We've been staying at LaCeiba for years. It was sold last year and is now known as ElCid/Laceiba. I was there in September and noticed some changes....
1) Our favorite rooms in the original section have been turned into time share suites. You now have to stay in the tower section. I was lucky enough to get a ground floor room. This makes for a long walk to the dock with all your gear ever morning, usually dodging the hawkers and/or cruiseers. The elevator is very small and very slow...I sure wouldn't want to depend on it in an emergency!
2) I was swamped by the timeshare hawkers every time I went through the lobby, to the point of complaing directly to the manager.
3) The cruise ship docks are very close by. In the past the cruisers weren't a problem at the hotel but this last trip they had virtually taken over the hotels beach and restaurant all day. We had to go off site for lunch in order to get through in time to catch our afternoon boat.
I won't be returning there because of these things.
I think the new owners kept Del Mar Aquatics as the in house dive operation. They are OK. If you can get on one of their small boats it's better but they usually run one of the cattle boats. The shore diving at the hotel is the only thing I hate to leave. The old airplane maks a fabulous night dive. I'll still go back to dive this old favorite but it's not the same as being able to make a pre-dawn dive whenever we fell like it!
I much prefer
Caballito del Caribe Excellent knowledgeable DM's, very safe, small fast boats, etc. But the same can be said of several others. Most any dive op will pick you up at the dock.
