Best Deal on Best Spot on Roatan, and Best in the Caribbean!

• Perfect for us!

  Perfect for us!

  • Guest Betty and Tony
  • Date of stay 02/07/13
  • Review Submitted 03/02/13
  After much research, we (two couples) were very pleased to have selected the Big Dolphin House. The area was perfect - nice and quiet, not at all like West Bay. No need to pay $150. per week for AC. Ceiling fans and open windows provided welcome breezes. We did opt for the WIFI at $35. per week; Tanisha spent all one afternoon getting us connected. Not many channels on the TV, but we did enjoy the DVD movies. We rented a car from Avis for our 2-week stay and did much exploring of this beautiful lush green island with more mountains than I expected. Roads were not as bad as we were led to believe -just had to drive carefully and watch for potholes. One of the best things about this rental was the pool - cool refreshing water, and we had it all to ourselves! Our favourite snorkeling spot was off the dock of Tranquil Seas Resort, about a 5 minute walk east. About 25 yards to the right are some ruins sticking out of the water. More fish per square inch here than any other place we tried. We didn't like the grassy bottom in most of Sandy Bay but if you swim out far enough (100 to 150 yds.) you will be rewarded with sights of beautiful fish and coral. We took a water taxis from West End to West Bay (bargined for $10 total for the 4 of us- each way). Walked to the very end by the rock wall and snorkeled out to the big rock and along the reef. Lots of people here. There are restaurants within walking distance. We ate 3 times at Blue Bahia, once at Tranquil Seas, but we saved the best for last - Mayoka Lodge where reservations are required. Also some lunches (and drinks) in West End. The Bakery beside Rusty Fish before West End was a great for fresh bread and sweets. Sonia is now the caretaker and lives in the small house nearby with her three children. She is out there most days racking the grounds and beach. Must like dogs - there are many in the area! And roosters crow at 3 am! But you get used to it!

  Recommended for: Age 55+, sightseeing, families with young children.

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• We Had A Blast

  We Had A Blast

  • Guest Loras
  • Date of stay 12/01/12
  • Review Submitted 12/13/12
  Previous reviews accurately describe the house - it was a good place. Just a few things I wanted to make sure future renters were aware of.... 1. The road to the house goes along a 'beach' road. It has a lot of ruts. We had an SUV and saw cars driving on it, but for the 25 yards you need to drive on it, it was bumpy. 2. The house is inside a gated area with a few other houses. We had no issues until about day 4 and came home after dinner at 10:00 pm to find the gate locked. We weren't informed that it might be locked and had no code to unlock it. Had to honk the horn for the closest house to come help us in. 3. It seems the water supplied is shared in the area and we were without running water for multiple hours on multiple days. Used the cold pool to wash off after a few dives. 4. We tried using the oven and almost blew up the house with ourselves inside. It seems that the stove was never properly installed. Long story short, we had an explosion that burned hair off my legs, a gas line fire we tried to put out with the extinguisher (I think we put it out by running outside and disconnecting the lp tank) and then a mess to clean up. Property managers didn't even show up to discuss afterwards - just sent over an assistant to help coordinate the repairs. 5. TV Channel lineup is pretty lame so if you plan to watch TV, don't expect much. I really didn't care, but couldn't find any US news stations which I thought would be at the top of the list for a satellite. 6. Not really 3 bedrooms. Upstairs has one dedicated bedroom and a second draped off area with another bed. Downstairs had 1 bedroom. Anyway, these may or not be things you care about, but just wanted to share.

  Recommended for: Adventure seekers.

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• Sandy Bay is the place to stay!

  Sandy Bay is the place to stay!

  • Guest Jan
  • Date of stay 08/03/12
  • Review Submitted 08/20/12
  The listing accurately portrayed the residence. Great location, quiet and protected, we really enjoyed being in a "compound" with 2 other houses. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. The interior was spacious and uncluttered, very comfortable. The swimming pool was a perfect respite after a day of diving. We really enjoyed having the Tranquilseas within walking distance for our dives everyday, Kent and Ava were exceptional. The Blue Bahia is a really good restaurant with lots of variety, every meal was delicious. Tong's for Thai food, The Blue Parrot restaurant was very special. Don't miss Anthony's Key Resort and swimming with the dolphins. We highly recommend a day of ziplining at Gumbalimba Park. Snorkeling in front about a 150 yards from the beach was spectacular. We plan to return to Roatan and would definitely book the Big Dolphin again. I have only 2 suggestions: an internet connection with a wireless router and a couple of premium channels on DirectTV would improve the stay. Thanks to everyone involved with Big Dolphin, our 2 week stay was fantastic, Jan P

  Recommended for: Tourists without a car, age 55+, families with young children.

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• Great home near the beach, quiet, but close to the West End Action

  Great home near the beach, quiet, but close to the West End Action

  • Guest Carrie
  • Date of stay 07/21/12
  • Review Submitted 08/10/12
  We enjoyed our stay at Blue Dolphin! What a beautiful home, with three bedrooms and plenty of room for our extended family. The property has a shared pool which was great in the afternoons, when it was siesta time. The snorkeling on Roatan is fantastic, with many dives just off shore, West Bay was our favorite spot. Lawson Rock had hundreds of starfish. Even great snorkeling off of half moon bay and between West End and West Bay. Our overall cultural experience of the island was great, with our neighbors in the Sandy Bay area being extremely helpful and the management company responsive. We did not opt to get either the internet (35 dollars a week) or the air conditioning ($150 per week) both. We went in the heat of the summer, and it was still very doable most days, with all the windows open, there was great ventalation. The kitchen and living room area was large and supplied with pots/pans, dishes, silverware, and a few spices. One of the best things I did was make connections on the first day of our 2 week trip with a local fisherman, named Eddie near the end of West End, just yards from Barefoot Bar. Ask for him and make connections. He fished everyday for us for 2.50 a pound(!) and we cooked either Grouper, Jack, Barricuda, Lobster, or Tuna every night! The best time that I put in and great connections with the locals! We also located a great bagel place in West End (just ask the locals where the bakery is!). Don't miss out on the lizard farm and extreme ziplining at Pirates of the Carribean, near French Bay. We LOVE ROATAN and will be back! Thanks for a great stay.

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• Guest comment entered by owner

  • Guest Mike
  • Date of stay 08/01/10
  • Review Submitted 03/12/11
  I'm not a big computer person, but I thought this vacation deserved good feedback. Everything the managers said were true. We had a great trip, with no problems. Roatan is great for everyone from sunbathers to advanced scuba divers. It is a hidden gem in the Caribbean! MM

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• Excellent accomodations, honestly advertised, well maintained, well managed vacation property

  Excellent accomodations, honestly advertised, well maintained, well managed vacation property

  • Guest Chowder
  • Date of stay 12/05/10
  • Review Submitted 03/12/11
  We rented the Big Dolphin because of the price, location and proximity to dive shops and restaurants. All was as advertised. The house was freshly painted inside. The living room furniture and bed was new. The kitchen and living room were nice and open with new kitchen countertop, sink and faucet. The appliances worked perfectly. Nicholas the watchman greeted us each morning with a nice "hola". He even offered to help us carry in our luggage and groceries! The third sleeping area was better than we thought with the drapes providing just enough privacy. We chose not to use the airconditioners and were comfortable just using the ceiling fans. The pool was very clean and the waterfall sound was very relaxing. We found ourselves in it every day. The rooftop palapa is very cool. We enjoyed the sunsets with a cold drink every evening before dinner. The property managers arranged for us to be picked up at the airport and took us to a grocery store, where we got our desired supplies including beer, booze and wine. They also lined us up with a cell phone and 100 minutes for under $15 which let us call the US cheap. Very nice. We walked the beach each morning toward Anthony's Key Resort. We dove out of Octopus Dive School and Tranquil Seas, both an easy walk down the beach. We also dove with a neighbor in the association, Lee and his West End located Enomis Divers. All were very good and easy to dive with. The snorkeling just steps out in front of the house starts out very shallow for the first 100 feet, then becomes awesome. It is also possible to snorkel in front of the dive shops which become deeper a little faster. The restaurants at Blue Bahia (which houses Octopus Dive School), Tranquil Seas and Anthony's Key were all very good! Just a stroll down the beach. We did not try the water taxi service to West End, but plan to next time. They offer a sunset boat ride to all the restaurants in West End for a few dollars. All in all this was a great vacation! We look forward to our next stay at the Big Dolphin. We plan to rent a car and explore the island and all it has to offer. The ziplines, the butterly garden and a fishing trip will be planned next time.

  Recommended for: Tourists without a car, families with teenagers, adventure seekers, age 55+, pet owners, romantic getaway, girls getaway, sightseeing, families with young children.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 5/5

low- $800/week May and June, September-December
mid-$850/week July and August
high-$900/week January-April
peak-$1050 Christmas, New Years and Easter
$150/week airconditioning
$500 refundable deposit
16% tax

Note: Until confirmed, rates are subject to change without notice.