Den Laman Pre-Trip Questions

[scubadada]

I don’t know what it looked like beforehand, but it is currently quite nice. The only problem we had with it was that midway through our trip the power went out and wasn’t fixed. That meant the motion activated lights didn’t turn on and the drying fans were not working. I used my dive lights to see for hanging gear after night diving. When everything was working it was great though. Our gear was actually really dry in the morning.

They did not have drying fans in the old storage unit

 

[divezonescuba]

I did not know that the gear room had been remodeled before it was mentioned.

A big issue is the absence of an on site management representative. If you unit is with Sunwise, you have to call to let them know you have arrived and arrange to give you the keys and briefing. There is nobody in the first floor office. This basically means that you must arrange to have your phone working on island or get a phone, or use someone else’s phone.

when we had problems with the internet or the lack of toilet paper, we had to email them from the dive friends network.

on the plus side, they were very responsive whenever we did need to contact them.

 

[scubadada]

I generally agree with @divezonescuba We have stayed at Den Laman 4 times in the last 2 years. We also prefer on site management, with personnel in the front office, over the current system with off site managers. We used Sunwise in Sept/Oct of last year. Simon and Cecile were very responsive to the few things we needed. We called to let them know when we had arrived, turned out Cecile was already at Den Laman, waiting for us, as they had tracked the progress of our flight. We had no trouble reaching them by email, text, or phone during our stay and they responded nearly immediately. I can't comment on how the other management companies with units at Den Laman perform. Sunwise has 10 of the 16 units, SunRentals has 4, and Carib Mall and Sunbelt both have one.

My wife and I really like staying at Den Laman, diving with Dive Friends, using the gear storage unit, and having access to the pier for our dives on Bari Reef and taking Dive Friends boats in the morning. We will be returning in April for our next 2 week stay

 

[Martijn]

If you're staying at Den Laman, you can pickup tanks 24/7 with an access code

 

[scubadada]

If you're staying at Den Laman, you can pickup tanks 24/7 with an access code

You can actually access tanks for off site use, the gear room, and the pier with tanks, 24/7, all with the same code.

 

[morty343]

I was there in Sept., and just had a couple comments on two of your questions:

1. I found the safe easily large enough for my laptop and other electronics. It probably would have fit the housing for my compact camera and my Inon strobes, but to be honest I never had concerns about theft, even if I had been on 1st floor. Den Laman didn't seem like a place that thieves would think was an easy target.

3. It's not prohibited to bring items to your balcony for drying, but IIRC there is a sign requesting that sand and water not be tracked through the hallways, so if you are carrying wet gear in a mesh bag, it might be a good idea to place a beach towel at the bottom of the bag to keep it from dripping. I found it helpful to bring along a few sturdy plastic clothes hangers for rash guards, wet suits etc. as I don't recall many extra hangers in my unit.

They do a good job of providing bath towels, washcloths, TP etc., but kleenex and paper towels/napkins are the responsibility of the renter.

The Dive Friends retail shop in the strip mall across the roundabout sells beer! (But it's cheaper at the market to the north.)

 

[undrwtr1]

Thanks Morty - is it ok to leave my camera rig to soak in the sink/dry on the counter while heading out to dinner or should all valuables be stowed away before leaving the unit? I presume the locked unit is fine, but I just want to be sure based upon someone else's firsthand experience.

 

[scubadada]

Thanks Morty - is it ok to leave my camera rig to soak in the sink/dry on the counter while heading out to dinner or should all valuables be stowed away before leaving the unit? I presume the locked unit is fine, but I just want to be sure based upon someone else's firsthand experience.

I believe it is a safe place. There are two locked doors, in addition to your room, to get through in off hours. I left my camera and housing out at all times and put other valuables in the safe.

Each unit has a drying rack to use on the balcony

 

[morty343]

Thanks Morty - is it ok to leave my camera rig to soak in the sink/dry on the counter while heading out to dinner or should all valuables be stowed away before leaving the unit? I presume the locked unit is fine, but I just want to be sure based upon someone else's firsthand experience.

Like scubadada I just left my camera gear sitting out. I was traveling alone and staying in one of the 2nd floor efficiencies. For my unit, the smaller balcony did not have any sort of drying rack or wall pegs but it may be different for the larger units.

 

[scubadada]

Like scubadada I just left my camera gear sitting out. I was traveling alone and staying in one of the 2nd floor efficiencies. For my unit, the smaller balcony did not have any sort of drying rack or wall pegs but it may be different for the larger units.

Sorry, I've not stayed in one of the studios, just one and two bedroom units. The balcony railing seems to work just fine .