Las Rocas Resort and Dive Center

West Bay Beach curves in a crescent of white sand on Roatan's western tip, and Las Rocas sits along a low ironshore bluff at its quieter end. The Roatan Marine Park begins just offshore, part of the largest barrier reef system in the hemisphere, and the resort's dock puts dive boats within a ten to fifteen minute run of the main sites. It is a small property: 17 bungalows in total, spread across one- and two-storey buildings, each with a private veranda, hammock and air conditioning. Superior and standard-plus rooms occupy the single-storey blocks; family and value units share the two-storey ones. A plunge pool sits at the water's edge for guests who prefer not to get sand between their toes, and stone paths run through the gardens between buildings. Certification here takes four days start to finish. You can hear the trade winds move through the open-air bar most evenings, where sunset arrives over open water. The restaurant, Trattoria da Piero, serves Caribbean seafood alongside homemade pasta, a small Italian thread running through an island menu. Shops, other restaurants and further stretches of West Bay Beach are all within walking distance of the front gate.