Most of our guests are excellent and happy with our home. We recently had one for 3 months who never complained once. If there was something he wanted, he contacted us.
There are beautiful ocean views and sunsets. Wish we could post pictures of the water and beach. You can see the sand bars underwater most times.
Sheri and her party of 6 were constantly complaining from the moment they arrived. They apparently wanted a luxury hotel in West Bay which is far more expensive, not a home on the beach in a neighborhood.
They were paying $40/night per person. The cost at a high end hotel like Ibagari which is a Roatan luxury hotel, would have been $270 for per person per night minimum.
It was hot (yes, Roatan is near the equator) but we do have working A/C in each room.
They complained about bushes brushing them. Really, they did. They complained that the hood ornament was missing from our car. They complained about the beach because there is turtle grass, again part of the natural flora, protected by the marine park.
They sent some pictures of a watery, sandy littered area on the beach but that was NOT from in front of our house. It was from another area, down the beach. Apparently, there was a storm and items washed up on the beach and down from the mountains. The beachfront changes with the rains, etc. BTW, the beach is owned and maintained by the municipal. They clean and move sand around periodically when necessary. There is NO mud, not possible on the beach, it is wet sand. Many other guests have take our kayaks out through the walkway daily, across the sand to go snorkeling or visit the nearby dolphin training area. We have no idea what she is talking about.
Unfortunately, there were some issues during their stay. Below is a list along with our steps to remediate ASAP. We do want our guests to be happy and enjoy our home as we do so we respond to issues as quickly as possible.
• The standby generator did not start. We are on the ocean and the battery corroded. We replaced the battery ASAP and the generator comes on automatically, we tested it ourselves when we arrived on Roatan and have had it completely serviced. There are only 2 people that can perform the service, it takes time to get them to show up. Fortunately, one is our next door neighbor who serviced it when he arrived from the mainland.
• There was one room that they were not using that the cleaning people did not clean, unbeknownst to us. We were appalled that the cleaning person did not clean properly, apologized and offered to send the cleaning people back to redo the entire house at OUR cost but Sheri refused the offer. We have replaced the cleaning crew with someone who is attending to detail. The house was immaculate when we arrived in late July. We intend to keep it that way.
• The freezer worked fine (even Sheri said so) but refrigerator was not cold because the prior cleaning people left the door ajar. After the door was closed, it cooled down by the next day, not days as she stated. It worked very well during our 3 week stay in July/August.
• One of our prior guests apparently locked the safe key in the safe and did not give us the combination. The safe has to be replaced but there are none of that size in stock on the island. We will have our island manager keep trying.
• The router totally malfunctioned late on a Friday night. That is why the internet had been spotty. We had it replaced on Monday, the next business day. That said, the internet/TV provider does not have a backup power supply. Our generator will keep the lights, A/C and router on but if the power goes out, the internet and TV will be out as well. This is not in our control.
• We have bars around the first floor aka Bodega as many do on Roatan to prevent petty theft. We also have a security wall (again, many do to prevent petty theft), built after we purchased the property. They were sent a renter’s guide which both included pictures of the wall and a description. There is a guard at night, again for safety. He does not work for us but does help us and is kind to us.
Gabriel, the guard, is a nice person, always laughing. Many of our guests have told us how much they like him. We communicate in our broken Spanish and he corrects us. We feed him sometimes and he brings us green coconuts from which we drink coconut water. We have NEVER seen him sell drugs over the wall and we come twice a year. The culture is different here so sometimes he is not careful with his soda cans. We ask him to clean up and he does it that day. No malintent, just cultural differences. A world traveler would know that.
The security wall means you have to walk an extra few steps to get to the beach. There is still full, easy beach access. Somehow, the few extra steps made it “not a beach front home” to them though we are still on the beach with serene water views. The only thing between us and the water are palm trees planted by the municipal. Thus, it is a beach front home. No other guest has ever complained about the views or beach access.
We are not sure why she said the house is not "safe". A guard, a security wall, motion activated spotlight security cameras. Or did she mean that she had to walk into the water to get on a water taxi and walking in the water was not safe?? We never said we had a dock, we never said you can beach a boat to board. Actually, we did have a dock years ago but the municipal took down. There are other docks nearby. If needed, we can try to get access but we cannot make any guarantees.
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Overall, they seemed not to accept that Roatan, though a beautiful island with good people and great diving, is in developing country and sometimes things go wrong. They said they are world travelers but their complaints and expectations say otherwise.
We are on the beach, salt water corrodes. Services are not always available on demand, not all services are up to par, people behave differently than they might in more developed countries. That is part of the charm of Roatan. Slow down, relax, enjoy the people, diving, beauty and the local flavor. We love being here and find it difficult to understand how anyone can be unhappy staying in our home with such beautiful views.
We are having the house painted, repairs made, etc after we leave. We will have pictures taken afterwards and post them. If you are considering renting, ask us, we will send pictures of the beach, water, wall, etc.
As a final arbiter, look at reviews from other renters here and on other rental sites. Judge for yourselves.