Want to do pub crawl along the beach!

[scotlady]

Hi,

 

We would like to be able to do a sort of beach pub crawl between bars, maybe 4 -5 bars. Thinking of picking a spot to rent beach chairs, then doing some walking/drinking from there.

 

Would West Bay beach be good for this (maybe starting at Bananarama?)

 

Or would West End Village/Half Moon be better? We would like the bars we visit to be actually on the beach.

 

Also, comparing West Bay to West End - what I am gathering is they both have nice beaches, but that the beach at West Bay is more of the white powdery sand? Is that correct?

 

Also, any recommendation for bars/resorts that would have nice padded beach loungers and good umbrellas? We have found occasionally that we will rent chairs/umbrellas from a place, and find out that the chairs are worn out and/or the umbrellas small or broken, so just looking for recommendations of places that are good, or ones to avoid.

 

We have a group of 14, so I am thinking of trying to contact a place in advance to reserve chairs/umbrellas. I know sometimes bars or resorts will do that if you have a large group.

 

Lastly, has anyone ever put together a comprehensive list of which resorts/bars/restaurants rent chairs & umbrellas or do all-inclusives for the day?

[texancruzer]

Let me start by saying you might want to google "images of West End village Roatan" and "West Bay beach Roatan"……… that will give you a good idea of what each one looks like. I will say that occasionally a picture of West Bay Beach ends up being labeled West End Village and vica versa…..

 

But West End Village is just that - more of a village with a harbor area where there is some sand. There is an area called Half Moon Bay there with a beach but it is not what I would consider a nice beach but more of a bay with a beach.

 

West Bay Beach is about 3/4 a mile long, white sand, blue water and bars/restaurants all along there. Not real sure I would really consider it an ideal place for a "pub crawl" but you could start at one end and work your way down so I guess it would work.

 

Most of the loungers I have seen are not padded…… and some places have umbrellas and palapas (thatched round roof structures)

 

There are some places that do "package" deals and some that don't - Infinity Bay is the nicest along the whole beach but since it is an owner owned condo complex they don't always sell day passes. If they are full with owners or renters they won't a their first loyalty is to those people.

[scotlady]

Thanks very much, Texas Cruzer.

 

Nice concise answer :p

 

So sounds like West Bay is what we want to do. I will keep looking at particular places. I need to find one that will rent us chairs/umbrellas for 14 people in advance.

[crewsweeper]

I'll echo Texancruzers remarks. That said, assuming you can land a lounger at certain places, here's one line up for you. It may be dated though. Start at Paradise Club Beach, just south and next door to Bananarama, then go to Bananarama's Thirsty Turtle; followed by Beachers, just past Infinity Bay and Foster's West End Resort and Los Rocas.

 

In West End, starting from the south at Luna Beach Road, it's Ronny's Barefoot Bar, the Cigar Bar, Foster West End, maybe Sueno Villa, Lighthouse, Half Moon Bay, and end up at Sundowners on the northern end of West End. Outside of Foster's and maybe Half Moon Bay, most of the places along the shore are condo complexes.

 

Remember, though, that taxi's don't patrol these places and you'll need to arrange your transportation and watch the time.

[overthehillcruiser]

I will third West Bay for what you are looking for. This place in the photo is near Foster's called Argentine Grill. There is one at West End also, hard to google for some reason but a good place maybe for your group with good food and $10 PP for beach chairs with shade, right by the beautiful beach.

 

upload an image

 

 

pic host

[scotlady]

Crewsweeper -

 

Thanks for the recommendations!

 

Yes, we will be arranging transpo ahead of time since we are a large group.

 

And we always have at least one sober person in the group to watch the time :D

 

Overthehill -

 

I have actually already emailed Argentinian Grill based on seeing your recommendation on an earlier post. I hope they reply. I am a little worried about finding a place that will take us in advance, and I don't want to leave it to chance on finding 14 chairs together!

 

Other than Mayan Princess and Bananarama, I haven't really seen any place that advertises a prebooked tour/spot on the beach. I was trying to avoid those two because I know they are the most crowded, but we'll see. If they are the only places we can book in advance we will do that.

[Guest 2000]

I don't spend enough time in West End to know what is open and what is not during the day.

 

I think if the goal here is to play in the water along the beach while drinking you are better off in West Bay.

 

I don't ever remember seeing cushions on loungers... I would bet dollars to donuts Tabyana would rent you chairs for 14 in advance.

 

The places I know that rent chairs are: From the Wall end.

Tabyana

Infinity but as said above they are limited.

Bananarama

San Simon Beach Club ~ can't find a web site

Mayan Princess

Beacher's ~ no web site

Argentinian Grill

Coconut Tree

Foster's

Past Foster's on iron shore are Bite in the Beach and Las Rocas

 

While there may be several places with umbrellas, the only two I remember are Beacher's and Argentinian Grill. There is plenty of shade at Tabyana.

 

The Bar list is much the same minus Coconut Tree, and added are Paradise Beach Club and Grand Roatan.

 

This map is not current but will give you an idea.

Wow that URL is behaving oddly. Remove the spaces.

 

http://www.roatan west bay.com/

Edited April 29, 2014 by Guest 2000

[scotlady]

Thanks, Guest.

 

That is all good info. Looks like bars will not be a problem. Now all we need is a place to park ourselves when we're not crawling :p

[scotlady]

Okay, after looking around, I am having a great deal of trouble finding any place on West Bay that will guarantee us umbrellas as well as loungers. Infinity Bay said it might be able to guarantee us 2-3 umbrellas.

 

This is a lot different than I am used to - most beaches, if they have loungers available they also have umbrellas. Why so few umbrellas on West Bay? Is there so much shade from the trees that they aren't needed?

 

Also - OvertheHill - we are still considering Turquoise Bay instead. Did you end up going there?

[Guest 2000]

Why would you go to Turquoise Bay if you want pubs?

 

I suggest you look into Tabyana, from what I can see they have plenty of shade and you are still on West Bay.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Guest 2000

[scotlady]

Guest - we are considering Turquoise Bay as an alternative if we can't find a place we like on West Bay Beach. And I had seen in another thread that Overthe hill had planned to go there on a recent cruise.

 

I wasn't considering Tabyana because I have heard it's the busiest place on the beach.

 

So - is there a lot of shade at most of the resorts? Are umbrellas not really necessary? I've been told by the group to look for someplace that will rent us umbrellas, but there doesn't seem to be anyplace like that on WB beach.

[texancruzer]

Guest - we are considering Turquoise Bay as an alternative if we can't find a place we like on West Bay Beach. And I had seen in another thread that Overthe hill had planned to go there on a recent cruise.

 

I wasn't considering Tabyana because I have heard it's the busiest place on the beach.

 

So - is there a lot of shade at most of the resorts? Are umbrellas not really necessary? I've been told by the group to look for someplace that will rent us umbrellas, but there doesn't seem to be anyplace like that on WB beach.

 

There are tons of places that will rent you umbrellas - they just won't GUARANTEE them. It's pretty much first come - first served. If they "reserved" umbrellas and then held them and people didn't show up they would have a lot of unused umbrellas.

 

Please try to remember that Roatan is still a third world country….. very backwards in many ways. But to many that is part of its charm.

 

As a side note: there are lots of palm trees so yes there is a lot of shade. But that is also first come-first served ;)

[Guest 2000]

I don't find Tabyana any more busy than Infinity, Bananarama, Mayan or for that matter the beach extending from Henry Morgan down. Depending on when you go West Bay, the whole of the beach will be a mad house.

 

Thing is...nothing in life is a guarantee. Not shade nor good weather. One can only do the best they can.

 

 

Tell me one more time what are your priorities? Shade seems to be the only thing on the list at present. Anything else? Maybe we can find you another spot your group would enjoy.. I was busy thinking about your drinking game but of you are willing to go to Turquoise...that may be the thing now.

 

by the by ~ Over the hills pic with all those loungers in the shade with umbrellas is the Argentinian Grill in West Bay and it is at less busy end of the beach.

Edited May 8, 2014 by Guest 2000

[scotlady]

Thanks, guest. Sorry - I know I'm not being very clear. Mostly because we haven't settled on anything yet. Please realize that I am asking the questions on behalf of a group of people, and they have different priorities. So - sorry for the confusion. Basically, some shade is a must. We have 3 70 plus year olds in the group and having them in the sun for 4-6 hours isn't a great idea. And we would like to keep our group together if possible - that's what is turning out to be hard - finding chairs and shade for 14 people!

 

Beyond that, we would like to visit West Bay, but if we really need shade, I'm guessing we'll be closer to "guaranteeing" it if we go to someplace like Turquoise Bay. Or else we make sure we get up early :). I also have tried contacting Argentinian Grill, but no response.

 

Texan - of course, I do know it's a poor country. More to the point, I know every country does things differently. That doesn't mean backwards. Just different business models. But the logic doesn't hold up - if they are willing to reserve chairs ( which several resorts have already agreed to do), there's no reason they shouldn't reserve umbrellas. It just seems they don't have as many umbrellas available as they do chairs. So thanks for confirming for me what I was thinking - that there is enough shade on the beach that people just put their chairs in the shade instead of renting umbrellas.

[crewsweeper]

Just remember, if you go to Turquoise Bay, you won't be doing a pub crawl. Unless you crawl away from the bar to the ocean and back.:D

 

I think Argentinian Grill is only open for dinner. As are many of the restaurants in West End and West Bay.

 

I still think your best bet is to just head to West Bay and start walking and talking. See Guest 2000's and my previous posts on possible stops. Maybe wind up at Beachers or Bite on the Beach. Or start at Henry Morgan's and see if they'll accommodate your group.

[texancruzer]

I think its safe to say that all 14 won't be in the exact same location all the time…….. and if you check out some pictures of say, Bananarama you will see that the covered restaurant area is literally right on the beach, next to the loungers etc…… so even if you can't get enough for everyone, the elders could sit up at the restaurant (might like it better there anyway - out of the sand) and still be within 10 feet of everyone else…….

 

Infinity Bay also has a wonderful restaurant (the food is very good) right on the beach (its behind a small white picket fence) and is open to the public. All the tables are either under a large thatched rectangle palapa or umbrellas and many are also shaded by the coconut palms. Right nearby is the palapa where you can book tours and rent loungers/shade. Again, the elders can sit in very close proximity to those who want to lounge either in the sun or in some shade (palapas or umbrellas or coconut palm trees)…….

 

As a side note: we ate LUNCH at Argentinian Grill on our last weeklong visit.

[Guest 2000]

I would not agree there is plenty of shade for loungers everywhere.

 

Bananarama does have an interesting design with the eating area is close to the beach. This is there live web cam of restaurant. The beach view is here.

 

 

If beach, plenty of pubs, and shade are the things you need. I still believe your best bet is Tabyana, if anyone wants to play in the water or snorkel those sitting in the beach can see them. If there are children who want to play on the water toys, they are not far off. For those who wish to walk the beach and drink.. feel free. And there seems to be plenty of shade to go around.

 

Now then if quiet is more important that anything else. Perhaps one of the isolated resorts would be a better fit. Fantasy Island, Parrot Tree, Paya Bay, and as you know Turquoise Bay all have day passes. As do Maya Key, Little French Cay and that Las Palmas.

 

If you do not need beach yet wish to have shade...Half Moon Bay Resort in West End has a vary large eating area over the water. This would give you shade and pubs.. no beach.

 

If you can figure out all the things on your groups wish list we could rule out some spots all together. For example, if one wishes to snorkel the reef at Turquoise Bay they need hire a boat.. but West Bay the reef come almost to the sand. If snorkeling is a priority, I would not suggest Turquoise Bay.

 

I understand choices by group are a rough go.. truly I get it. The only way we can help is if ya tell us what ya want. :)

 

Indeed, both Argentinian and Beacher's set up there chairs in the morning.

Edited May 8, 2014 by Guest 2000

[scotlady]

Okay, thanks, TRULY, to everyone for their responses!

 

Between my research with the resorts and the info you all have given me on the layout and shade situations at the resorts, I think we have enough info to make an informed decision.

 

At this point, I'm leaning towards Infinity Bay. I already have an email from them saying that they will reserve 14 loungers and 2-3 umbrellas for us, and it looks like a really nice place. And since it looks like we could move some of the loungers under the trees if we get there fairly early, I think we'll be set.

 

But - I have to run the choices by the 50th birthday girl (the reason for the trip :) and see what she thinks.

 

Thanks again - I'll let you know what we decide and I'll do a review of wherever we end up after we get back.

[texancruzer]

Infinity Bay is truly a nice place. If they still have them on the menu - try the lobster nachos !

 

We have stayed there twice - both times for a week. Didn't want to come home !!!!

 

Hey neighbor - Just noticed you are up the road in San Antonio……we are in Corpus on the island.