I'm writing this a few weeks later so I hope this review will do Roatan justice! Time gets away from me here with work and we were busy celebrating Trey's 3rd birthday this past weekend!
Isla Roatan, Honduras was a "walk off" port and we docked at Carnival's brand new port,
Mahogany Bay. When we woke up in the morning we were eager to get off as soon as possible because we had booked a day at
Sante Wellness Center and Spa. Our first view that morning when looking out the balcony was that of a rusted ship wreck right outside. Isla Roatan looked very peaceful and green (it was also 6 am their time, 7 am ours, so not much was going on).
Here is the ski lift going to the beach.
Just to preface, you are going to hear the words beautiful, amazing, incredible, and all variations often throughout this post as there is no other way to describe Isla Roatan, Sante, and the day we had there!
Mahogany Bay is so new it looked like a Disney pavilion. There were some bars and restaurants, and of course shopping. They even have a ski lift that transports people to their private beach located right there at the port. The first place you walk through looks like an airport duty free store, all white and lit up with plenty of liquor and designer bags (real ones here) for sale.
We bypassed all this and went straight to the large orange building at the end of the port to the right that is the walkway, the "forbidden" exit to the outside world. LOL. Angela from Sante had sent me very detailed instructions on hailing a cab and what the specific rate should be. We tried in the Mahogany Bay port taxi area first, the driver there told us it would be 60 dollars round trip for two of us. When told we heard it should be 40, he said, "but I am reliable, I will wait for you!" My thought was that he wasn't very reliable if he was trying to charge us an extra 20 dollars so we decided to follow Angela's plan B and trek up a short hill to the left. At first Brad and I weren't sure if we made the right decision, but as we crested the hill we saw a huge line of taxi drivers and private tour operators waiting right on the other side. It was literally an extra 5 minutes and saved us 20 dollars. Here are photos of that walk.
Our cab driver's name was Kenny and he spoke very good English. Per Angela's instructions, I asked him if he could call the number she provided for me on his cell phone. He did with no problems and I told Angela we were on our way! The drive to Parrot Tree Plantation where the boat for Sante picks you up was about 20-30 minutes. Kenny laughed at my Spanglish as I told him the few phases I knew (including swear words) and was pretty impressed I could for the most part understand him. It was hard for me to keep track of time because the island is so BEAUTIFUL. Cliffs and green jungle and blue ocean around every turn. We saw some shopping areas and school children. Here is a video I took out the cab window on the way back.
When we got to Parrot Tree Plantation we were amazed at the homes and the view.
We passed through a small guard gate and onto the marina, where we saw Leon, Angela's husband, waiting for us. I was surprised to discover Angela and her husband are originally from California! Leon worked out with Kenny what time he would bring us back and Kenny assured us he would be there waiting. After the 5 minute boat ride we arrived at their incredible home. Leon gave us a quick tour of the property. They literally make you feel like their house is your house (mi casa es su casa!!), and there are kayaks and snorkel equipment available for use. The house has mahogany stairs, accents, and floors along with red spanish tile throughout. Everywhere you turn there are hammocks, chairs, and pillows just waiting for you to make yourself at home and relax. Leon introduced us to Malides who would be doing our spa treatments. We were sad to find out Angela had not been feeling well and had headed to the mainland to see a doctor only because we hope she is doing better soon. She was more than accommodating beforehand and when I spoke to her on the phone that morning she had apologized to me for her absence but she left us in more than capable hands! The only change to our schedule was that we had booked a couples massage and would now be getting them separately, however, they refunded us some money for the difference in the price of the treatments. Brad headed in for his massage and I chatted with Leon for awhile and enjoyed a fresh baked muffin and some honey iced tea before heading out to the cabana to relax and read a magazine. There was a hot tub right on the water and a plunge pool up by the house. There were some beautiful parrots in cages and they have 2 cute dogs that Leon told me are normally in their little area during the day but they were so sweet and didn't bother me at all, just basking in the sun.
View from the hot tub platform.
Video of grounds at Sante. I hate my voice in videos. I'm so VALLEY. LOL. This should remind me not to talk next time I'm filming something.
After Brad was done with his massage, it was my turn! The treatment room is awesome and when you enter there is a massage table and full bathroom in the ground floor area. This is where Brad had his massage and the bathroom has everything available for you to shower or just freshen up after your treatment. After I changed, Malides lead me upstairs to another treatment room in the loft area where I had my massage and facial. It was amazing and felt like way more than an hour. I was so relaxed that I fell asleep during my facial! She also gave me a paraffin wax treatment on my hands. When it was done, I wandered outside to see what Brad was up too. I found him under the cabana with another couple, Carl and Amy. Carl and Amy were also Legend passengers and had just come out to use the property for the day to relax. Brad ended up snorkeling the reef with them while I was getting my treatments and said it was the best he had seen so far in all of our travels!
I was bummed I missed out but glad Brad wasn't bored while I was in heaven in the treatment room. We talked with Carl and Amy for a bit and then Leon called us in for lunch. It was delicious....garlic rubbed grilled shrimp with yellow rice and a salad with ice cold Chardonnay (complimentary because Angela was not there-very nice) and warm gooey chocolate cake for dessert.
We oohed and ahhed over the food and could not believe it was already time to go. That was the only thing bad about the day...not enough time!! Carnival makes this a short stop so they can get back to Tampa on time after a full day at sea. This is the only port we stopped at that I definitely want to go back to for a longer vacation, and that would definitely include Sante! The best part about Sante is the spa treatments are wonderful but the atmosphere/place seriously adds that much more to the day...it is a total experience.
Heading back to the dock with Leon and one of the doggies.
Kenny was waiting for us at the dock and gave us a little background on Roatan on the drive back.
We reached Mahogany Bay with about an hour to spare, so we looked in the shops, bought a Christmas ornament for the travel tree and headed back to the boat.
This night was elegant night again, so after a short stint at the pool we got cleaned up and went down to the Unicorn lido deck to meet Carl and Amy for some cocktails before dinner. I had brought a bottle of olive juice on in our non-alcohol stash and we enjoyed some dirty martinis and good conversation before heading off to dinner. Brad had shrimp cocktail and I tried escargot for the first time. I wasn't sure I could do the snails (even though I have tried about everything else there is-and enjoyed most of it!) but I heard they were good so I gave them a shot. They were piping hot and most of the flavor is the butter and garlic so how can you go wrong there? Brad also had a Ceasar Salad, some kind of fish (grouper maybe?) (shocker) and I had some fresh fruit and Chautebriand. Our waiter also brought us some prawns to share. We finished dinner up with Baked Alaska and that damn melting cake again! One bite is all you need but you cannot not order it!! It is insanely good.
After dinner we saw the New Orleans show in the Follies lounge and then continued onto Medusa's lair for the Michael Jackson tribute hour. It was fun dancing and watching others cut a rug but after a few drinks we were done for the night. It was definitely the best day on the cruise, thanks to my wonderful husband, Sante, and Carl and Amy for that!
