Bayman Bay Club, Guanaja, Bay Islands, Honduras (November 17-24, 2000)
Author: Jamie

We were severely disappointed with our recent trip to the Bayman Bay Club in Guanaja, Bay Islands, Honduras, November 17-24, 2000. Based on the brochure we received, comments on website/e-mails, and the actual Bayman Bay Club website itself, we were expecting a lot more out of our trip than we received. We would like to break down the issues and explain the problems.

1) Guanaja Island
As we expected, there was still damage to the island from hurricane Mitch, but we did not expect that it was this severe. There is still a lot to be done to this island before tourism should be promoted. As depicted in the brochure and the website, the wonderful waterfall is gone. It has been gone for two years. This should no longer be advertised. The hiking trails were pretty much nonexistent. We were not able to leave the club at all.

2) Bayman Bay Club Lodging:
When we arrived, our cabana had no hot water or electricity. The next day we changed cabanas - same problem. Hot water and electricity were finally repaired. The power is turned off at the club from 9pm - 9am. No problem, but we should have been informed of this. Our cabana was dirty.

"Housekeeping" only made the beds. Our sheets were never cleaned, there were stains on them from day one, the floors were never swept, our towels were never cleaned after we placed them on the floor (just folded and put back onto the shelf). The cabana definitely did not look like the one pictured on the Bayman Bay Club website. The smell of sewage was constant from our cabana. Our hammock was soaked, and smelled like urine (probably from the cats that roam).

The main clubhouse was rundown, dirty and the second level with the "nice" pool table, reading area, etc., stunk.

Food: "The excellent meals at the Bayman Bay Club" were nonexistent. There were no buffets or nice meals. Prison quality food = rice, beans, lettuce. We informed the staff that we did not eat seafood. One night, only seafood was served. We had to eat….rice, beans, lettuce yet again. The next three nights we had a side plate of pork chops. The first night, the pork chops were spoiled and smelled like it. We tried to feed it to the cat, and she would not even eat it. There was no fresh fruit. The one piece of pineapple we did try reeked of kerosene. No fruit juices. The meals did not include beverages other than water and/or coffee. You had to pay for soft drinks. To us, this was not "all-inclusive". The bar was very limited as well.

Diving: We only received 11 out of the 18 dives and no night dive, mainly due to dive boat problems. The dive boat was in very bad shape and was not working several days. The battery used for the dive boat was also used for the club. The majority of the dock pictured on the website and brochure is not there. There was a huge pile of trash on the far dock, and turkey vultures swarmed around it. With a nice wind, you could get a whiff of the garbage there. Quality of diving? Guanaja has been overfished; therefore, there is hardly any marine life, especially fish. Some of the coral was nice, and we were able to see a seahorse, but this should not be a premiere dive location by any means.

Staff: Majority of the staff was unfriendly and unhelpful. Due to new, young management, there was obvious tension and distrust amongst the employees. There was a lack of responsibility. The most experienced employee we interacted with had been there for only seven months. There was no bartender. (He was fired the day after we arrived). On Saturday, we wanted to dive in the afternoon, and NO ONE could be found at all at the club. No one at the clubhouse, no one at the dive house, no one in his or her cabanas. Later we found out that everyone had gone to the other side of the island. So much for diving that day…

We realize that Guanaja is recovering from the hurricane and needs work, but we are not complaining about that. What was portrayed and advertised about the club is no longer true (i.e., no waterfall, no buffet/excellent meals, etc.), and that should be told to the guests. There is no excuse for bad management and food - that has no relation to the hurricane. The website and brochures need to be updated, and to be honest, I do not think the Bayman Bay Club should be promoted until they become organized. It will probably be over a decade before the island itself can recover. Tourists should not be allowed to go with the expectations that are currently given on the website and in the brochures until that is a reality. We are really hurt by our experience. Due to our jobs, we rarely get vacations, and in our opinion, this trip was a waste of our money, frequent flyer miles for the airline tickets and our time. We hope that you inform future guests of this resort our concerns so that no other "romantic" vacations will be disappointing.

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