You might wonder why i have given this Hotel a "very good" rating after you read my story. We chose this spot because it had been built in 2011 and the alternative properties looked tired. It was very nice: tile, granite, tasteful decorations, flat screen T.V. The top level with a fresh water pool, bar and nice lounge chairs is a favourite gathering spot to view the sunset.

When we arrived there were no hangers, soap dish, drinking glasses, blow dryer or iron in the room. They were quickly provided. We were experiencing difficulty with the hot water (it was luke warm or cold). At first we thought it was just a matter of extreme use at peak times, but then called in the maintenance crew. They came twice and claimed that they had fixed it. On the third visit, we found out what was wrong. There is a thermostat under the bathroom sink. When the thermostat was set properly for hot water, the circuit breaker would flip and cut off the heat. The maintenance man merely turned the thermostat down to prevent it from flipping the breaker. This resulted in luke warm then cold water. Thanks buddy. He eventually admitted that the whole unit had to be replaced but could not be done before we were to leave. We had 4 days of nothing but cold water.

This hotel is an add-on to the Paradise Resort and Hotel. Essentially, you utilize all the restaurants and facilities of the lesser property. The food was, at times inedible. I never thought i would lose weight on the trip. Still, the weather was perfect, the beach beautiful and the ocean pristine. Plus our diving with West Bay Divers was great which is why we went to Roatan.

Let's clarify something first: if you like large resort, with lots of animation and activities, big pools and endless buffet, this place is not for you. For the others, if you like an intimate place (32 rooms in the Oceanic hotel mixed with 45 room at the Paradise Beach), with charming staff, good food and drinks in a lush site, then you will be satisfied! The rooms are large, clean with large balcony and a comfortable bed. If you want a view though, you need to be on the last floor (4th) because of the building in front. The terrace on the roof is gorgeous, with a little pool, and a terrific view, especially for sunset. It's habitually quiet, and Hector, the bartender is so sweet. The only thing to complain about the hotel is the hot water on the 4th floor. I thing the all inclusive concept is new to Roatan and this hotel so the working hard on getting it better every day. The food: no, there is not a 100 choices but what you have is very good. You have seafood mostly everyday. They have a special seafood night with a huge paella in the lounge once a week (don't worry there is meat also if like me you don't like seafood) and a beach BBQ on Sunday that is very appreciated. One thing that is missing at breakfast is toasts! You have one a la carte lunch per week included: pizzeria, seafood and steakhouse restaurant (the pizza is awesome!). If you have the lobster at the seafood restaurant, it's an extra 5$. You have a list of drinks included and two glass of wine for dinner (they are generous though about the two glasses of wine. The wine is ok and they ran out of red one often so bring your own!). You have breakfast from 7 am to 9 am, lunch from 12h to 2h pm and dinner from 7h to 9h pm. They bring snacks at the beach bar at 11h am and 4 pm that are very good (house made French fries, pizza, tortillas, etc..). The staff is amazing there. Always smilling, work hard, very effective and charming.
The beach is nice with crystal turquoise water. When cruise ships are on the island you can feel the difference on the beach. This destination is truly a paradise for snorkelling and diving and accessible directly from the beach. The visibility, the variety of fish, the beauty of the coral is really something not to be missed. We got our first dive with Nick (that is from Quebec so we could speak French!!) from the West bay dive shop at the hotel and we really enjoy the experience. We did the island tour that is nice but if you are 4 people, just hire a taxi driver and you will be able to do the tour for less at your own pace. We also visited the Gumbalimba park that is nice especially the monkeys! And finally we went to Cayos Cochinos. To be honest, this is not worth it especially from Roatan because the ride is to long (2 hours to get there by boat - if you are on the continent (La Ceiba or Tela) is will take only 30 minutes). I have done a lot of catamaran ride but this one was the worst one. Huge waves of 10-12 feet at least, strong wind, wet all the time. Everyone was feeling bad on the boat and it was dangerous just to move. The sea is always rough out there so unless to be sure to have a calm sea (that probably happens a few days during the year only), don't go.
At the hotel, is very quiet but if you want to party a little bit, you can go on Friday and Saturday at West end (approx.10 minutes by taxi).

I spent two weeks in this hotel and I have no complaints. Big comfortable bed, mini fridge, hot water, tv and quiet A/C. Only thing is that if your after a more in the nature kind of room this isn't for you. But if your like me and only need a place to crash for the night I recommend this hotel. Staff is very nice manager is always there and willing to help. There's a bar and a pool on the roof, nice hiding spot to get some rays when the beaches get a bit crowded.
The food is average at best, but the A la carte restaurant is very good.

We stayed at Paradise Oceanic from Dec. 8-15. And although we booked a room for Paradise Beach though Sunwing, we were upgraded to Oceanic upon our arrival due to renovations. What a pleasant surprise!

Rooms
The rooms at Oceanic were clean and much nicer than most places I'd seen on West Bay in the same price range. The balcony was nice, though not ocean view. But that's not really a big deal unless you enjoy spending your whole vacation on your balcony getting eaten by mosquitos. So for me, the lack of a view is nothing to complain about, especially since this resort sits right on the beach and has a rooftop pool with a breathtaking view. Most of the time we had the whole area to ourselves. Also, the rooms have flat screen TVs with American channels, cold AC, and our room had hot water. The only negatives were that there were no washcloths nor was there a place to sit our soap and shampoo in the shower. Still, not that big of a deal considering that most places on West Bay have only a small fraction of the amenities that Paradise offers.

Food
The food was delicious, typical Honduran food. Several guests could be heard complaining about the buffet, but we had no complaints with the all-inclusive plan. We came to Honduras expecting to eat Honduran food and we were satisfied with every meal. My husband does not eat pork and they grilled a chicken breast for him on our first night at no extra cost. Other than this, each day there was something different on the buffet. There was always some variation of potatoes and eggs for breakfast with various other sides. There was also a good selection at other meal times as well. We never went hungry and only at out twice when touring the island. There were some mentions about bugs swarming around the food. Generally, I avoided any food that was uncovered. And it never upset me to the point of complaining to the staff or manager. However, I saw no problems with the covered dishes. There were plenty. I believed them to be an acceptable temperature and never got sick once. The all-inclusive cocktail selection was more than enough for a hotel/resort this size. Although we bought a bottle of our own premium liquor at Eldons for $17 (yes that cheap) before arriving in West Bay. We then had the bartender mix all of our drinks with the good stuff. The beer was good and cold too!

I don't really have anything negative to say about this place nor the staff. We booked a stay at a 3.5 star resort and got more than we'd expected. I don't think it would be fair to compare this resort to resorts in other locales, so I won't. I found Roatan to be an underdeveloped island with high poverty and few Americans. It's not as touristy as othe typical Caribbean island and the beach wasn't that crowded, even on cruise ship days. That's one of the things that make this place special.

That being said, I'm glad we stayed here. I would stay again. I honestly don't know what would have made many of the guests who were complaining happy. Apparently, Paradise isn't for everyone. We, on the other hand, could not have been more content. We typically do lots of research on trip advisor so we know what to expect before we go places. Whoever is reading this, I suggest you do the same. In our opinion, this resort excels. There's no better value in West Bay. Many places had AC but no tv, or a tv but no AC. Sime had meal plans and some didnt. We simply couldn't beat it.

Now, was Sunwing misleading? Perhaps. The shuttle did not pick us up because, coming from the United States, we flew in on a Saturday and didn't book our flights through Sunwing, only our room. But that is not the hotel's fault. So, I'm not going to downgrade this wonderful resort on account of Sunwing. Those complaints are best suited for Sunwing and not Paradise.

My advice is to do as much research on the Internet as possible so you are in store for no matter where you stay. And, if at all possible, humble yourself and enjoy Roatan for what it is!