Villa Helen’s (tel. 504/408-1137, www.villahelens.com, US$24–32 s, US$37 d) has eight spacious rooms in a small house close to the tawny beach, all immaculately clean with tile floors, air-conditioning, hot water, and small refrigerators, as well as six small cabin/apartments with efficiency kitchens around a grassy parking area on the other side of the road (cabins run US$42–53 and sleep 2–6). There is a small swimming pool; day use is US$1.50. No credit cards are accepted.

Right next door is Hotel Canadien (tel. 504/440-2099, www.hotelcanadien.com, US$52 d, US$11 each additional person, four maximum), a three-story white building with two floors of hotel-style rooms, each with a small sitting room (whose sofa converts to a bed) and a refrigerator and air-conditioning, set around a small terrace and two large pools right behind the beach. It was probably very nice when it opened, but it has seen better days. Helen’s and Hotel Canadien both have good restaurants—Helen’s (the tastier and much cheaper of the two—burgers US$3, fish dishes US$6) is on a relaxed open-air terrace, and the Canadien’s is on the third floor of the hotel, with great views.

The Diving Pelican Inn (tel. 504/3369-2208, www.divingpelicaninn.com, US$60 s/d) has a more intimate feel with just three rooms, two on the beachside property and a third in a tiny cabin just across the road. While there’s no restaurant, Texan owner Jim makes a great breakfast (US$6), and he and his wife are happy to arrange trips to the Cayos Cochinos and river rafting, as well as transportation to the airport, bus, or ferry.

Four kilometers past Sambo Creek toward Jutiapa, 22 kilometers from La Ceiba, is an upscale beachfront hotel complex, Palma Real Beach Resort (tel. 504/429-0501, www.grupopalmareal.com). The large complex of pastel-colored buildings right on a fine beach houses 161 well-equipped rooms, each with a balcony or terrace. Facilities include a casino, separate pools for children and adults, tennis and basketball courts, a restaurant and snack bar, a bar, a disco, and a theater.

Popular with wealthy Hondurans and Salvadorans, the hotel offers package deals with food and drink included for US$55–133 per person per day, varying with the day of the week, season, and number of guests in the room. Children (2–10) are US$28–40. Day passes are available and cost US$37–73 for adults, US$23–35 for children. Prices are higher during Semana Santa and over the year-end holidays.