I just came back from LionsDive Resort. Some observations:
Ocean Encounters is an extremely well run dive center
- Safe and a strong customer focus
- The entire staff is professional
- boats are in good shape and the rental gear seemed to be top notch
- Captain Karen is probably the best dive boat captain that I have ever seen. The water was rough but she manged the boat with amazing skill.
- Dive Masters Leroy and PC were fantastic and did not put up any "restrictions" that some operators will do.
- Pol is one of the owners and he is great as well.
A few other points:
Ocean Encounters is a separate entity from LionsDive Resort. They are on property, but it appears it is leased/licensed space and they really do not work together much.
- Little communication between the two organizations. The resort is more of a standard large beach resort with the theme being party on the beach. I was told by management that the resort started out as a dive resort in the 80's, but is now a "family "oriented resort and they decided not to drop the dive resort designation even though they have nothing to do with the dive operation. The web site makes it look like they work closely together.
The resort is almost the complete opposite in my opinion:
- Rooms in front of, or near, the Chill Grill on the beach have to listen to loud music from 5:00 pm until 11:00 pm 4 out of 7 nights that I was there and then until at least until 2 AM from a night club that is just a little further down the beach. Management does nothing but give lip service. Offered a another room in the back for me but not the rest of those with me on a group trip because the place was full. My room was one of the 1 bed room suites which had a higher cost than the standard room. So I declined until they could move all of us. as I was the trip lead. Last offer was approximately 5 hours (11:00 pm) before we needed to catch transportation (4:30 am) to the airport. They claim that was a legitimate fix......
- asked for a reservation at their main restaurant for the group of 20. Told I needed to make the reservation 5 days in advance. Requested a reservation after speaking with management about that and other issues. Management made the reservation and put it in a letter to me. When we got to the restaurant at the promised time, no one knew anything about it.
The list of others things goes on - promised one couple in the group a$50 credit because they were jack hammering in the room below them for two days. Tried to use it and nobody could see the credit. It eventually happened, but it was a strange way to do it. Patio was filthy, had to ask for the room to be cleaned twice, was told no music after 9 pm by one manager and then 11 pm by the General Manager. This is not just loud music, but more the level of "let's get out of the room and go somewhere that we could hear each other" loud.
Most of the resort staff were very good and friendly. None have the power to do anything since the stock answer to a problem is answered with "I will write an incidence report" which translates to manna before any thing happens.
If you get a room in the back you probably will not be too affected by the music at night. So get the least expensive room as possible since those are in the back. I am used to beach noise since I owned a place in Mexico that was 30 feet from the beach for 18 years, this noise was multiples more excessive to even that.
Again, a great dive operation, but the resort is not a dive resort like any of the other dozen or so I have stayed at in the Caribbean. If I had to go back again I would look for another place to stay and use Ocean Encounters for the diving.
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