Hotel/Resort Recommendations

[diversteve]

I thought the shop at Santa Barbara was an Ocean Encounters location - it used to be.

The main OE shop is 50 yds. down the boardwalk from Lion's Dive. I've walked over there while waiting for a boat to leave.

Also they do the Dolphin dives from there if that's of interest. I agree that the reef in that area is just average though.

w/o a car Mambo Beach is nearby also for other things to do.. Mambo Beach Boulevard, the place where urban meets the sea!

I'll re-iterate my previous comments also - do not stay at Santa Barbara unless it has all you want on-site - it's long way from anything. Probably 20-30 mins. drive to town. The closest other area that might have food options is Jan Thiel. Caracabaai struck me as largely a residential area but we only drove thru a couple of times.

 

[Damselfish]

It used to be OE, or at least they picked up there. (And IIRC the whole place used to be a Hyatt that went bankrupt.) I learned on here recently the shop is Epsilon. The reason I think this is a newish thing is, when I looked at the Santa Barbara website a maybe a couple months ago I could find no mention of a dive shop. Now there is, but the page says “Epsilon Dive Center will operate 7 days a week, 365 days a year from 9am - 5pm.“. I could be reading too much into the wording.

 

[cruzbound]

Thanks to all for your input. I have emailed the contact at Hilton I have been dealing with and told him that we want to stay at Lions Dive. So now I just want to see what his reply is. Hopefully they will come through and cover the cost as we have always said they have good customer service - hope this doesn’t change. I will post once I receive their answer and know where we are staying.

 

[irie1029]

Stayed a few days at Santa Barbara and it way great as far as on site restaurants and there is a "off resort" walk across parking lot... cheap but good restaurant Boca 19. Sea Aquarium has a good restaurant on site BUT many are within walking distance. Yes SA is a timeshare and we stay there 2 weeks in November each year and then Westpundt for a week.. Taking a boat to dive is a waste. I would Definitely do either Dive Bus or Curious 2 Dive. Both are quality, customer oriented, and will pick you up BUT most likely NOT at Santa Barbara it is quite remote. You would need to contact them if staying at SB.

 

[tkaelin]

Taking a boat to dive is a waste.

From where? That may be a bit harsh. SB just came back from a week of boat diving with Oceanencounters and the boat diving reviews were positive.

 

[Damselfish]

Taking a boat to dive may be considered a waste by some people, but not everyone. Different strokes.

 

[GrafCanuck]

The Sea Aquarium is excellent. Comfortable and clean rooms right on the ocean. Free entrance to the Aquarium. A 5 minute walk to the restaurants and stores. A free daily shuttle to the supermarket. There were also free shuttles into Wilemstad but can't remember the frequency. Also have stayed at Blue Bay. Nice resort with golf course, but nothing around and a walk to the beach / diving area. Have also stayed a few times in the north west area of Westpunt - specifically Nos Kruseros. A little remote, definitely need a car, but the diving from shore or boat is superb. My wife and I are in our 50s. I'm the diver and she is the bubble watcher and tourist. Really depends on your likes and dislikes. PM me if you have any specific questions.

 

[DeputyDan]

DiverSteve was being way too kind in saying the Hilton was a dump.
It is a sh*t hole of a dump.

You have been blessed in not being able to stay there.
I stayed there on Hilton Honors points and staying free was not worth it.

 

[irie1029]

From where? That may be a bit harsh. SB just came back from a week of boat diving with Oceanencounters and the boat diving reviews were positive.

I was trying to convey how easy it is to shore dive almost anywhere but Watamula. Sorry if I was misleading.

 

[cruzbound]

Hi All,

I just received a call from Hilton and they will pay for us to stay at the Lion's Dive - so awesome. We have to book and pay for it because Hilton does not have any ties to them and then I will send the receipt to my Hilton contact and they will send us a check. Don't worry, Hilton has always had really good customer service so I do not have any doubts that they will pay us back.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can work with them there to make sure we get a king bed (and not two doubles in our room)? I also got Hilton to agree to pay for the breakfast at the Lion's Dive since we would have had breakfast at the Hilton, however I am trying to decide if I should take the breakfast. Does anyone know what it is like and the time breakfast runs from? I ask because we usually do not eat any or definitely not a huge breakfast before we go diving in the AM so if their breakfast is a heavy/full breakfast then I might opt out of Hilton paying for that and taking their offer of receiving 30,000 of our points back. Thoughts???

Thanks for all the help - I appreciate it.