pick up water etc but far enough that you cannot hear any noise (they like to play reggae loud on the island). We spent a month there and loved it. The place is right on the waterfront and although there isnt a beach there is a spot to swim and snorkel. Owners are great and very helpful. Felt safe and secure there. Overall absolutely loved the place (secret tip: turn right out of the house and walk 30 minutes along the ocean front and you'll come to a lovely little private beach that really IS paradise (and you'll not see anyone there the whole day ... well ... maybe now I've given it away you will). My only criticism is that all the stuff in the kitchen is literally the cheapest one could possibly buy. I think the price is high enough to warrant some decent knives, chopping boards, pots and pans. It is a minor gripe, but it would have improved our stay to have access to pots that had handles that hadnt fallen off (we cooked every day for ourselves as there isnt much vegetarian food available)! The place is nice, but could probably do with a bit of a freshen up. Thus my 'good' rating rather than 'excellent'.

Owner response:Thanks so much for the review. It has been hard to buy quality kitchen supplies locally (everything is from China) Thus we have instructed our property manager to use a service that will re-supply our kitchen with Items purchased in David. Thank you for your input.

Recommended for:

Ahhh, Bastimentos

Guest: We're not in Kansas anymore Toto (Wichita, KS USA)
Date of Stay: 04/10/12 Review Submitted: 05/06/12

We couldn't have been happier with our stay at Casa Roca. It was everything and more than we hoped for. We were looking for a place to rent for two weeks in Panama so meet up with our Daughter and Son in law who are backpacking thoughout Central America. Casa Roca was perfect. Every morning we would get up and open the place up and drink coffee and plan what we would do that day! Some days were perfect just hanging out at the house. We enjoyed the walk to Old Bank, although you have to be in good physical shape to do this. There are no cars or bikes on the entire island. The people in Old Bank were lovely. Never did we have someone trying to hustle us for anything. So refreshing!!!! Boat taxis were very easy to get we paid $3.00 pp to Bocas Town. Our favorite place to go was Red Frog Beach, The price varried to go there as the boat taxi would arrange for our return as well. It is the prettiest Beach and it has a lovely little bar & grill that we made full use of! We met a family of brothers that live in Old Bank and they were very helpful. One brother Carl, and his boat "Shaunice" took us out for a day of fishing. We caught over 80lbs. of Spanish Mackrel! He and his brother taught us how to handline fish as they do down there. We all decided to keep using poles! Casa Roca was so great to come back to every afternoon. We were very secluded and we never felt uncomfortable with that, We were looking for a great place to have quality time with our kids. We would sit out at night and enjoy the lovely sunsets and stars then we would close up the house and we had two bedrooms that were air conditioned so sleeping was great. Felix the grounds keeper was great to have around, most helpful. By far the best vacation we ever had! We were in Paradise for those two weeks!

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

2nd times a charm....

Guest: Auny19 (chicago)
Date of Stay: 04/03/12 Review Submitted: 04/23/12

This was my second time staying at Casa Roca. Hopefully, it will not be my last. I took a different group of friends and decided that we needed to stay an extra couple of days. After last year, I needed to have a full week at the house. My friends were in love by the end of the trip....with Bastimentos. The people, food, and just how beautiful it is. It is so peaceful at the house. Nothing like beginning and ending a day, sitting on the porch, listening to the waves crash. Again, Tyson, the property manager was very helpful as well as Felix the caretaker. It was amazing to see most of the same people working on the island. We once again had Ricardo (Ricky) as our water taxi driver...love him! The house was just as beautiful and it was nice to have a little beach out front to sit on. Next time, maybe it will have to be a 2 week stay!

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

Pat, Garth and Bob

Guest: Pat (USA)
Date of Stay: 04/03/12 Review Submitted: 04/22/12

We had a fabulous time! We swam and snorkled right out in front of the beach house. There was good surfing just a short water taxi ride away. Carlito was a wonderful guide (just ask anyone in Basimentos how to find him). He took us to great places to snorkle and fish. He is great to talk to about getting fresh lobster to cook. Ask Carlito about the thatched beach bars and lunch places that you can get to by water taxi. They are lots of fun with great views. The beach house has a great deck to sit on and enjoy sunsets and toast to relaxing days. It was the just what we needed to get away from it all.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers.

Un mois à Bastimentos

Guest: Delphine (France)
Date of Stay: 01/10/12 Review Submitted: 02/13/12

Nous avons séjourné un mois à la casa roca en famille, avec nos 2 enfants de 5 et 10 ans, et y reviendrons tres certainement! Nous en revenons juste et y repartirions déjà. L'île, les habitants, la maison, la vue incroyable ... Tout à répondu à nos attentes. Kris (le proprietaire) a toujours pris le temps de répondre à nos mails, et nous a donner les informations nécessaires pour notre voyage dans sa maison, merci de votre disponibilité Kris. C'est un endroit fantastique ou la douceur de vivre est omnis présente. Un endroit à conseiller.

Owner response:Here's The english translation for this review provided by Google Review # 4956722 A Month in Bastimentos We stayed a month at a casa roca family, with our two children aged 5 and 10 years, and most certainly will come back! We just returned and already there repartirions. The island, the inhabitants, the house, the incredible view ... Fully met our expectations. Kris (the owner) has always taken the time to answer our mails, and give us the information needed for our trip to his house, thank you Kris availability. This is a fantastic place and the good life is omni present .. A place to advise.an add the translated version to her review

Recommended for:

Our Casa Roca stay

Guest: John Brenna and Keltan (Alaska)
Date of Stay: 10/21/11 Review Submitted: 11/14/11

Hey guys Thanks for the opportunity to stay at Casa Roca. We loved the house...the location was beautiful. Tyson (property manager) was very helpful and friendly. We want to let you know also that Felix (neighborring security) was an outstanding security guard too !!! We had a couple taxi guys help carry groceries up to the house and as soon as they made it up the stairs Felix appeared out of no where and waited for them to leave and walked them down the stairs and off the property ...we though it was funny, and my wife felt very good about safety after that. The location was a 5-10 minute walk from Bastimentos town where we were able to have taxis drop us off. The walk to th house was worth it and part of the experience. Lots of small and very large crabs and hemit crabs. My advice to visitors...if you go grocery shopping and have lots of bags just offer the taxi drivers a few bucks to help carry stuff to the house. Scenery was great, all i had to do was lean over the patio hand rail to get 'red frogs' on video...view of lots of fruits and strange trees and birds... perfect view of the ocean. We had a great time and will reccomend your house to people we meet or know. We bought a house on San Cristobal island so we will start spending the winters down there as of next year. ok thanks again... John and Brenna... and Keltan

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

Beautiful Bastementos

Guest: Barb (West Pittston, Pa. USA)
Date of Stay: 08/16/11 Review Submitted: 09/19/11

Previous to our arrival we had several conversations with the owner of the property. He assured us we would have a truly enjoyable experience and that could not be more true.The home was better than we could imagine. Everything was exactly as described. When we arrived we were met at the airport by the property manager, who took us to the local store. After which we took a water taxi (ask for Ricky) to the property. As we approached the property we were greeted by the caretaker, who truly took his title literally. He took great care of the property and addressed our needs. When we opened the door, the first thing I noticed was all the homey touches and the island feel. The first day we went into town, we knew that it would be an experience of a lifetime. The locals welcomed us from the first moment they saw us. We ate at the local restaurants (Roots), the best catch of the day, you would ever eat. We snorkeled everyday, most days from the ocean in front of the house. We enjoyed a catamaran tour to Dolphin Bay and found the Captain Marcell very knowlagable about the area. Make sure you don't miss Red Frog Beach, they really are red frogs. Spend your time on Bastementos, and appreciate the true culture of these wonderful people. I would like to share a story about the people of Bastementos, My son, Jesse, who is 16 years old and, has Down Syndrome. One, morning at about 6 AM, I woke and took my coffee onto the deck to enjoy the beautiful sunrise. A few minutes later one of the local women approached from town and in tow was my son Jesse. Jesse deceided he wanted to go home and be with his dog. This could have been a tragic story if not for the kindness of the local people of Bastementos. Someone asked, if I would go back. 1000 times yes and I would stay in the same house.

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, adventure seekers, sightseeing.

Great house, great island

Guest: Sterling (NC)
Date of Stay: 05/04/11 Review Submitted: 05/29/11

My wife and five year old son stayed here in May and had an excellent time. My son busied himself catching frogs and lizards outside from the moment we arrived until the moment we left. It was the perfect vacation for a curious five year old boy. You will not be disappointed by this house, it is charming, comfortable, bended to the surroundings and a great value. It is tucked away in the jungle, on a rock beach and has an impressive view with has all the amenities of home. We used to live on Ambergris Caye, Belize and found this to be a wonderful contrast to our experience there. Basimentos has a more authentic island feel as it is still off the beaten path and very unspoiled. We found the locals respectfully friendly and not the least bit aggressive. Absent were the constant nuisances such as time share salesmen, crack dealers, the fear of petty theft and out of control development that is found in more heavily tourist-ed vacation destinations such as Ambergris Caye. We felt very safe. A local caretaker that lived next door kept an eye on us from afar and was very helpful lining up outings such as fishing, cave exploring and a visit to a local cocoa farm. Had the care taker not of been there we would of felt safe. He provided added peace of mind and was very helpful. It was the perfect vacation for myself my wife and my five year old boy. We are planing to return in a few months. I pray that any development that occurs on the island is carefully controlled so that this island does not go the way of Ambergris Caye. If your looking for a laid back vacation, off the beaten path,authentically Caribbean I recommend Casa Roca.

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

couldn't have asked for more

Guest: Auny19 (chicago)
Date of Stay: 03/29/11 Review Submitted: 05/22/11

Myself and 3 friends stayed here the end or March beginning of April of 2011. As mentioned in other reviews..the house was just as great as the photos, if not better. The views from the front porch made it very easy to just want to stay there in a rocking chair all day and night. There was ac in the rooms which was perfect for sleeping considering the weather was beautifully hot....we had just come from chicago where the weather left more to be desired...so this was the perfect get away. Overall, we loved Bastimentos over the other islands and the location of the house was perfect...close enough to walk to different places to eat and drink and a little store where you could pick up essentials. We also felt like the food was better on Bastimentos (side note). The owner of the property was extremely helpful and tried to accomadate us the best he could and was very knowledgeable about the area. Jenica was also extremely helpful and willing to help us in any situation. It was very nice to have her pick us up from the airport and show us the ins and outs of the Bocas area. It was also very nice to have Dimitry, the caretaker, around the property. He was a very nice guy, very willing to answer any questions or run to the store...whatever we needed... we ended up using his knowledge of the area quite a bit. My friends and I both agree we would come back and stay in a heart beat. Loved it! Thanks to everyone that helped to make our trip so easy and relaxing....

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

Amazing holiday

Guest: wingman (Canada)
Date of Stay: 10/18/10 Review Submitted: 11/22/10

Great little piece of paradise. Expected the best and got nothing less. Prepare to be slightly isolated but that makes the adventure that much more. Helpful and friendly people, goreous beaches and fun bars. A must stay

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, adventure seekers, girls getaway, sightseeing.