Anthony's Key Resort

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.

This is a top notch place to stay for diving. The resort is about 30 years old( doesn't show its age) and they have perfected the art of a diving vacation. This is dive in dive out. We were just 3 to 5 minutes from most dive sites. The people are very friendly, many having worked there over 10 years. We stayed in a bungalow out over the ocean with a private porch and pier out in the ocean (#37). It was referred to as the honeymoon bungalow. You won't find tvs or phones here (there is internet access and a tv in one of the bars). This is total escape. We dove 3x a day. Did night dives, zip line tour, horseback ride, swam with the dolphins, kayaked, and went to the west end. Went to Maya Key for an afternoon. One of our group did the day with a dolphin trainer. She loved it. Food was good. Service all over the resort was excellent. Very relaxed place. We would have drinks before dinner, wine with dinner and maybe a night cap. At the end of the night we just signed a bar tab. Drinks were $5 and many nights 2 for 1. We had a group of 8 and our server would reserve a table for us each night. They had bands two nights. The best thing of the whole trip was our dive master Sherwin. He took care of everyone and was a pleasure to be around. He has an uncanny ability to find the smallest little sea creatures. Found sea horses when I could hardly see things. Sherwin was patient and showed everyone a good time. This is the kind of place where you will meet the owner and general manage. You will get to know everyone who works there. By the time you leave you will feel like family. I would go back there in a flash.

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 came for dinner - the restaurant was full (and as we later learned most people were with the dive groups and had an all inclusive meal plan). The food was delicious and the staff were so attentive. Food portions were huge so we ended up taking leftovers. My husband loved his wahoo and I had the coconut shrimp This is also one of the few places where we did order dessert - the homemade cheesecake with blueberries and the homemade banana ice cream. The restaurant is very large and nice. It was great to see it filled as during low season so many of the restaurants were closed or empty.

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

The dolphins are awesome. Trainers very nice. Very nice place. Worth the visit. Easy to find. Plenty of souvenirs and stuff to buy. Very clean place. Very helpful people. They offer great dive packages to. The picture package is a must to buy.