I spent a month working in a clinic on Roatan a few years ago. Walked to work on the beach. :-) I rented an house in the West End area (cheaper, more locals) and took one of the local vans everywhere that was too far to walk. West End has some little local restaurants, dive shops, etc. West Bay has the big fancy resorts. Both have beautiful beaches, and if you want to enjoy the West Bay beaches you certainly can -- resorts don't keep people away from their beaches (or didn't a few years ago, anyway). I guess they want you to enjoy their beach bars, too. :-)
The rest of the island is more sparsely populated, but it's fun to rent a car and go exploring. People are very, very friendly, and a lot of them speak English. It was a mostly English-speaking island until people from mainland Honduras started to move over there 10-20 years ago.
Roatan is probably best for the vacationer who wants to do a few active things (snorkeling, diving, walking from place to place) but doesn't need an hourly list of activities for each day and is content to hang out on the beach, at a beach bar, or in a hammock at your rented place. Very calm, friendly, and beautiful place.