The dive-centre and some two-thirds of the accommodation were spared when a major fire broke out at the Fantasy Island Beach Resort Dive & Marina on Roatan on the night of 2 March.
The hotel complex is located in French Harbour on the Honduran Bay island, but was relatively lightly occupied at the time.
The Honduras Fire Corps responded and worked to control the blaze while evacuating the approximately 60 guests and resort staff present at the time. They were relocated to another Roatan hotel.
It took several hours to extinguished the fire, and the resort and authorities confirmed that no casualties had been reported in the incident.
Preliminary official reports indicated that significant portions of the resort’s facilities were affected by the fire, including 36 of its 108 guest-rooms, the lobby and reception areas, restaurant, kitchen, three bars, discotheque, convention area, shops and beach-shade structures.
The resort offers scuba-diving from a dedicated PADI 5* dive-centre offering boat and shore access to more than 50 Mesoamerican Barrier Reef and other dive-sites. This area was not damaged in the blaze, according to preliminary reports from the Fire Corps and local authorities.
The resort management stated that it was working with “commitment and determination to resume operations as soon as possible”, while prioritising safety for guests and staff.
“Many of our areas were not affected and we are already focused on what still stands: our commitment, our team and our dreams,” it stated. “Little by little, step by step, we come out stronger.”
