Bananarama is a completely laid back "resort." This is a great place to hang out and have a great time. The staff are all quite helpful. The reception team, Silvi,Denise and Sarah will be pleased to show you around. Victoria in the office is quick to respond to your requests. Adolfo one of the waiters at the Thirsty Turtle is always a ray of sunshine with his smiling face no matter how busy it gets. The food at the Vintage Pearl was exceptional and the offerings at the Thirsty Turtle quite generous. My only two issues would be that there should be no fee for beach towels and I do not particularly like the system of suggested gratuity. Pricing on the meals are already at North American prices and I feel that tipping should be left to the discretion of the guest. Given that we were told that a monthly typical salary is $350 per month I find an expectation of a 18% a bit much. We ate at a variety of restaurants outside the hotel and the prices were significantly less.

This was the first time we had ever been to Roatan. We chose it on advice from good friends, but chose Bananarama from reading reviews on tripadvisor. So glad we stayed at this resort! We love the true "Island" feel of this resort and prefer the smaller, caribbean-type accomodations to the larger "hotel-type". Our private garden cabana was perfect for the two of us as we were celebrating our first anniversary. It felt as if we were tucked away in a lush caribbean jungle. As stated in previous reviews, this is not a luxurious 5-star resort but that is not what we want when we travel to a caribbean island. This is a very clean, caribbean- style,fun, laid back, island beach resort. It was perfect for us. But what really adds to the total experience of this awesome place is the entire staff at Bananarama. From the moment we arrived, the ladies at the reception office greeted us on a first-name basis and remembered our names for the rest of the week! We would like to thank Danery, Sarah, Denise, and Victoria for taking such good care of us and treating us like family! The staff at the Thirsty Turtle also gets a big thumbs up. Caroline served breakfast with a smile each morning and Alex and Jessica were happy to serve us throughout the rest of the day. We enjoyed conversation with Alex every day and were always happy to see him! We want to give a big shout out to Zebbie at the bar who made wonderful drinks with a strong pour and kept us happy!! Even the maid service was the best we had seen. We had a new towel art on our bed each day and appreciated the attention to detail. The beds were comfortable after our request for extra pillows was met immediately. We have no complaints whatsoever about the resort itself. On Sunday evenings this place is the most popular on West Bay Beach with the crab races, live music, and fire dancers. I cannot imagine that any other resort on this beach could be as much fun as Bananarama! Thanks to everyone from Dean and Jan!! Hope to see you all again!

We stayed for one week on the Island Pearl side of the resort, with the expectation (and as led to believe by their website) these were the higher end units on the property. Well, here's our take:

The Pro Side: Location location location. You can't fault it. The beachfront units also have great patios. The master bedroom is a good size and there is lots of storage in there.The staff are very good, right from the women who clean the rooms to the fellows who haul out your beach chairs. Always cheerful and friendly. The pizza place behind the bar is really handy, good to take back to the room and eat on the patio. The dive shop- they were great as well. The owners are on site and visible, but not always effective.

The negative side: The room itself was in dire need of serious maintenance. We went without a hot shower for 4 days until the owners finally changed out the hot water heating system to the unit. To their credit, they did try to fix it repeatedly, and then finally gave in and changed it out. Although they apologized, there was no offer of compensation, they didn't even buy us a drink to say "sorry". Also- the kitchen in the units is about the most awkward design I've ever seen. There is virtually NO countertop. We rented the unit specifically so we would have a full kitchen. The fridge was completely rusty and the lower shelves were full of water so nothing could be put there. This was mentioned to one of the owners on the first day we were there and never repaired. There is not even a plug for the kitchen sink- we asked for one and although the maintenance man came by and looked, he never did come back. A little difficult to do dishes- and I am still unsure how the chambermaids did the dishes which may have been left behind undone by other guests? The timing of breakfast service is unfortunate. Those who sign on for the first dive of the day are supposed to be able to get breakfast from 7:45 am which still makes it a tight squeeze to try and eat, get organized and on the boat in time for the 8:30 departure. Why not move it to 7:30, and ensure the staff has it ready to go? The dive shop cautioned us it was not always ready to go at 7:45 and not to count on it. We just made our own on those days. Another comment is there is a screen of trees between the units and the beach, which does provide shade but also impedes the view from the beachfront units. If you want to watch the sunset, you can't do it from your porch, you need to go down to the beach. Also- the second day we were there, we came back from diving to find one of the mattresses off one of the beds in the second bedroom had been removed. We walked in to the unit to find sandy footprints all through the ground floor (we thought the unit had been broken into!) and the bed gone! When we questioned this at the front desk, we were told "Oh, they must have needed it". It then reappeared the next day. Now- we were not using that bedroom, but we were certainly paying for it, and the whole episode was just strange. The upstairs porch screens were torn and the area itself seems like a waste of space. The louvered windows (the louvers won't open) block the view so the area is just a dark unfortunate space. Perhaps if the weather was bad and the outside porch couldn't be used you might use it, as there is no inside sitting area on the main floor of the unit apart from the dining table. We just kept the door to it closed to keep the bugs out. When we arrived there were stacks of beach chairs in front of the porch, very high, so when you were sitting on the porch you could not see the beach! We asked the attendant not to stack them so high and he happily complied, but this is something the management should notice. The trees in front of the hotel are the "roost" for a huge flock of grackle type birds, which arrive around sunset and overnight in the trees along the beachfront. Their droppings and noise (incredible- you can barely have a conversation on the porch when they are there) are a serious problem. They quiet down after dark (unless disturbed, which causes a whole flurry of squawking) and then start up again around 4:30 am. This is why we are rating the sleep quality as "poor". Nature is one thing, but this crosses the line to nuisance. The staff were very frustrated trying to keep up with cleaning all the droppings on sun chairs and on the dining area of the restaurant. Not pretty. There are things the owners could be doing to discourage the birds. My husband also got really tired of being hit up every time he walked past by the tour operators who hang out between the bar and the Island Pearl side of the complex.

In summary: We had high expectations, some of which may have been our mistake. But- if you look at the website and the Island Pearl section, you will probably agree they have branded these units as something special. They certainly didn't meet our expectations, and we are not unreasonable. We have travelled through Central America and Mexico and stayed in various types of accommodation, and we aren't looking for super luxury. However; If we had known about the things I've listed here, we probably would have made a different decision about where to stay. I certainly don't want someone else to go into this resort expecting a high end room, other reviewers have used the term "rustic", and that pretty much sums it up. I heard the comment from some other guests the resort is for sale, and if that is true may be why the lack of maintenance.
We would return to Roatan, but stay somewhere else- there are lots to choose from.

My husband and I stayed for a week at the beginning of March and I have to say, it really is a cute little resort. The rooms are a bit run down however, ours was ultra clean and the air conditioning was awesome (my husband is an a/c fanatic lol). We sat on our porch most nights and enjoyed a drink and the breeze either in our chairs or the hammock. Being steps away from the dive shop was ultra convenient as well, although our experience at the shop wasn't great. Victor at the Thirsty Turtle was an awesome waiter and always took care of us! We never had a problem with the hotel/restaurant staff, they were always super friendly. Watch out for the birds at the thirsty turtle, we got pooped on numerous times! On cruise ship days, it's a bit of a bummer that things get so busy/loud but its only for a few hours. Although I wouldn't dive with the dive shop again, I would stay at the resort.