Xbalanque Resort

Named for a Maya Hero Twin, Built for Slowness

Xbalanque is the name of one of the Hero Twins of the Popol Vuh, and it suits a property that asks you to slow down before it asks anything else. The resort spreads over more than eight acres on Tamarind Drive, in the stretch of Roatán that sits between West End village and West Bay beach. Native planting, nature trails and an Indonesian pagoda set aside for meditation fill the space between three separate houses, which share the gardens, the private beach and a wooden pier. You arrive through an art filled lounge that opens onto the dining and pool pavilion.

Why It Works

Roatán has plenty of beach hotels. It has very few that own their own acreage, and that is the argument here. Eight acres of landscaped jungle mean the walk from your door to the water goes through gardens rather than across a car park, and the private pier means you can be in the sea without sharing it with an excursion group. The second argument is flexibility: suites run from one to four bedrooms, so the same address works for a couple, a dive group and a family of eight. The third is quieter, and it is the library.

Why This Location

Tamarind Drive puts you midway between the island’s two centres of gravity. West End village, with its restaurants, dive centres and street vendors, is a short hop in one direction; West Bay’s white sand and the shallow reef running along it are the other. The pier is the smart way to reach both, since a water taxi leaves from the property and lands you in either place in minutes, which spares you the road. The trade is that you are not in the middle of the nightlife, which is rather the point. The airport transfer is straightforward and the resort arranges it.

Fast Facts

• Price: Luxury

• Vibe: jungle gardens, art, unhurried, family sized

• Rooms: sixteen keys across three houses, suites of one to four bedrooms, including the Xbalanque Suite and the Xbalanque Del Mar Suite

• Best For: families and groups who need several bedrooms, divers, travellers who choose privacy over nightlife

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: the private pier, which doubles as the water taxi stop for West Bay and West End

• Dining: on site restaurant and bar, plus a rooftop lounge above the gardens

• Amenities: private beach and pier, pool pavilion, spa, hot tub, gym with free weights, yoga with instructors on request, kayaks, library, event pavilion, airport shuttle

• Attractions: West Bay beach and West End village a few minutes by water taxi; the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef directly offshore; Tabyana beach along the same coast

Three Houses, and Suites That Grow With the Group

The sixteen keys are not stacked in a block. They are spread across three buildings joined by garden paths, so the arithmetic of a stay changes with what you book. A couple takes a one bedroom suite and sees almost nobody. A family takes four bedrooms and effectively has a house, with the pool pavilion and the beach shared rather than reserved. The two named suites, Xbalanque and Xbalanque Del Mar, are the ones that face the water most directly. Purified water and generator backup are handled throughout, which on this island is not a detail.

The Pavilion, the Pier and the Rooftop

Three spaces carry the day. The pool pavilion, reached through the lounge, is where the middle of it happens, and the art on those walls is worth more than a glance. The pier takes the early morning and the late afternoon, with kayaks, a palapa on the sand and the water taxi coming and going. The rooftop lounge is the sunset room. In between sit a spa, a gym with an elliptical, a treadmill and free weights, and yoga mats you can carry down to the deck.

Before You Book

This is a resort you settle into rather than a base for constant movement. Reaching town means the pier or the road, and most guests end up choosing the pier. Scale is the other thing to weigh: sixteen keys across eight acres means the place is never busy, which is the appeal, but it also means dinner is at the on site restaurant or a trip out. Groups should ask about the event pavilion early, and divers should confirm arrangements when booking, since the reef is close but the shops are not on the property.