D&D Brewery and Hotel... for us great place with unfriendly staff

I stayed there a few months ago for three nights, and I’d have to say that the D&D was a huge disappointment. We had read rave reviews about it on the internet, but it just didn’t do it for us. We also expected that it would be on or at least within sight of the lake, but it isn't. It was overbooked, but Bob, the owner, wasn’t there and no one there was in the least bit competent to handle problems, so we felt a little abandoned. We wouldn't have stayed for the three nights - no way - but for various reasons it was impossible for us to leave.

Our room was crawling with roaches. Big ones, little ones. In the shower, in the room, on the walls. There was no hot water or maid service in our room for the whole three nights we were there. Now I don’t need someone to come in and make my bed every day, but in a country where you don’t put TP in the toilet, if the TP basket isn’t taken away every few days, it gets a bit stinky. I resisted the temptation to dump it out the door in the garden. They never even explained why there was no maid service. They tried to fix the hot water, but couldn’t, and they wouldn’t reduce our bill more than a few bucks. Our porch light didn’t work, one wardrobe shelf was broken and in pieces, and there was this huge ball of wires coming out of the wall and taking up the other shelf. WTF? All the food was dripping in grease and the much touted beer wasn’t even anything special. It was better than any of the other beer in Honduras, but it isn’t nearly as good as what you get in your average microbrewery in the states these days.

I am sure that our bill wasn't correct, but after waiting for about two hours for them to calculate it (seriously) and missing our bus out of SPS because of that, we were grateful to just pay up and get the heck out of there.

OK, ‘nuff said about D&D. The lake was pretty, the waterfall was magnificent, and the bird life was fantastic, but I would recommend staying elsewhere.

Thanks to everyone for your posts on D&D B&B. I am going to Lago de Yojoa in a couple of days and was planning to stay there. I´ll find somewhere different!

Thank you Robert for all what you did..

Okey, some of you had a bad experience down Roberts place...

Telling you our story:
We have just arrived at Roberts place then I realized that I forgot my guitar in the chicken bus...
I was shocked and asked Robert If he can help me out!!
He didn't think about it one second!! So we went with his car trying to catch the bus on the road. Finally we arrived at the bus terminal but there was no bus. Robert talked in spanish to the locals If they found a guitar!! The locals did begin to call the bus drivers!
After 30 minutes the chicken bus arrived and I got my guitar back!
They did it with a smile.... It was a pleasure for them to help us..

Further I loved the beer from the brewery and the tapwater was like in Switzerland!

I hope that people who read the other comments still go to the d&d then its worth.

Robert is a very cool American and he plays very nice slide guitar :-)!

Wish you all the Best Robert..

Greetings from Costa Rica
Anja and Noël

We hate to have a rant... but we just spent last night at the so called 'Brewery' and would not recommend to anyone that it is worth the trek out to it. As people have said above - it does not live up to expectations. It looks neglected, and falling apart. It is not anywhere near the lake, and the setting of plastic tables on a concrete slab is nothing to write home about. We had sent through a reservation via their website, no response, and so we arrived and were given the last available room in the main house (tiny, pokey things) and we could not lock the door. They said someone hadnt returned the key so now there was no key.... Then we sat down to order a beer... no beer - the brewing process is not working. And not sure why a brewery wouldnt have any stock???? Then there was no gas - broken too. So no food could be cooked.
All up - dont bother with D & D Brewery. We were excited about going there - and were so disappointed. Robert wasnt there.. and as mentioned above we did feel like an inconvenience to the staff. From reading other peoples comments I feel for the staff... but if this business wants to keep going he needs to make some major changes!
We just wish we read these comments before hand - as we usually use the TT for all recommendations and missed this one. If we had read what all you guys had written we never would have gone. A pure waste of time! But again - this place was full. We are baffled???? But no one there was impressed - so not sure where the rave reviews are coming from.....

Robert Dale and his regular staff wish to apologize to all guests who have visited the D and D Brewery recently. Mr. Dale is extremely upset about any disappointment or inconvenience that a civil action against him has caused to his valued clients. As a tactic in a divorce proceeding between Robert Dale and Zynthia Diaz, Ms Diaz has effectively and physically been in control of Mr. Dale’s premises since May 30th. The regular employees have been denied access to the workplace, and Ms Diaz is totally incompetent without them. Brewing beer, maintaining a tropical garden, and directing safe access to the local wildlife and trails are specialist activities, and Ms Diaz can not properly deal with reservations or provide decent food. Civil proceedings move slowly, but Mr Dale expects to regain control of his business and will have D and D Brewery running efficiently again as soon as possible, probably within the next week.
Mr Dale and his attorneys are working diligently to restore the old atmosphere that made the D and D Brewery a pleasurable vacation experience.

Sincerely,
Robert J. Dale
Brewmaster
D and D Brewery

Edited by: loretana

Why cant Robert Dale himself attend to these complaints?

Also, the original poster filed this story on Feb 28, when Mr Dale was in control of the business, not after his Ex gained control.

Let me guess, his wife is Honduran?

In response to the query, "why doesn't Robert Dale address these complaints himself?" may I explain following:

Robert is a friend of my family's and has been for many years. I know his character and would stand up for him anytime, anywhere. I have been a guest at his charming establishment twice in the past five years, and plan to return this October.

He is currently staying at an undisclosed location (on the advice of his lawyer) in a effort to defuse what has turned into a chaotic and unnecessary situation.

Robert has been in the process of a divorce from his Honduran wife of nine years, Zynthia Diaz. The process started back in January, and Robert has made every effort to accomodate her demands. Robert owned the land his brewery and guest accomodations are on in Los Naranjos several years before he met his soon to be ex-wife. He has been an asset and productive member of the local economy since 2001 when he started D and D Brewery.

Robert has called me daily and asked that I post his letter on TT. He is very upset that his business and guests are being disrupted due to this divorce proceeding, and is making every effort to return to his business and put it back in order as soon as possible. He has no internet access at this time, but will probably post here this coming week.

Edited by: loretana

I have read all of the postings concerning Mr. Dale's establishment and it sadden's me that most everything that has been posted is negative. I, too, personally know Mr. Dale and would be the first to inform all of you that he takes great pride in his establishment and his staff.

In knowing the civil proceedings that he is currently going through, you must consider the fact that they did not start yesterday (referring to the comment that a post was made in February). All that said, I would hope that some of you would share your compassion for a moment and realize that if he was "snappy" to one of his employee's, maybe it was due to stress, granted not a good excuse, but I'm sure we have all experienced this at some point in our lives.
Bob is a very kind and considerate person, albeit, he may be a little rough around the edges at times, he would want nothing more than for any of you who had a terrible experience, to give him another chance when he is back in his establishment.
Please be a little patient, consider the circumstances and come back to D&D Brewery when Bob is once again at home in his little piece of "paradise".

Another first poster on the LP, and friend of you know who....

Dale must be having a heart attack....

Simmerdown, few people make it to Honduras for beer...

Linda and I stayed at D&D for 4 or 5 nights in early April 2009 and had a wonderful time. It was during Semana Santa and Robert and staff (Rosa mostly) went out of their way to accommodate an extension of our stay during a very busy week in Honduras. Bob offered us advice on what to see in the area, coordinated with Malcolm to help us hire a truck for the day, and coaxed our friend into playing guitar with his small group for the restaurant one evening. The D&D was a pleasant place to stay but was certainly no Hilton or Marriot and at 15 USD per night no one should expect it to be! Perhaps those who have expressed disappointment have forgotten they are travelling in a less-touristed area of Honduras than Roatan and Copan? It's essentially a hostel in a tiny town in rural Honduras, after all! Expecting luxury, a lake view, or even daily cleaning of your room might be a bit much and, dare I say, smells more like a whiney, pampered tourish, rather than poor service by Honduran standards.

One more note. When we lost our camera, Bob was very helpful in offering to be a go-between if it should turn up in town, to the extent that he was willing to front the reward we offered and ship it back to us without any sort of deposit left with him. We certainly saw no abuse of the staff or anything similar and our bill, even after several days was very accurate. I guess I'd challenge you to find a better place to stay in the Lago de Yojoa area - after Bob is back at his establishment, that is.

Wishing Bob all the best through these troubled times.

Two Satisfied Customers