Barefoot Cay

We love Barefoot Cay. We stayed here for a week in June and August. This place exudes a level of kind friendliness that is extremely unique. It was our 4th visit to this quiet paradise. For diving, this place is amazing. The dive crew are phenomenal and concierge diving is super convenient. Accommodations are excellent and the Grand villa is our favorite. Unfortunately, there's only one and it isn't always available. In June, we stayed 3 nights in the GV and 3 nights in a Deluxe Beach View Villa. It has a fairly good size plunge pool and a deck. It is studio style and significantly smaller than the GV. In August we stayed 3 nights in an oceanfront 1 bedroom villa and 3 nights in the GV villa. The 1 bedroom villa is spacious with a full kitchen but also much smaller than the GV and no plunge pool. Also our kitchen sink came apart and not usable on our last night and day. No compensation offered, nor did we ask. The restaurant was the only aspect that felt different on our last 2 trips. It felt separate from the resort. I appreciate the fine dining concept but this is a dive resort with a captive audience (no other dining options nearby) and this concept makes it feel less personal and more structured. The food was exceptional and we wanted to express how much we loved the food but we never had the opportunity to meet the chef. On previous stays, we interacted with the chefs and restaurant staff like they were old friends. Both chefs/owners, Brittany and Millie, made the dining experience very personal, casual and social. The cost of food is more expensive for Roatan but not exceedingly expensive. The tipping culture is also much higher for Roatan giving you the option for 15, 20 or 25% tip. The wine list was also quite expensive with the cheapest bottle for about $50. Some villas have a full kitchen so you have the option to cook your own meals.

This is a small boutique resort with extremely friendly staff that get to know you and are happy to do anything possible to make your stay wonderful. Just as their description says they are a small boutique hotel so there are a ton of other guests there and you will likely get to know some of the others while you're there. We made some great new friends. Because it's small and because you are on your own your tiny little island, it's very quiet and peaceful, a great chance to just get away and relax. The massage service and the dive shop were both also really fantastic.

Barefoot Cay was delightful! I'm already thinking about when I can go back. The property is compact, but lovely. Our Grand Villa was right next to the water and our huge screened in porch, with dining table to one side and couch and chairs on the other, was the perfect place to watch the sun rise over the water each morning. I don't think I've ever stayed someplace that was closer to walk out to the water. The Grand Villa also had large airy bedroom, large living room (where my son slept on the big couch), two bathrooms, and a full kitchen. The main bath also had a ledge on the wall opposite the sink which was perfect for keeping all my toiletries. I also appreciated the abundance of outlets, which were handy for charging the multitude of tech a diving vacation can involve. There are so many thoughtful details throughout, including a bench and shower right before the entrance in case you need to wash off sand. We also enjoyed the plunge pool as a nice place to relax in the afternoon between editing dive photos and dinner. The restaurant had absolutely delicious food, and when I go back I will likely opt for the meal plan because I never wanted to eat anywhere else. We did make one dinner in our room, and eat breakfast and lunch off property the last full day when we did a bird tour of the island (at La Sirena de Camp Bay--where I had a phenomenal whole fried snapper). The restaurant prices were not cheap, but also not outlandish. We probably spent around $50-80 for the two of us for lunch dinner. (My son fell in love with the pork tostones and we had to have them almost every day!) Shout out to the warm staff, the excellent chef, and the creative bar tender. The snorkeling from the ocean pavilion is fabulous. Due to the wind, I only went on the last day, but I never wanted to leave. In an hour, I saw a spotted eagle ray, 3 sting rays, an eel, 2 huge puffer fish, 3 lobsters, and countless other fish. Snorkeling over the sea grass was like flying over a prairie filled with life, and the coral and reef sections were also gorgeous. All the underwater pictures attached to this review are from snorkeling there. All that is fantastic, but what seals this as a must return for us is the diving. A week of dives where all you do is show up on the boat (with camera and bathing suit) is heavenly. I loved not having to do dive "laundry" or haul gear or worry about anything other than buckling into my BCD and popping in my reg. The rental gear was top notch. I want this diving experience everywhere! The dives were also beautiful, certainly worth coming back to, and the night dive was extraordinary. A true top 5 dive experience for me. I generally love night dives (blackwater creatures, mantas, lobsters, ... ), but this one really stood out. We saw so many octopuses hanging out, camouflaging in white, blue, and purple, more lobsters than I could count, and the very coolest thing: the string of pearls bioluminescence. Watching these balls of light string together in the blackness and then fade away was nothing short of magical. A few tips: Barefoot Cay is aptly named; except for our birding excursion (with the excellent Birdwatching Roatan), I was in flip flops or fins the whole week. The restaurant is really casual, and I never wound up wearing any of the dresses I packed. It's also a pretty small place, so if you want to run, that can be a tough thing to fit in, but I borrowed a yoga mat and enjoyed doing yoga each morning on my porch next to the water. The in-room coffee is good. (I would make two pots each day and refrigerate the second one so I could have iced coffee with milk first thing.) In sum, if you are looking for somewhere to maximize diving, be treated like a favored family member, eat really tasty food, be close to the water always, not be crowded or have to dress to impress, this is the place. If you want a large resort with a gym (although there is a Gold's adjacent, here), lots of activities (tennis, paddle boarding, golf, etc.), multiple restaurants and pools, or a large sandy beach, this is not what you are looking for. For my son and me, it was perfect.

One of the most gorgeous places I've ever stayed. We were in a Beachfront cabin, steps from the water, incredible view. I was worried about mosquitos but they weren't bad. Restaurant was just ok, not super. Staff were super helpful and friendly. Location is kinda remote, you'll want to rent a car, but driving was pretty easy there. Rooms comfy, AC in sleeping quarters, good breeze made kitchen/living area tolerable. Overall very happy with my stay would definitely recommend.

We are longtime advanced divers and reserved this trip through PADI. I will echo the other reviews about how lovely the property is, how warm the staff are, how stunning the diving is, how good the food in the restaurant is (though not exactly cheap). This place was perfect for a week of diving. We rented the two bedroom house, which was just charming, with two bedrooms with two queen beds and a nice bathroom in each, and a central living room with full kitchen, and beachfront patio table with a view and lounge chairs on the beach. Great coffee and a full drip coffee maker for the morning. Staff will arrange a driver to take you to the market for supplies for the kitchen. Decorating is simple and light filled. Everything was very clean, with daily maid service. Our casita was the farthest from the restaurant, but still plenty close, with a private beach on the other (far) side. All of the 10 casitas are well situated, so don’t worry too much about which one you get. We generally did two dives a day, up to 4 as weather allowed, including an incredible night dive. When the wind picked up, they just took us over to the other side of the island by van and we dove from there. Two of us rented decent equipment. Divemasters were friendly and knowledgeable, and put up with “that guy” well (you know the one: boastful mansplainer, ignores divemaster and basic safe diving limits, chases the wildlife, shoves his camera at every find, and otherwise interferes with other people’s dive enjoyment— don't be that guy). This is the quiet side of the island, so not a lot to do if you don’t dive. Staying in the hotel rooms above the dive shop on the main island would be a fine budget option, but you’d miss out on the ocean view and the charm of being on the island. I’m allergic to bug bites, so they are obvious in me, and got 12 during the whole week. My companions either didn’t get any or didn’t notice them, even being lax with bug spray. I would 100% come back to Barefoot Cay.