Diving at Spanish Bay Reef - Grand Cayman

[crum]

Looking for information on staying at the Spanish Bay Reef Resort in Grand Cayman and diving from there. We have been told we can do two possibly three boat dives a day there, as well as shore diving. Can anyone tell me about their experiences with boat diving and shore diving staying at this resort, as well as their experience with the resort itself. We are looking to do as much diving as we can there, and hoping to visit wrecks as well as reefs.

 

[ScubaK-Dawg]

I stayed at Spanish Bay in Oct of 2002. I was not impressed at all by the dive operation at the resort, however, I thought the beach diving at the resort was pretty good. Let me explain why I wasn't impressed by the dive operation. First of all, no boats came to the resort when I was there. Any boat dives I did we had to be shuttled over tho the sister resort to do, and they cost extra. I was under the impression that the boats would pick us up right at the resort better we went. May have had something to do with the weather, I'm not sure. The girl working at the shop seemed very indifferent to the customers, often coming late to open up for the day. Diver's were waiting to get their gear for beach diving, or get on a shuttle to catch a boat dive, but the shop would open 1/2 hour late. Another day we wanted to schedule a dive to stingray city, and she was giving us the runarround, saying she wasn't sure if they would run the trip or not, so we just ended up calling another dive operation and going through them. I wanted to do a night dive from the beach, but I was told there had to be 6 people in order for me to go. So, I had to run around the resort asking other people if they were interested in doing a night dive, just so I could do one (from the beach no less). Very inconvenient, especially since thewasn't more them a dozen divers at the resort at the time. I don't think that girl works there anymore, so the operation may be better.

Not to sound all bad though, my only complaints were with the dive shop. I loved the resort. Very quiet, nice location. Not really much of a night life though. Food was good. Rooms were nice. People were very friendly. I really enjoyed the beach diving from the resort. You could do a shallow 40-50 foot reef dive, or swim out a little further and do a deep wall dive. I saw spotted eagle rays, and a lot of sea turtles there. It's a little bit of a sim to the reef though, so be prepared. Overall, I was impressed by the resort, not impressed by the dive operation. As I said, that may have changed. If not, don't let it ruin your vacation, there is plenty of excellent diving to be had there.
Have fun!!

 

[CarwashGuy]

We have never stayed at the resort. However we like to do the shore dive there, it's very nice. Lets just say the dive shop nor the kids employed there will never recieve any customer service awards.

 

[worlddiver]

We would recommened Coablt Coast Resort (new small resort) just down the coast line from Spanish Bay. Alot of the divers staying at Spanish Bay were diving with us at Cobalt Coast. We heard alot of stories that made us glad we did not stay there. Divetech was Cobalt's dive operator. I can not say enough good things about them. They will dive you to your hearts content. There was a group of guys that were shooting for 30 dives in 7 days. You have to check out their one way dive from their two shops, over one mile with a guide and boat running as surface support. It was a blast. You will love the wall diving in the Cayman's.

 

[IndyDan]

Crum, I'd have to echo just about all the previous posts. We stayed at SBR last Oct. It's not overly fancy or luxurious, but we enjoyed the nice location, and the staff works hard to keep you happy. The food is fine, which is important considering what restaurants cost on Grand Cayman. We did a few shore dives there and thought they were great. I'm pretty sure shore diving was included at the resort for no extra cost. I had no complaints about the people at the dive shop, but then we didn't need much more than tanks and weights from them.
We did our boat dives with Divetech at Cobalt Coast. They picked us up in the morning, then brought us back to the resort after our dives. They were a very professional, friendly operation and I would dive with them again in a heartbeat. Divetech also has shore diving at Turtle reef (by the turtle farm) and we enjoyed those dives nearly as much as our boat dives.
Dan