RalphJr
Registered
Dive Report:
First for the land side of things, Orange Hill Beach Inn 5 star scale.
Accommodations 2 stars,
Food 3 stars, :14:
Friendly Staff 5 stars:blinking:
We arrived on Thursday too late for dinner and they feed us anyhow. The main cook Evon was a wizard in the kitchen and the dinner menu was different each day with chicken, pork, mutton, fresh fish, conch, lobster and beef rotated and cooked in a wide range of down home styles offering plenty of selections each night. Vegetables and starches varied widely and the desserts were to look forward to. If you get a chance at the Guava upside down cake dont pass it up. Prices ranged from $13 up for the entre $3 for a self serve salad and $4 for dessert. Breakfast was self serve continental style $5 or hot buffet $8. Lunch was sandwiches and hot dogs or burgers $4.50. The bar is on the honor system and you fix your own, $4 for a beer or mixed drink. The dining room is closed on Saturday and Wednesday evenings. The pool side room was clean and offered AC, a ceiling fan, a TV with 8 or so cable channels, refrigerator, microwave and a coffee maker. The beds were only so-so as I have a bad back and find most hotel beds not good for me. The power failed in a storm one night and in about three minutes a diesel generator whirred to life and we had power when most of the Island was out for twelve hours. The staff was as good as it gets they will tend to your every need. The overall environment is very laid back and nothing like the Hilton or Waldorf, this is my kind of place. Cabs are expensive to get down:14:town at $27 but most of the time you can take the bus for $1.25. There is a liquor store and a couple of good restaurants within walking distance. It was an easy 15 minute shuttle ride to Stuart Coves on their bus but if you need to get over there on your own it is a $30 cab ride.
Stuart Coves:
Friendly Staff 5 stars:14:
Organization 1 star:no
Dive boats 4 stars:14:
Dive sites 3 stars:blinking:
Shark Dive 5 stars
All other dives 2 stars
The entire staff was top notch, friendly, helpful, and cheerful. We made 12 dives on five diving days.
Every day we had to wade through the large crowd of new people signing in just to find out which dive boat we were assigned to. I do not understand why they do not have a board posting this information; this simple improvement would be most beneficial to the overall experience. We were on a different boat each day; this made it virtually impossible to tip the crew for their courteous help and efforts at the end of our stay. I would have had to tip 15 different people and even though I am pretty generous this goes too far for even me. I would prefer to have the same crew and boat for the majority of our multiple diving days. This allows you to settle in to a routine which is more relaxing to me. In my opinion the organization needs work.
The shark dive was an incredible experience and worth every penny of the cost of our entire trip. I bought the video and pictures from FIN Photo. Found a few shark teeth and will never forget how those sharks mauled Viviano the shark feeder.
In my book any dive you surface from is a good dive. That being said I am really unhappy about Stuart Coves 35 minute dive policy. We traveled 6000+ miles to dive here. We purchased 5 days of 2 tank am diving and 3 days of unlimited Nitrox which is a total waste on 70 minutes of bottom time a day. All 3 Nitrox days everyone on our boat had to wait for our Nitrox to be loaded because they were not filled the night before. Most dives I surfaced with 1500+PSI. My longest dive time was 42 minutes.
The wreck dives were interesting. We dove on the Bond Wrecks, DC3, Twin Sisters, Willaurie, Ray of Hope and the Blue Plunder. The Blue Plunder bought and sunk by the BBC in order to study reef formation has just been released for diving. The nearby reef to the Blue Plunder was also the most pristine with a good diversity of marine life. The walls and other reefs visited were not spectacular compared to the GBR we visited on our last trip but were ok. Water temp was warm at 85F, visibility averaged 65 to 80 feet. I wore my 3/2 Tilos but a skin would have been enough.
The dive boats were very clean and in excellent repair. We travel with all of our own dive gear so I cannot comment about the rental gear other than to say that I did not observe any equipment problems on divers using rental equipment during our dives.
Conclusion:
Go here to dive with the sharks.
Find another dive provider for the rest of your trip. I doubt that I would dive with Stuart Coves again. I want full bottom time when I travel that far to dive.
First for the land side of things, Orange Hill Beach Inn 5 star scale.
Accommodations 2 stars,
Food 3 stars, :14:
Friendly Staff 5 stars:blinking:
We arrived on Thursday too late for dinner and they feed us anyhow. The main cook Evon was a wizard in the kitchen and the dinner menu was different each day with chicken, pork, mutton, fresh fish, conch, lobster and beef rotated and cooked in a wide range of down home styles offering plenty of selections each night. Vegetables and starches varied widely and the desserts were to look forward to. If you get a chance at the Guava upside down cake dont pass it up. Prices ranged from $13 up for the entre $3 for a self serve salad and $4 for dessert. Breakfast was self serve continental style $5 or hot buffet $8. Lunch was sandwiches and hot dogs or burgers $4.50. The bar is on the honor system and you fix your own, $4 for a beer or mixed drink. The dining room is closed on Saturday and Wednesday evenings. The pool side room was clean and offered AC, a ceiling fan, a TV with 8 or so cable channels, refrigerator, microwave and a coffee maker. The beds were only so-so as I have a bad back and find most hotel beds not good for me. The power failed in a storm one night and in about three minutes a diesel generator whirred to life and we had power when most of the Island was out for twelve hours. The staff was as good as it gets they will tend to your every need. The overall environment is very laid back and nothing like the Hilton or Waldorf, this is my kind of place. Cabs are expensive to get down:14:town at $27 but most of the time you can take the bus for $1.25. There is a liquor store and a couple of good restaurants within walking distance. It was an easy 15 minute shuttle ride to Stuart Coves on their bus but if you need to get over there on your own it is a $30 cab ride.
Stuart Coves:
Friendly Staff 5 stars:14:
Organization 1 star:no
Dive boats 4 stars:14:
Dive sites 3 stars:blinking:
Shark Dive 5 stars
All other dives 2 stars
The entire staff was top notch, friendly, helpful, and cheerful. We made 12 dives on five diving days.
Every day we had to wade through the large crowd of new people signing in just to find out which dive boat we were assigned to. I do not understand why they do not have a board posting this information; this simple improvement would be most beneficial to the overall experience. We were on a different boat each day; this made it virtually impossible to tip the crew for their courteous help and efforts at the end of our stay. I would have had to tip 15 different people and even though I am pretty generous this goes too far for even me. I would prefer to have the same crew and boat for the majority of our multiple diving days. This allows you to settle in to a routine which is more relaxing to me. In my opinion the organization needs work.
The shark dive was an incredible experience and worth every penny of the cost of our entire trip. I bought the video and pictures from FIN Photo. Found a few shark teeth and will never forget how those sharks mauled Viviano the shark feeder.
In my book any dive you surface from is a good dive. That being said I am really unhappy about Stuart Coves 35 minute dive policy. We traveled 6000+ miles to dive here. We purchased 5 days of 2 tank am diving and 3 days of unlimited Nitrox which is a total waste on 70 minutes of bottom time a day. All 3 Nitrox days everyone on our boat had to wait for our Nitrox to be loaded because they were not filled the night before. Most dives I surfaced with 1500+PSI. My longest dive time was 42 minutes.
The wreck dives were interesting. We dove on the Bond Wrecks, DC3, Twin Sisters, Willaurie, Ray of Hope and the Blue Plunder. The Blue Plunder bought and sunk by the BBC in order to study reef formation has just been released for diving. The nearby reef to the Blue Plunder was also the most pristine with a good diversity of marine life. The walls and other reefs visited were not spectacular compared to the GBR we visited on our last trip but were ok. Water temp was warm at 85F, visibility averaged 65 to 80 feet. I wore my 3/2 Tilos but a skin would have been enough.
The dive boats were very clean and in excellent repair. We travel with all of our own dive gear so I cannot comment about the rental gear other than to say that I did not observe any equipment problems on divers using rental equipment during our dives.
Conclusion:
Go here to dive with the sharks.
Find another dive provider for the rest of your trip. I doubt that I would dive with Stuart Coves again. I want full bottom time when I travel that far to dive.
