Anthony's Key Resort

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

We just returned from our second trip to Anthony’s Key. We will definitely be back. The service is impeccable and the value is as well. Our group of 12 included divers and snorkelers. The dive shop services are superb. This all inclusive resort is a great value. The meals are unbeatable.

We had a fantastic week at Anthony's Key. Every staff member was friendly and helpful. Our kids finished their dive certification and the instructors and dive masters were top notch. The food was delicious and the wait staff was terrific. I would highly recommend this resort! This was our first visit but certainly won't be our last.

Our kids, ages 7 and 9, participated in Dolphin/SCUBA camp for the first time. What an incredible experience, found no where else. They literally train dolphins! Our 9 year old was successfully able to dive to a depth of 8 feet with her instructor and our 7 year used a regulator with supplied air to swim at the surface. As parents, we felt they were very well taken care of and we had the freedom to snorkel, relax on the porch of the bungalow or pool. We had a lot of relaxing downtime that we usually don’t get on a vacation with kids. We truly enjoyed the night snorkel (kids had movie night!)- I was nervous but it was well worth it to see lobsters, an eel, squid, a crawling seastar, lionfish, etc. Our snorkel guides Marcus and Jordy were excellent. Meals here are plentiful and offer a good variety. Can’t beat the hospitality!

Overall a solid place to stay and a great island to dive. Diving/Boats: 5/5 The diving in Roatan is fantastic. The Dive boats at Anthony's key come in a variety of sizes. The dive masters( Edwin and Nico) are fantastic. Loved everything about the diving and boats. The rooms 4/5. The rooms are nice. Great views of the bay and the ac works well. However, the bed is slightly hard and the pillows aren't great. For this price point I expect better. The food: 4/5. The food is plentiful and the service at meals was excellent. The breakfast was always great. The lunch (daily fish) was excellent. The dinners left a lot of be desired. Usually fried options and bland for the most part. The quality of dinners didn't match the price point again. Overall, I'd highly recommend diving in Roatan. However, this resort is just in the "fine" category.