Having been to Utila (and the cays) before, we knew what to expect with the location. In a nutshell, the cays are a fishing community full of friendly people. Anke, the owner is a local dive master (instructor? I forgot- sorry Anke!) and as friendly as they come. The lower level of the house is where the renters stay and there is a small sandy area right outside your door and the ocean just steps away. You can easily wade through the water and snorkel right off the back patio. Anke checked in on us from time to time to make sure we had all we needed- drinking water, etc. but was not intrusive. There is a hammock on the patio for relaxing and while there is no AC, there are fans in all the rooms to keep you cool. The breeze flows through the lower level quite well and we never had issues with the heat despite the high summer temps. The house is easy to spot and is centrally located between Pigeon and Jewel Cay. There are a few restaurants on the cays, but hands down we suggest Cay View Restaurant. Saturday BBQ dinner is great, and they have a bunch of other great choices on the menu- fresh fish burgers, fish fingers, etc. There is wifi at the house and it was more than enough to check email, send pics back home, etc. The cays are a 20-30 minute boat ride to Utila town proper, so the cays have a more remote feeling and more of a community vibe and less of the typical party scene in Utila. We used a dive op based in Utila town and they had no issues picking us up from the cays each morning, making Anke's house even better- it let us sleep in and have a shorter boat ride to the north side! A few things to note- the kitchen area has a small fridge for storing some items- juice, snacks etc. It's the minifridge size, but was plenty for us. There is no hot water for the showers, but the was wasn't cold- just cool, which felt great after a day in the sun and on the dive boat. The house was clean and midway through our stay Anke came down to pull and wash the sheets, etc. Anke was very eco-conscious and works to keep the cays and the surrounding ocean as clean as possible. Composting of waste, recycling, etc. were all encouraged and goes a long way to keeping the area clean. One tip- the restaurant nearby has a party on Saturday nights and the music can be a bit loud. If you're a light sleeper, earplugs may help. With all our diving, we were ready for bed and didn't have much of an issue, but just an FYI.
