The most historically significant resort in Roatán — the island's oldest operating resort (founded 1965), with overwater bungalows on a private caye in Sandy Bay, the dive operation that helped establish Roatán as a world-class destination, and the Bailey's Key Dolphin Research Center whose work has been scientifically significant regardless of one's views on dolphin encounters.
Why We Chose It
Anthony's Key Resort opened in 1965 — when Roatán had no airport, no paved roads, and reaching the island required a boat from La Ceiba on the Honduran mainland. The Key family built the first serious dive operation in the Bay Islands and spent three decades developing the dive tourism industry that now dominates the island's economy. The overwater bungalows on their private caye across the channel from the main resort are the property's signature: simple, hammock-equipped, with steps down to the water for shore dives and the island's natural sounds as the only noise. The dive operation remains among the most comprehensive on the island. Bailey's Key houses dolphins that were rescued or born in captivity; the dolphin interaction program (research-focused, not show-based) reflects the family's long-standing engagement with marine conservation on the island, though opinions differ on the ethics of such encounters. The resort has genuine history in a way that no newer property can claim.
What Stands Out
- Oldest resort in Roatán (1965) — founded before the airport, when divers came by boat from the mainland
- Overwater bungalows on a private caye: hammocks, steps to the water, shore diving from your door
- The dive operation that helped put Roatán on the global diving map
- Bailey's Key Dolphin Center: research-focused, with genuine conservation history
- Afresco character: the most historically rooted accommodation experience in the Bay Islands