wsherwood
New
My sixteen-year-old son and I spent six beautiful days at Maya Palms Resort in late July 2010. I am an experienced diver but my son was certified just a few days before we flew to Mexico. I chose to go to Maya Palms Resort because I have known the owner, Doug Goergens, for over 25 years. I was certified through his shop in St. Louis, West End Diving and did my open water certification at Bonne Terre Mine, located at Bonne Terre, Missouri, another facility he and his wife, Cathy, own. West End Diving and Bonne Terre Mine are first-class operations and I had no doubt that Maya Palms Resort would live up to my expectations.
We flew into Cancun, rented a car and drove to Maya Palms Resort. I admit that I had some trepidation about driving through the jungle to the resort since I don't speak Spanish and I was not familiar with driving in Mexico. As it turned out, the drive was uneventful and we made it safely to the resort in about 5 hours. As other reviewers have posted, the resort itself is comfortable in the food was great. The staff, Ken and Mark, could not have been friendlier. Since all three of us have roots in the St. Louis area, we had a lot in common. I should note that the grounds were beautiful with tropical plants and flowers as well as coconut palms everywhere.
The diving was incredible! The reefs are located approximately ¼ to ½ mile offshore and have an abundance of wildlife. The coral and sponges are healthy and teeming with fish, turtles, rays, moray eels and lobster. The ocean was a bit rough the first couple days, and visibility was down to about 70 to 80 feet because of storms that had rolled through the area a couple of days before we arrived; however, the diving was still spectacular. Ken is a skilled and experienced diver master who made our diving that much more enjoyable. There were only four divers during our stay and Ken spent the first couple of dives assessing our skills and making sure that we were safe divers. I should also note that Ken was very good with my son, who was making his first ocean dives. I would like to also mention that the rental equipment at Maya Palms is first class, which is what I expected from a dive operation operated by Doug Goergens. I rented a BC, regulator and wetsuit for my son and a BC for myself. All of the equipment was in excellent shape and we experienced no problems with it over the course of 10 dives. There are many positive reviews about Maya Palms Resort (and I agree with them) but few reviews say anything about the quality of its equipment, the experience of its dive master or the perceived safety of the dives at Maya Palms. I believe that divers looking for a dive destination and a dive center are concerned about diver safety and the condition of rental equipment as well as the accommodations so I thought I should mention that Doug, Ken and Mark take all three of these things very seriously
The diving is spectacular, the food is great, the service is wonderful and the accommodations are clean, air-conditioned at night and comfortable. The six days that my son and I spent at Maya Palms Resort were a memorable experience; in fact, I am making plans to return this summer.
We flew into Cancun, rented a car and drove to Maya Palms Resort. I admit that I had some trepidation about driving through the jungle to the resort since I don't speak Spanish and I was not familiar with driving in Mexico. As it turned out, the drive was uneventful and we made it safely to the resort in about 5 hours. As other reviewers have posted, the resort itself is comfortable in the food was great. The staff, Ken and Mark, could not have been friendlier. Since all three of us have roots in the St. Louis area, we had a lot in common. I should note that the grounds were beautiful with tropical plants and flowers as well as coconut palms everywhere.
The diving was incredible! The reefs are located approximately ¼ to ½ mile offshore and have an abundance of wildlife. The coral and sponges are healthy and teeming with fish, turtles, rays, moray eels and lobster. The ocean was a bit rough the first couple days, and visibility was down to about 70 to 80 feet because of storms that had rolled through the area a couple of days before we arrived; however, the diving was still spectacular. Ken is a skilled and experienced diver master who made our diving that much more enjoyable. There were only four divers during our stay and Ken spent the first couple of dives assessing our skills and making sure that we were safe divers. I should also note that Ken was very good with my son, who was making his first ocean dives. I would like to also mention that the rental equipment at Maya Palms is first class, which is what I expected from a dive operation operated by Doug Goergens. I rented a BC, regulator and wetsuit for my son and a BC for myself. All of the equipment was in excellent shape and we experienced no problems with it over the course of 10 dives. There are many positive reviews about Maya Palms Resort (and I agree with them) but few reviews say anything about the quality of its equipment, the experience of its dive master or the perceived safety of the dives at Maya Palms. I believe that divers looking for a dive destination and a dive center are concerned about diver safety and the condition of rental equipment as well as the accommodations so I thought I should mention that Doug, Ken and Mark take all three of these things very seriously
The diving is spectacular, the food is great, the service is wonderful and the accommodations are clean, air-conditioned at night and comfortable. The six days that my son and I spent at Maya Palms Resort were a memorable experience; in fact, I am making plans to return this summer.
