Beach Hotels

Be forewarned that there is a cacophony of birds chattering in the beach palm trees at sunrise and sunset, which can make for an early start of the day if you’re a light sleeper.

A handful of hotels dot the beach promenade. One favorite is Hotel Cesar Mariscos (tel. 504/1934, tel./fax 504/448-2083, reservaciones [at] hotelcesarmariscos [dot] com, US$55 s, US$70 d), right on the beach above the excellent seafood restaurant [1] of the same name. It has 19 attractive tile-floored rooms featuring cable TV and air-conditioning (in most), and many with balconies and ocean views (for the same price). The hotel has a small infinity-edge pool and Jacuzzi on the second floor, and bikes and kayaks are available for rent. Guests can be picked up directly from the San Pedro Sula [2] airport for US$60 per person.

Next door is the pricier but not quite as nice Hotel Sherwood (tel. 504/448-1064, US$54 s, US$74 d, including breakfast), with wood-trimmed rooms; “executive rooms” have private, ocean-facing balconies. The hotel is not as sunny or lively as its neighbor, but is still a decent option. The pool is clean, and there is a restaurant and free Internet for guests.

At the end of the promenade strip is the Bayside Hotel and Restaurant (tel. 504/448-1210, www.baysidetela.com [3]), with clean but somewhat drab rooms, with air-conditioning and TV. The hotel hosts parties on the weekend, making the stumble from the disco to your room a short and safe walk.

Located at the eastern end of the beach, far from the action, is pink Hotel Veromar (tel. 504/448-1705, US$32 s, US$47 d), with new, nice rooms, a couple of which boast an ocean view. There is a restaurant and a swimming pool, and private access to the beach, although the beach here is better for a stroll than a swim. There are also older, cheaper motel-style rooms that open onto the parking lot.

A sort of tropical suburb, certainly unlike any other resort on the Honduran coast, Hotel y Villas Telamar (tel. 504/448-2196, www.hoteltelamar.com [4]) was built by the Tela Railroad Company in the 1920s to house its U.S. executives. The freestanding wooden houses, each with hardwood floors, wicker and mahogany furniture, a fully equipped kitchen, and perfectly maintained lawn, are located in a well-patrolled complex along a beautiful beach just west of the Río Tela. Maintenance of the villas can vary widely, but the rooms in the hotel section are consistently nice. Facilities include two pools, four restaurants, a nine-hole golf course, tennis courts, a children’s playground, banquet and conference center, horseback riding, boating, and fishing. Double rooms (which can sleep up to four) are available for US$128–168, the priciest with kitchenette, while villas go for US$284–812 a night, the largest of which are four-bedroom and can sleep up to nine. Day visitors are welcome, provided they have a meal at one of the restaurants.

On the western side of Villas Telamar and a block away from the beach is sunny Hotel Playa Bonita (tel. 504/448-3450, www.hotelplayabonitatela.com [5], US$60 s, US$65 d, breakfast included), a good choice for the price-conscious. The building and rooms are not the most inspired, but there is a small swimming pool, and the location is good.

A few kilometers outside of Tela [6] is the beautiful La Ensenada Beach Resort (tel. 504/448-0605, www.laensenadaresort.com [7]), with king-bed suites and two-bedroom villas for US$75–190 per person per night for all-inclusive accommodation. If you tire of the sea, there are two swimming pools on-site.