More Wyndham/Sabor drama with a Sand Dollar Sports and Dive Palancar thrown in!!!!

[khaverland]

Heading to Aura end of July. Previously went out with SandDollar. Anyone been with the new house operator?

I would not bother going with the new operator unless you are staying close to the wooden pier and shlepping your gear back and forth. We always stay on the north end of the resort so the concrete pier is easy to get to and Sand Dollar is operating as usual off of the concrete pier. If you do go with Dive Palancar keep in mind that you will have to slog through a few feet of surf just to get on the wooden pier. Not a big deal but a little surprising if you weren't prepared for it.
Other options would be Tres Hermanos or Alexscuba, both former Sand Dollar instructors doing their own thing on your schedule.

 

[samcraig]

I would not bother going with the new operator unless you are staying close to the wooden pier and shlepping your gear back and forth. We always stay on the north end of the resort so the concrete pier is easy to get to and Sand Dollar is operating as usual off of the concrete pier. If you do go with Dive Palancar keep in mind that you will have to slog through a few feet of surf just to get on the wooden pier. Not a big deal but a little surprising if you weren't prepared for it.
Other options would be Tres Hermanos or Alexscuba, both former Sand Dollar instructors doing their own thing on your schedule.

We just got back. Maybe it's the time of year - but the dock isn't "a few feet" in the surf. Most of the time it was either dry or a tiny little lap of water was hitting the first step.

That being said - no reason to use the resort shop - although plenty of people enjoyed their services. We went with Dive with Martin ourselves.

 

[chrisc]

We dove with Sand Dollar once last year and promply change to Dive with Martin. Not very impressed with thier customer service or the cattle boat diving.

 

[ScubaB27]

Just returned from 11 days at the Aura. We dove with Dive Palancar, the new house operator. We had previously gone out with Sand Dollar on 2 prior trips (my wife was certified through Sand Dollar). Overall we much prefer Dive Palancar. They operate right at the wooden pier and wash and store your gear on site. Dive Palancar hired some of the old Sand Dollar crew (Victor, George and the beach crew) which was nice. The main difference is that everyday is divers choice for the site. Sand Dollar had a very rigid schedule that they did not choose to deviate from. Dive Palancar had nice boats but not as big as the cattle boats Sand Dollar would fill up. Dive Palancar has a wonderfull DM ISMAEL. He was the best. My computer flooded on the first dive and he was able to get it working over the SI. ( a little sand paper was all that was needed to remove the corrosion). Overall, Dive Palancar is an improvement and very convenient for guests staying at the Aura or Sabor. Dive Palancar also seemed to be a little more together when it came to being on time and having tanks ready to go. Nitrox is $7.