Fantasy Island Beach Resort, Dive & Marina — Hotel in Roatán

Choosing a staring point for the review is difficult as there are more deficiencies than could be described using a thesaurus. The following is a summary, and not an exhaustive list of the problems and shortcomings. ||||Food overall was terrible. There is one restaurant, no al a carte. While technically a buffet, it’s a high school cafeteria buffet. There is nearly no variation in the meal choices. ||Almost always rice, chicken and pork which could be accused of hiding its communist leanings due to the more than occasional pinkness hid in its insides, plantanes, and fried (stewed?) zucchini that was a so overcooked that with a stern look could be easily transformed into baby purée. None of the hot food was hot. It’s served in steam trays sitting on what looks like induction heaters that aren’t turned on. Salad had only unripened iceberg lettuce with the two same salad dressing options, often mixed by people using same utensil for both. Breakfast didn’t have toast for first three days. Food was constantly running out, with what appeared to be day pass families loading up their plates like they hadn’t eaten in a week, and their children touching everything with their hands, including the food. We were offered wine the first two nights at supper. Every other meal needed to ask and staff looked like they didn’t know what vino tinto is. Went and got it ourselves from the seating area fridge most meals. The snack area was typically void of food, and the only edible item was hot dogs and fries. Any fries put out were typically gone in 5 minutes, normally on overloaded plates. The final issue is there is no food available after supper ends. Also, each meal had a surprise element of determining if some items present were meant for another item that the staff would bring out only at the end of the meal. The example here was all the fixings for fajitas, but, the meat for the fajitas didn’t appear until the last 15 minutes of service, after all of the other items were already gone. There are a dozen other examples of the absence of food preparation and serving standards that could be provided, but suffice to say if this were in the US, Canada, UK, the restaurant would be permanently closed for health code violations. ||||As for the restaurant amenities, serving utensils were almost always dropped into the serving trays. No tablecloths, no cloth napkins, knives and forks (spoons were as valuable as platinum) which were a mix of the cheapest dollar store options, needed to be retrieved by guests from a non-descript, reused plastic bucket, and we’re at times unavailable.||||The bar is another disappointment. There was only one open, except for one day when beach bar opened. All drinks were served in paper cups. The only blended drink available was a pina-colada. All liquor was free poured, so guests got to play a drinkability version of Russian roulette where a drink may be fine or something that had mix added only for colour. A hilarious observation was guests ordering shots, which were served in cone shaped water cooler cups. Ultimately, the options at the bar would be overshadowed by that of a destitute college student in both variety and quality. A positive note, they had two wine choices, red or white, and two beer choices, red or white (cans).||||The lobby was underwhelming. ||Half the seating is basic low-end modular patio furniture, and all cushions are encased in thick plastic covers. ||Now let’s talk about music. Bottom line, very loud. Music came from three sources. There was competing playlists between the lobby, the snack area, and any day pass guests who brought their own 100 watt speaker to the pool located adjacent to the bar. Those three areas are all in a 100’ radius. Worse than a university dorm room during frosh week. There is absolutely no quiet area around the pool, lobby, snack areas. Even on 50% of the beach, you couldn’t hear yourself think. If you wanted any peace, you needed to go to the far end of the resort, but then there are no amenities in those locations. ||||Rooms. They are very basic. No phones, irons or hair dryers. They have a tv, but it streams through the resort’s internet, which is basically non-existent. The picture quality is grainy like a 1970’s CRT television broadcast, and routinely cuts out. The patio door needs two hands and a foot to open/close due to rust and grit. The shower smells like urine and it’s sliding door grinds when opening/closing and needs two hands to do it. The shower head is full of calcium and protrudes from a 3” wide hole in the wall. The only towel bar was rusted to the point it couldn’t be used. You get two bath towels and a face cloth provided, but a hand towel was sometimes provided, or not. No extra towels were in the room. The room safe isn’t attached to anything and can be easily picked up and removed. ||The air conditioner worked well. The room was given two bottles of water in small fridge that froze them. Lots of soap and shampoo, but no hair conditioner. ||The bed was surprisingly good. There were only four hangers in the room, and no dresser. When cleaned, the floor was sticky with un-rinsed soap, which became an opportunity to practice your best Bambi on ice impression if you dared to step on it with wet feet. ||||Other general items. You got only one key card per room. So couples/families constantly had to accompany each other or hand the card back and forth if an individual wanted to go to the room. Cards were also unreliable, needing to be reprogrammed. Wifi was non existent except in the centre of the lobby, and often goes down. Even when working, the internet was often unavailable. A couple is given two old blue beach towels that you retrieved via coupon, and allowed only one exchange per day. The east end of resort has an overpowering smell of excrement. Structures are nearly all wooden, and are clearly deteriorating and rotting. ||||Overall, this resort is not as advertised. ||This place is a 1 star at best. To achieve true three star status, it would need to be razed like a plague-ridden medieval city and rebuilt under new management. ||Dive shop is great, and would love to use them again, but not if it requires staying here. Outside the resort, if you mention Fantasy Island, everyone’s reaction is the owners don’t care, that it’s been 12 years of the same complaints, but they won’t put money into it. It’s clear that they have chosen to prioritize and cater primarily to day-pass users. ||What makes it most disappointing is that it has the best beach in Roatán. ||This place should be delisted from Canadian travel ...

We just arrived home after an amazing 2 week vacation at Fantasy island in Roatan! Would we go back? Absolutely.

the resort is set on an amazing piece of land; its own island. The beaches are stunning and the water is crystal clear and very warm. There are so many snorkeling opportunities right off the resort, my husband went snorkeling multiple times everyday! He saw things like stingray, octopus, blowfish, lion fish, cuddle fish, barracudas, needle fish, squid, and all sorts of other colorful fish, some very large ones as well! There were also a few boat wrecks. And an added bonus, I could watch him from shore! We never had to fight for a beach chair or pool chair and since they have 3 beaches the water was never crowded. It’s just perfect!

The resort is on the older side. Its needs some work and love but they are tackling and working at it each day.

Next I feel the staff need a huge mention and shout out. Boy they try hard to make your vacation the best possible. Judith- she’s a GEM and an incredible asset to Fantasy Island. She goes above and beyond consistently to ensure your happiness. The front staff worked hard to make sure things went smoothly and typically did so with a warm smile. Some didn’t speak English…. But that didn’t stop them from trying. They used their translator on their phone until they understood and then helped us. However- I witnessed some pretty rude guests which the staff don’t deserve to have to deal with. Start with kindness and you’ll see it goes a lot further! We never had any issue. The dining room staff and Henry (manager) really care about your experience. The food was very tasty and no one in our group ever complained. Yes sometimes they run out of things but they replenish as quickly as they can. Remember- Roatan is a small island. They sure do make the best of it at all times. I will say the white wine wasn’t to our liking- but we just bought a few bottles and we were fine.

On to the bar- drinks were very good and as strong as you want them. Rhum and coke with a lime was our go to! Miss them already! But they had a big list of cocktails. Beer - they served 3 different kinds (Local, Imperial, and moller light) and that was served to you in the can which was really nice. The bar closes at 10pm which makes it more of a relaxation resort and not a party resort, which is something I loved about it.

Food was good! Fresh! Not a huge variety but we never left hungry.

Rooms are spacious and nice. We stayed in 208- the perfect location.

We found the animation team was lacking, although there weren’t many participants for their games which made their job more difficult. This is something I missed from past resorts. They didn’t seem to really connect with the guests like we’ve experienced in the past. Nothing major- but kinda disappointing. The animation team definitely needs some energy!

We booked Howard from Howie’s Beach and Tour and boy oh boy he and his wife Dazza did not disappoint. I mean wow! He was always there for any questions we had. We booked him for excursions, for golf, for an island tour, a brewery tour and a grocery store stop to get my daughter a birthday cake. He went above and beyond each and every time. He’s fun, knowledgeable and just such a kind man! Our group loved him. He will customize any tour you want- make him the first person you reach out to and you won’t be disappointed- I promise.

I’ll finish with this- I often shook my head and was annoyed with myself for worrying about all the bad reviews, once we arrived. Im Not sure what people expect for the price you pay and the country you decide to travel to. There was a family there at the same time that spent a few days in the West Roatán and were very happy to come back to our little piece of paradise. That says a lot for Fantasy island. If a quiet, peaceful, gorgeous view vacation with decent food and incredible snorkeling is what you’re after- Fantasy island will not disappoint. But if you go looking to be miserable and complain- you will be. Safe travels! Enjoy...

This was my daughter's and my first trip to the tropics (no details, but it was just the two of us). Were we ever in for an experience. We arrived in a bus from the airport to cold fruit drinks, were given our keys, and told to have fun. The big bright room was a wonderful 16 degrees after the hot bus ride. We changed into our swimsuits and hit the beach.

This resort is an amazing place. It's a bit weather-worn but I always saw them fixing and improving things, and it actually adds to the beauty of it. It gives it more of a seaside beach hut feeling. There are roosters and chickens, agouti everywhere (the staff call them watusa, or wild rabbits), and birds. There are a couple of wild monkeys that are part of the "family" here and are very entertaining. We also encountered peacocks, of course. The beach is beautiful and the water was around 27 degrees if I had to guess.

The crew had organized a soccer game among the kids, but our luggage had arrived and we went to put things away and get our snorkelling stuff.

We didn't see anything at first but that was because we were both complete noobs at snorkelling and were just off the beach. We hit the gazebo at the end of the dock on the east side of the island, put on our equipment and got in the water. I saw more sea life in the first ten seconds than I've ever seen in one body of water. The reef is incredible. I was told Roatan has the second largest barrier reef in the world by a few different people, guests included. It's stunning. There is a huge variety of things to see, from hermit crabs, to weird lobster with no claws. Fish big and small, lots of blue and yellow. The tarpin come out at night (their eyes are red if you get them with your flashlight) and you can see them from the end of the dock. The kids saw a big green eel the second night. I could hear them running away from the dock from my room, and the balcony door was closed (did I mention the room had a balcony? Ours faced due east, to the sunrise). Take a look at the satellite of this place. That's all coral reef. Every morning I'd walk along the beach with my bare feet in the water, coffee in hand, and see what had washed up from the night before. I called it my morning treasure hunt, and it truly is. Something new every day. This reef is very much alive, and beautiful.

The dining room is big, with lots of places to sit. The food is varied, and buffet-style, three times a day. They also have an all-day snack bar where my daughter snuck lunch most days. They have burgers and fries and other stuff you'd expect to eat on the beach. It was all included with our package. A la carte is also offered for those that want to spend some extra cash for a special occasion. Nothing is overly expensive in my opinion, except for the cab rides, which seem very overpriced, but I may have misunderstood. We didn't take one anyway because we found enough to do - or not do, if we didn't want - to keep us busy for the week and exhausted when we went to sleep at night.

The staff is incredible. Everyone is friendly and helpful. English, French, and Spanish seem to be known by everyone. I don't know how they do it, but they're good at it. The drinks are plenty, cold, and delicious, and they'll make a non-alcoholic version of any of them for the underage guests (legal drinking age in Honduras is 21 so the kids get a different colour wristband). There are nightly events and shows for the kids to start, then a few various family shows for a couple of hours, then a "discotheque" from 11 to midnight (I never made it that late into the evening, so I have no review of that. Forgive me). We saw traditional drumming and dance, a fire show followed by crystal balls, and some very funny staff members who also happen to be very good entertainers almost every night. There is no shortage of fun things to do there every day and night.

We had the best week I personally have ever had, and I'm sure my daughter would say the same. She pretty much did on the car ride home anyway.

Will definitely return. Thanks for...