Anthony's Key Resort

We booked a dive through NCL as a shore excursion in Roatan, Honduras. It turned out to be through Anthony's Kay resort. The service with the dive group was very good. A dive photographer came with us for the first dive and I bought the pictures during the surface interval. The dives were only fair- lots of rocks and not a lot of coral. But the dive operation was good.

This is the second time experiencing the Dolphin Swim & Snorkel at AKR. What a fantastic experience. We can highly recommend it. The animals are very well taken care of and appear to be very healthy. The trainers are very knowledgeable. The gift store is the best on the island.

We booked a dive package that included 20 dives. Six days of 2 tank morning dives, 6 days of 1 tank afternoon dives and two night dives. Due to high winds on the north side of the island, Anthony's Key had to bus us to the leeward (south side) of the island. This was a 20-30 minute ride. Consequently the resort decided to cancel all but one afternoon dive and the two night dives. They then used the excuse of weather, but the truth was they did not want to run the bus for the afternoon or night dives. Out of the 20 dives we paid for, we only dove 13 times. My issue was that they used the excuse of weather and did not offer any apology or compensation. They could have simply credited the Nitrox charge or discounted the bar bill as a gesture of good will. On a side note. The islands roads were horrendous. Due to the rain, the roads were full of pot holes and mud. Traffic becomes heavy due to these conditions. This made the bus ride go from 15 minutes to 30 minutes or more on some days. I will say the food was very good and the restaurant staff was excellent.

Everyone was extremely gracious, knowledgeable and helpful. We were amazed that they were open New Year's Day. The 11 and 14 year old children were so excited about the experience at the Action Swim they told all of their friends. It was the highlight of their trip.

We've been here three times. Great snorkeling and diving. The dive masters are fabulous. The bungalows are secluded and serene over the water. The food is outstanding. Now to the negatives. The waitstaff starts pandering for tips several days before your trip ends. I actually had a waiter confront me because he saw me giving envelopes to his counterparts. They have a dolphin education preserve on grounds, but they bus a huge number of people in for the experience. I get they need to make money but visitors should not be there at the same time as guests. We would have vacationed here several more times if not for these issues. Unfortunately we sought other vacation spots.

This was my first trip to Roatan and Anthony's Key Resort. Right off I can tell you I recommend the resort. Here are some things to be aware of ahead of time: Airport Immigration: Extremely slow and hot... You'll walk in from your flight off the ramp and into a room with the "Disney Line". There is very little airflow and poor, over-worked air conditioning. I recommend wearing loose, comfortable clothing (no pj's) for the flight down. Arrivals Hall: Same thing...very hot, no airflow. This is also the Departures Hall...keep that in mind. As soon as you clear Immigration you'll pass through a door with a zillion people there...including some from resorts waving signs. The Anthony's Key Resort guys will likely take your larger luggage and put them on a truck. I was a little worried about this at first as I never saw the truck...but they explained it at the reception desk and the bag showed up. Expect to wait a while until they have all the guests they are waiting for or the bus is ready to go. Reception: Goes quickly. Rooms: I was traveling solo and got, for cost savings, a "Hill Superior" room. I think I could have done better but this had a nice view from outside, a nice balcony, good a/c, etc. Unfortunately room 8 (mine) had no chairs to sit on in the room. Diving: Great. Very efficient, nice place to analyze your Nitrox tanks (if using) gear storage, etc. You stay with the same boat and DM; in my case it was JoJo and Johnny. Great guys. Dives were mostly in good viz, some sites have a lot of swim through, etc. Our DM removed our fins before we climbed the ladder back to the boat; the Captain removed our tanks when we got half way up the ladder. They were very quick to set us up for the next dive. Very enjoyable. Food: The food is excellent, that’s all there is to say. If for some reason you are paying a la cart, however, you will find the menu prices appear to be over-inflated. A local breakfast item is cheap at $7 while some of the lunch and dinner items are priced into the $30’s. All of the portions are over-sized (American sized). All of the waitstaff made an effort to learn and use my first name from the very first meal. Tip Solicitation: This was troublesome but mostly limited to the restaurant staff. (The DM and Captain never said anything about it...I presume they knew that seasoned divers know it's customary to tip them.). I asked the front desk of the restaurant staff worked “food service wages” like they do in the US, relying upon tips to make up the difference between their wages and minimum wage. She told me they do not. This did not prevent one of the waitstaff, who was otherwise a very nice man, to ask me late in the visit if everything had been okay. He wanted me to be sure to “take care” of my servers. I did…but I think it’s a little tacky to be so “out front” with the tip solicitation when their wages do not depend on it. I see this a lot in Europe, also, where it is NOT customary to tip