We spent 2 weeks at Infinity Bay in Roatan (Oct 27 to Nov 10^th, 2012)

Pros:

• Snorkeling/Diving – This was the most important for me, as that’s the main reason I go to these type of vacation locations.  What was interesting is right in front of the resort there are a set of 3 buoys in a line going out about 25 yards, 50 yards, 150 yards. A lot of the guests stayed within the first buoy which was just your normal sand and sea grass, but if you swim out past the 2nd buoy you actually enter a real nice reef with lots of corals and fish. But I quickly noticed that if you dive, they pull out from the dock, swing over to the 3rd buoy and tie up. So I definitely recommend snorkeling out to there and you will see the same stuff as if diving. You can swim between 2 or 3 of the main dive sites that are basically parallel to the beach at that distance. I didn’t even end up diving since I was seeing the same stuff.
• Warm Water – This was a surprise as I thought it was going to be closer to 80⁰F, and ended up being around 86⁰ The only time it was colder was right after Hurricane Sandy went by and the water was all chummed up.
• Staff – The Staff was very nice too us. Because my girlfriend always tried to converse in Spanish. They would always try and help out and teach her new sayings.
• Larger Room – The suite we had was great, though under Cons you’ll see a small room. That’s because when we first arrived they put us in a super small suite. They immediately moved us when we asked about it. The 2nd suite was on the 2nd floor which is good because it keeps you away from the mosquitoes. The layout was nice; with a full kitchen, dining area, living room, 1 bedroom, and 1 bathroom.
• Food within walking distance -The first week we were at the resort the only place to eat was at there beach bar/restaurant, which had basic foods and drinks. The second week they opened the new restaurant on the 2nd floor of the main building. Though this was only usable by guests with a food pass, they said it would open for all in Jan 2013. There are ~10 more restaurants along the beach within a 1/4 mile which we randomly went to for food, giving us plenty of choices.
• Cost / local store – The cost of food was around USA prices, $8 for a chicken sandwich to $35 for surf and turf.  We went to the local store next to the resort, prices were pretty like the USA there also; $1.50 for 2-liter soda, $12 for a bottle of wine.

Cons:

• Small Room – As mentioned above, we were put in a small room when we first arrived, all I can say is I would have been upset to spend 2 weeks in this room. But the premium suite was perfect.  Just make sure you know what you’re getting.
• Beach Merchants – This was a big irritant for me, but I don’ t like people, so to be constantly asked if I want a massage or to purchase jewelry gets irritating. On that note, the resort was doing what it could on a public beach. They had security that would not let the merchants hound you, a solid “no thanks” is all it would take for them to move along.
• Bugs (Fly’s, Bee’s, Mosquito’s) – Bugs are annoying. We didn’t have much trouble in our room, being on the 2nd floor. It seemed like we would get bit during our walk from room to beach. So use 100% deet.  At meals on the beach, the flies and bee’s would come in, but not many problems with mosquitoes.
• Thin Walls – The room did seem to have very thin walls. As you could hear every move of a chair, cabinet, TV, normal voice, etc… I sleep with earplugs so it wasn’t too bad, but even then I could hear our neighbors when they got up early.
• Slow Bill – The bills seem to come a very long time after they clear your table (sometimes 30 mins to an hr) if your talking with your waiter just make sure when they clear your table to ask them for your check.
• Smokers – Not that the resort can do much about this, but I’m just amazed at how rude smokers are… You would be sitting on a beautiful beach and someone will come to sit right next to you, light up and blow it in your face. We moved several times due to chain smokers setting up right next to us.
• Tips on Bill Change – While we were there, the resort switched from you deciding the tip, to them automatically adding it to the bill. Just be aware of this.

Comments:

• Weather – The first 10 days we were there was right after Hurricane Sandy went by. The first couple of days the water was chummy and the beaches were covered in seaweed. But the rest of the time the water was still and clear, and beach spotless. The last 4 days it rained solid and beach covered in seaweed.  I think during this season you just have to deal with what you get, but it’s definitely beautiful when it’s sunny and calm.
• Drinking Water – We drank the tap water in the room and glasses of water at the bar and restaurants and never had an issue.
• Cruise ships – While we were there the cruise ships were coming in all day Wed, and the morning of Thur. The first week they were canceled and the second week it was raining. They are shuttled to the beach next door but does cause a lot of people walking the beach.  The only caution would be to maybe not plan your excursions for those days.
• Airport/Flying – Originally we were looking at flights and all flights for us had a total travel time of 16-18 hrs. Finally, I found that if you fly on Saturday they have a couple more flights and go direct from Houston, which dropped the time for us down to 6 hrs. The other thing we ran into was leaving, the flight is at 4:40pm and there are shuttles at 12:30 and 3pm. We took the 12:30 to have the 2 hr lead time. You do not need to do this, as the airport is small. It took 30 secs for check-in, 1 min to pay exit tax ($39 per person), 30 secs for immigration and about 2 mins for security. The airline allowed check in right up till we departed, so the 3pm shuttle would have been fine.
• The new front desk opened while we were there and is much nicer than the basement area they use to check in at.
• The spa is going to be on the 3rd floor but wasn’t going to be open until March 2013.