Sol Y Mar Beach Club - Roatan, Honduras

[WVHillbilly]

Since there are very few reviews on this resort and I am bored with the Covid-19 news I thought I would do a little review on this excursion.

 

We sailed on Harmony of the Seas February 16-23, 2020; and purchased the Sol Y Mar - Adults only excursion on the cruise planner.  It was to include transportation, access to the adults only area, drinks and snacks.  We followed everyone to the excursion waiting area and found the line for our excursion.  There are several times for this excursion, one was when we first docked, one mid morning and one around lunch time, we chose the mid morning one.  Once it was time we were led to a bus were we took about a 15 minute ride to the resort; our tour guide was very friendly talking to us about Roatan on the way to the resort.  Once at the resort we were escorted to our area of the beach and introduced us to our waiters.  There is a small market when you first enter no pressure at all.  On the way they pointed out the restrooms, showers, pay restaurant and then to our area and showed us the bar where we could get our drinks that were included.  Our guide said he would come for us when it was time to leave.  In fact he checked on us throughout our stay numerous times.

 

The resort is divided into three areas:  All Inclusive, Family and Adults area.  Each area is separated by a fence, I was able to walk the length of the resort both along the beach and by the entrance.  Since I purchased the Adults Only excursion I will start my comments with that.  The adults area consisted of a bar, volleyball court, patio area and of course the beach.  There were plenty of loungers available arranged in rows along the beach front.  I do not know exactly what drinks were included as we didn't really ask, we had diet soda, pina coladas and a beer.  We saw several others with some type of blue drink.  The pina coladas had plenty of rum in them not obnoxiously strong but was a good stiff drink.  The included snacks were nachos, nothing special just typical of what you'd get at a ball game.  The waiter came by frequently asking if we needed anything and like i already said the tour guide also would walk by checking on us.  They have a restaurant that had items you could purchase and they would bring you the menu as well as take your order and bring the food back.  The restaurant also had picnic type tables for eating should you want to get away from the beach.

 

We had heard of reports of sand fleas at times, so we sprayed our legs with an insect repellent and were not bothered with them.  I don't think they were out that day.  We wore water shoes so can't comment on the feel of the sand, the water was clear and shallow for a long distance.  Being February the air temperature was in the high 70's, we had some overcast clouds for a short time and a passing rain shower; the water temperature was brisk.   There wasn't any shade along the beach loungers but we were able to take a break and get a seat on the patio which was shaded a bit when the sun got to be to much.  They had a massage booth set up and they asked if anyone wanted a massage; they also had a few vendors selling trinkets and one guy asking about an atv excursion.  None of them were pushy, they were friendly and would talk to those who engaged them.  The atv guy had a monkey that he would pose for pictures and let a few people hold him.

 

Most in the adults area were content with laying on the beach loungers and wading in the water, we were adjacent to the family beach but there was a pretty good buffer between us; as the family's were clustered near the floating water slides, etc.  There was some music playing but it wasn't really loud, i think the speakers were closer to the family area.  Now the big question would I do it again?  If I was looking for a relaxing beach day yes I would go back and purchase the adults only excursion.  The only thing I think I would change is I'd take the afternoon excursion, partake in a massage ($1.00 per minute) and maybe have lunch at the restaurant while I was there.  Once we got back to the port there were many excursions arriving back and shopping, so it is much easier to shop early to beat the crowds.

[WVHillbilly]

Here are a few pictures of the restrooms, showers and pay restaurant.

[WVHillbilly]

Here are a few pictures of the adults area.

[WVHillbilly]

And a few more of the adults area.

[WVHillbilly]

Here are a few pictures of the family area.

[WVHillbilly]

And this I believe was the all inclusive area.

[RedLightVegas]

Thanks for posting this! The BF and I are looking for something to do in Roatan and considered this excursion. 

[Host Carolyn]

Beautiful pictures! 

 

Be glad you went when you did! May be next year before any ships call in Roatan. On complete lockdown and even property owners off island probably won't go back till late summer

[KATHYMAC68]

Love your review! I will hopefully be going on my cruise in November and was looking at Mayan Princess Beach Resort. It's an all inclusive. 

Do you know if they offer a day pass for cruise passengers?

I want to spend the day there, not just 2-3 hours.

Edited May 1, 2020 by KATHYMAC68

[Loucat]

Glad to read a new review of Sol Y Mar! Have not heard of it before despite sailing to Roatan numerous times.

Will make a note of it for the future. I assume you docked at Coxen Hole as you were on Harmony- is this an RCC only day excursion? Thank you for posting!

[lgonquin]

Nice review, thank you.

We were there nearly one year earlier to the day!  I would agree with your assessment.  Nothing flashy or exciting, just a nice relaxing day on the beach.  Clean facilities, great service, drinks were good and the "snacks" were just that.

 

I would recommend it to others and probably do it again.  But i like to explore and try different things.  I have my eye on Little French Key and will be searching for feedback on these boards.

[evandbob]

I liked most everything about this beach club except for the shallow water off the beach.  Most areas I walked/waded in were only knee high for me, and I'm not a tall guy, only 5'8".  I couldn't find a place to swim or just cool off in chest high water.

 

I was probably here about a year and a half ago. I usually go to Tabayana, LFK, or Maya Cay when I cruise here.  We've also stayed at Infinity Bay Hotel right next to Tabayana Beach twice for week long land vacations.

[Guest 2000]

6 hours ago, evandbob said:

I liked most everything about this beach club except for the shallow water off the beach.  Most areas I walked/waded in were only knee high for me, and I'm not a tall guy, only 5'8".  I couldn't find a place to swim or just cool off in chest high water.

 

 

 

Finally someone says what I have suspected about this place all along. Sandy Bay has a good bit of shallows between the beach and the reef. If there is a pier, one may be able to get some fair distance from the beach and closer to deeper water.  

 

When I stayed in Sandy Bay I took a kayak from the beach out to deeper water. 

Edited August 3, 2020 by Guest 2000

[c-leg5]

On 8/3/2020 at 12:08 PM, evandbob said:

I liked most everything about this beach club except for the shallow water off the beach.  Most areas I walked/waded in were only knee high for me, and I'm not a tall guy, only 5'8".  I couldn't find a place to swim or just cool off in chest high water.

 

I was probably here about a year and a half ago. I usually go to Tabayana, LFK, or Maya Cay when I cruise here.  We've also stayed at Infinity Bay Hotel right next to Tabayana Beach twice for week long land vacations.

 

On 8/3/2020 at 6:49 PM, Guest 2000 said:

 

Finally someone says what I have suspected about this place all along. Sandy Bay has a good bit of shallows between the beach and the reef. If there is a pier, one may be able to get some fair distance from the beach and closer to deeper water.  

 

When I stayed in Sandy Bay I took a kayak from the beach out to deeper water. 

It’s been quite a while since we were there, when the club was relatively new and certainly before any inflatables were added. We really enjoyed our day there. I don’t recall the water being exceptionally shallow but  then I crouch down, or float on my back to cool off for casual swimming and don’t remember having any particular problems.
 

I see from the people in the photos the water close to shore is certainly looks shallow but from experience in Mexico inflatables are usually anchored in deeper water and often require life vests. I would be concerned about adult members of my group especially jumping off as I have seen at other resorts, into shallow water.

 

As i recall kayaks, snorkeling and water sports were available.

Edited August 19, 2020 by c-leg5