Kimpton Grand Roatan Resort and Spa

The hotel was just what my friend and I were hoping for—super relaxed, not too crowded, and the staff were generally friendly and helpful. Absolutely loved our stay. It was a convenient stay with lots of hotels and restaurants along the beach in addition to the great restaurants at the hotel.

This resort is located on a small, but lovely beach. There is a very nice pool. The staff at the pool and beach are professional, friendly and very attentive. Towel service and chair cover service is provided. There are beach bar restaurants at each end of the beach connected to the resort. The reef in the ocean just off the resort beach is wonderful. You can borrow snorkel equipment and snorkel endlessly. We saw many types of fish and an eel. We also very much enjoyed the breakfast buffet. Many of the selections changed daily. The cappuccino was absolutely fantastic! We were very impressed with the cleanliness of this resort, with the staff at all of the restaurants and at the pool. The resort is extremely clean. It is nicely located on the West End and you can walk down the beach too many other bars/restaurants. The rooms are well appointed. We had a room on the fifth floor with a beautiful view of the ocean. The resort offers a wine/rum punch happy hour, which is a nice amenity.

TheGood The Spa The massage was very good, the facilities are very nice. My massage was very expensive (240, which is the same price I pay for the St. Regis in Miami and the Peninsula in Los Angeles) but the technician was excellent. Location I will also say it’s on a beautiful stretch of beach and a few of the staff tried their best to make our stay memorable. The Bad The Room We booked an ocean view villa suite. It’s the only bank of rooms on the property that are not new and they have a weird smell that is a cross between sewage and mold (it was not just ours). We asked for something to be done and they brought an air purifier which just purified the sewage/mold smell but didn’t fix it. The ocean villas are also very poorly designed with a big living room and small bedrooms and bathrooms. Except for one bedroom, the bedroom view is of the walkway. Breakfast I booked through Amex fine hotels and resorts. They are supposed to give you free breakfast for two. The Kimpton gives you 60 dollars credit for a 64 dollar buffet plus tax and tip. It’s cheap, you windup coming 20 dollars out of pocket for the free breakfast. Mind you if we booked a few individual rooms instead of getting a villa we would have gotten double the credit. Restaurants We ordered food by the pool and in the restaurant. My friend ordered wings and I ordered fries. Well the wings come with fries. They didn’t say anything. The same thing happened at dinner with their nicer restaurant Alera. We would have ordered another appetizer if we knew the steak came with the same salad we just ordered. That’s knit picking but they promote themselves as a 5 star hotel (more like a lower 4). The hotel also does not include turn down service or slippers. Bring your own! The difference between good and great is the smaller details. Service Both in the drop off bar and the main restaurant we dealt with staff talking to each other and us waiting for things. Our first day it took 40 minutes to get two drinks. The ugly There was a fire alarm in our villa (just ours) we called down to have it turned off. At that time no one mentioned someone was going to be coming in the room. 11pm someone knocks and comes in without being let in to remove the fire alarm (that was never replaced). No one was dressed. They mentioned it was protocol but just communicate that. Call or while we are on the phone mention someone is going to come in your room at 11pm to remove the smoke detector weather you let him in or not so we can at least be clothed while they barge in. Theft One of our crew indicated cash was missing from their backpack, they got more out and it was missing again the next day. We asked to file a police report and the security director said he would review cctv. To me when someone comes with that reaction it has happened before. The sad thing is it was around 300 dollars and a good portion of that wad going to tip the staff anyways for tips. It was also weird that we reported the incident Sunday early evening and by the next morning no one had reviewed the tape. You would think it would be a priority…..staff theft is not something I would take lightly if I were a hotel. Now they did comp a few round of drinks and 55 dollar airport transfer which is a gesture but in my opinion doesn’t equate to all the issues we faced during our stay. This was my birthday trip! I would have rather paid for drinks and the transfer and have everything go right. The funny thing is their automated system asked me for a review!!!!! Well if you ask…….

We loved this hotel. The staff was exceptional. Every single person was friendly and warm and couldn't do enough. We are not young and have traveled a great deal, and this was the best hotel staff we have ever encountered!! The spa was also exceptional. Clean, friendly, beautiful and great treatments. The hotel lobby, grounds, sitting areas, pools and restaurants were all beautiful. There were families with children, who as expected made more noise than adults, but the pool area was large enough to accommodate them without disturbing others. We were in a condo with a terrace overlooking the beach and ocean. Fine room, except the furniture/decor was a bit worn. The air conditioning in the room was spotty, but we think this was a one-off issue, so don't think guests would generally find that to be a problem. There are a lot of cruise ships, and when they are in port the beach gets exceptionally crowded during the afternoon. The hotel itself is very serene, but when you walk down the beach there is a carnival atmosphere with people selling things, restaurants, hotels, karaoke, etc. We found that fun. The snorkeling off the beach is good, but an experience often shared with others. Breakfast buffet was terrific! All in all, a great trip.

Things that happened within my first 12 hours for my 600$ a night room: 1. Found long black hairs on the bathroom shower wall 2. Realized their curtain is see through and the room is blasted by outdoor security lighting, ruining my sleep 3. After asking three different times and being told a water kettle would be sent to my room (with 3 different people, hours apart), finally complaining and being told they don't actually have one! 4. Said water kettle being delivered at 6:30 am waking us up after a night of poor sleep on the day of my wife's job interviews 5. Most of the electric outlets in our room not working - turns out it was a breaker. Seems checkable Overall, this place is the most overpriced and poorest experience I've ever had in a hotel charging this much. I would never stay here again. The beach is nice, though apparently it gets flooded by cruise shippers so let's see how it is today... Not a good stay at all.