The Beach Life is the Best Life on Roatan

     Great article in the LA Times about Roatan. Roatan seems to be creating a lot of buzz lately, making a lot of top 10 lists and generating a lot of positive press, which is well deserved.
 http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-d-honduras-main-20160221-story.html

     Come to Roatan and see what all the fuss is about. Stay at the beautiful, recently updated Tropical Garden Villa at the Resort at Palmetto Bay. It has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. It is a 2 minute walk to the beach, yet has its own 32 foot salt water private pool. The resort has a restaurant, bar, pool, dive shop and dock.
https://www.vrbo.com/611087
https://www.tripadvisor.com/VacationRentalReview-g292019-d6906102-Tropical_Garden_Villa_300_From_Beach_Sleeps_6-Roatan_Bay_Islands.html

A Fun Day Snorkeling the East End

     On a recent trip to Roatan, we spent a full day snorkeling the pristine waters off the east end of the islands with SunSplash Tours. http://www.roatansunsplashtours.com/
     On a recommendation of a neighbor at our villa at Palmetto Bay, we booked a full day trip to the east end of the island, a location many tourist fail to visit. Big mistake. With its deserted beaches and untouched reef, it is heaven. SunSplash tours picked a group of six of us up at Palmetto Bay and took us on a half hour ride to Oak Ridge where we would meet the boat. Along the way, the guide pointed out many sights and gave us the history of this end of the island. Once at the dock in Oak Ridge, we met with James, one of the owners of SunSplash, and the boat's captain. Once we and the coolers of food and drink were loaded on, we were off. James, a native of Roatan gave us the history of Oak Ridge, the Venice of Honduras,  as we cruised the beautiful aquamarine waters all the way to Port Royal.

Colorful Houses Built on Stilts in Oak Ridge

     After a great history lesson and some beautiful views, we stopped at two different snorkel sights. We had as much time as we liked to just drift along, marveling at the beautiful underwater scenes as the boat drifted close by. As it neared lunch time, we were taken to a small private island, Lime Key, where we enjoyed  some snacks, especially the mango guacamole, and a delicious lunch. There was plenty of time to hunt for shells, swim in the crystal clear waters or just sit back and relax, soaking up the sun.

View from Our Private Island

Another View From Our Private Island

     After a few hours of just relaxing, we headed back to Oak Ridge and our waiting van. What a perfect day!
     If you are interested in renting at Palmetto Bay, our home is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath villa with private pool just steps from the white sand beach. Visit https://www.tripadvisor.com/VacationRentalReview-g292019-d6906102-Tropical_Garden_Villa_300_From_Beach_Sleeps_6-Roatan_Bay_Islands.html
or https://www.flipkey.com/roatan-vacation-rentals/p851529/

Our Home, The Tropical Garden Villa at Palmetto Bay

Things to Do on Roatan, Little French Key

     Little French Key, in French Harbour, Roatan, is a great way to spend the day. It is a private island, a short boat ride, maybe 4 minutes, from the main island. The boat leaves from Frenchy's 44, their restaurant. We went on a non cruise ship day and practically had the place to ourselves. I understand that when the cruise ships are in, it gets a lot more busy. The island is fairly big, with all little coves and beaches and plenty of chaise lounges. They have different packages available for varying prices depending on what you are looking for. Since our house is only 15 minutes from Little French Key, we drove ourselves there, though they will pick you up from anywhere on the island. It was a pleasant surprise that when we bought the tickets, they gave us a discount for providing our own transportation.
     They have lunch, which is included, but it was nothing special. Next time, we will eat before we go. No outside food is allowed, however, we did see people eating out of their lunch bags. They have a zoo with a lot of great animals, kayaks, paddle boards and the like. The real draw was just laying on the beach relaxing and swimming in the calm waters. If you have more energy, they also offer snorkeling and kayaking trips or you are free to explore on your own. Next time you are on Roatan, check out Little French Key.
     For a great place to stay, fairly close to French Harbour and Little French Key, check out the Tropical Garden Villa at the Resort at Palmetto Bay. It is a recently updated, 3 bedroom, 2 bath villa, just steps from the beach but also with its own private pool. Check us out on VRBO or Flip Key or email operations@palmettosandsvillas.com

Zip Lining through the Jungle of Roatan

     Did you know that Roatan offers zip lining, through the jungle, rain forest or out over the sea? There are many companies with great safety records to choose from all over the island, east, west or in between. Check out this cool video of zip lining in Roatan.
 http://www.airtransat.com/experiencetransat/zip-lining-through-the-honduran-jungles-of-roatan/
And when you are all tired out, enjoy a restful and utterly peaceful sleep at the Tropical Garden Villa, a recently updated 3 bedroom, 2 bath villa with private pool, mere steps from the beach in the resort of Palmetto Bay. https://www.vrbo.com/611087
https://www.flipkey.com/roatan-vacation-rentals/p851529/ 

Roatan's Underwater Museum

  Wow, I didn't know Roatan had an underwater museum. Check out this article.   http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/bay-islands-underwater-museum
We will definitely visit next time we are there. You should too. While you are on Roatan, rent our beautiful, Bali inspired 3 bedroom, 2 bath villa, with it's own private pool and mere steps from the beach.
https://www.vrbo.com/611087 
or
https://www.flipkey.com/roatan-vacation-rentals/p851529/

Reasons to Visit Roatan

Read this article about 15 reasons to visit Central American. You will be glad you did.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/minube/15-reasons-to-catch-the-n_b_8181980.html

If you decide to make Roatan your next vacation destination, stay at The Tropical Garden Villa at the Resort at Palmetto Bay. It is a recently updated 3 bedroom, 2 bath villa for rent with a private pool set amid lush tropical gardens and mere steps from the beach. Check us out on https://www.homeescape.com/vacation-rental/79579/
https://www.vrbo.com/611087

Retire in Roatan

An interesting article from US News and World Report about retiring on Roatan.
http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/on-retirement/2013/10/01/roatan-a-charming-and-affordable-caribbean-isle

If you need a place to stay while deciding on your retirement destination, rent the Tropical Garden Villa at the Resort at Palmetto Bay. It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, recently updated villa with a private pool just steps from the beach. Check us out.

Roatan's Best Beaches, Off the Beaten Path

     There is more to Roatan's beaches than the world famous West Bay Beach. While it consistently makes the top ten list of best beaches in the world, there are many other beaches on Roatan that offer peace and quiet that you can't get on West Bay Beach but are just as beautiful. Read this insightful article to find out where those beaches are, but shush, don't tell anyone.
 http://www.airtransat.com/experiencetransat/beyond-the-guidebook-the-best-beaches-on-roatan/

     When coming to Roatan, rent our beautiful 3 bedroom, 2 bath, recently updated villa at the Resort at Palmetto Bay. The villa has a private pool and is mere steps from the beautiful, white sand beach, dock, restaurant, bar and dive shop.

Roatan, Unknown Top Destination

     Roatan keeps making the best of lists. This time, Roatan made the list as one of the top unknown destinations. Recently featured on Good Morning America, read the full article here.  https://gma.yahoo.com/5-caribbean-destinations-never-think-visiting-061108411--abc-news-travel.html

Dock at Palmetto Bay, Roatan

1 mile long stretch of white sand beach at Palmetto Bay, Roatan

   If this keeps up, Roatan won't be unknown for long. Come see what all the buzz is about and stay at the Tropical Garden Villa, at the Resort at Palmetto Bay. The villa, recently updated, has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a private pool and is only steps from the beach, dock, restaurant, bar and dive shop.

Honduras top travel destination of 2016

     CNN recently named Honduras one of the top travel destinations of 2016. Along with locations on the mainland, they also specifically mention the Bay Islands which include Roatan, the largest of the Bay Islands. Read about it in this link.http://www.traveldailynews.com/news/article/69787/cnn-selects-honduras-as-a#

     When on Roatan, rent our beautiful, Bali inspired 3 bedroom, 2 bath villa with private pool, and just steps from the beach, dock, restaurant, bar and dive shop.

Roatan Renovation, Long Distance part 4

    

The finished 32 foot salt water pool

      As you know, we recently bought a beautiful 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom Bali inspired villa on the beautiful Caribbean island of Roatan. The villa, at the Resort at Palmetto Bay, sits on 2/3 acre of lush tropical gardens and is just steps from the beach. The backyard and the side yards of the property are surrounded by a tropical forest preserve, land that can never be developed. This is what drew us to the property but truth be told, I actually liked another villa at Palmetto Bay better. It was priced much less and was in an area surrounded by other houses with no extra land as a buffer. Being the social person that I am, I like having neighbors that I could see. However, as my husband, daughter and real estate agent, Marisol,  pointed out, when I craved other company, I could always go to the bar, beach or community pool at the resort.So we bought the villa on the big lot so we could put in our own pool. With labor being so much cheaper in Roatan than the states, we figured we could afford it sooner rather than later.

Our backyard and the perfect place for a pool.

The beautiful palmetto palm that would stand at one end of the pool.

     So we spoke to our great management team, Heather and Clay, who also happen to be in construction, to set the wheels in motion. The schedule was for the construction to begin over the summer which is typically a slow time for rentals. Also, we were told that it would take about 3 weeks. Of course, I should have realized that was island time and I would have to convert to real time, which turned out to be more like 3 months. Since we live in a resort governed by a homeowners association, we had to submit a design and proposal. Our contractor/manager did that for us and once we got approval, we were good to go. Of course again, being on an island, everything has to be shipped in so there was a delay waiting for the pool parts to come from the US.
     Lucky for us, when we were there in July getting the villa put together, see renovation part 1, 2, and 3,  the contractor staked out the pool and deck for us. It gave us an opportunity to better visualize the pool and decking and made us realize we needed a bigger pool deck. So it was re staked to our satisfaction. Also, while there in July, we were able to pick out the stone for the walkway and pool decking, and order the chaise lounges and small tables for the pool deck.

The pool outline in string

The walkway from the house to the pool in string

     We had some friends from home staying in our villa during the initial stages of construction so I warned them about the noise, especially since the workers liked to start early, 6am early. I didn't need to worry because again, no big machinery was on site, as we are on an island and what big equipment there is, is very expensive. The daily reports and cell phone pictures from Dawn and Steve showed most of the work being done by hand.

The hole for the pool, dug mostly by hand

Curve to accommodate a beautiful royal palm

Pool walls going up

View to the back of the house

Stairs down to the walkway to outdoor shower and villa

     Well, the pool is finally done and it looks beautiful. It is so private, surrounded by the nature preserve. The almond tree and palmetto palm offer pockets of shade at each end of the pool during the hot afternoons. We can't wait to go back and enjoy our secluded oasis.

New walkway to backyard and pool

The majestic royal palm at one end of the pool

If you would like to rent this tropical oasis, contact us at tgvpbp@yahoo.com