So we pushed our trip back to late April and and I just locked in @ Sunset House for 4/25 to 5/1! Delta had smoking deal from DTW to GCM ($484)
Doing our referral dives on 4/26 and 4/27, then boat/shore diving the rest of the trip!
Very excited. We had reserved Little Cayman Beach Resort for the same dates, but they called back and could not get us on referral dives until 4/28, so we would have been beach bound for 2 days. Not the worst problem to have, but this is a dive trip! They were really nice and we were within the 10 day cancellation.
Thanks everyone here for the great suggestions and help.
Glad you found a good deal. You will have a great time. Since you settled on Sunset House, here is an excerpt from an old post of mine:
I have stayed at Sunset House on more than one occasion and here is what I can tell you about staying there:
1. It is a very well run operation. Rooms have been upgraded recently, the pool has been redone also and the dive boats are very comfortable and safety oriented.
2. Breakfast is included in the package, but it is a pretty unspectacular breakfast. It is certainly adequate, but nothing to write home about.
3. Package includes 2 morning boat dives and they will all be on the west side walls and inner reefs. They do keep a boat on the north side and on occasion, will bus everyone over there for some North wall diving. Weather has to cooperate and a group of guests will need to request and desire to do it. You will probably have 10-15 divers per boat. There will be 1 DM/Dive guide in the water for the entire group. He/She will lead a 30-45 minute dive and eventually bring everyone back to the mooring line. At that point, the DM will make sure everyone looks up and sees where the boat is and will wave goodbye and surface and you will be free to continue to dive your tank with a 60-70 minute time limit.
4. The on site outdoor restaurant and bar is really great for lunch and dinner. A very nice variety of food options that will take you many days to tire of, including very good Indian food. And the setting is spectacular, with gorgeous sunsets. There is another restaurant as well, over by the pool, but I always eat at the outdoor restaurant (called My Bar). The indoor restaurant is essentially the same menu, but a more upscale vibe to it.
5. It is walking distance into downtown (10-15 minutes).
6. They offer weekly Kittiwake and Stingray City dives for a slight up charge. I got the opportunity to do a night dive on the Kittiwake and that was pretty cool. These dives are in the afternoons on specified days and are an additional charge and not part of the package.
7. You will be assigned a locker where you keep all of your dive gear, when not using it.
8. There is unlimited shore diving on site and it is actually better than most people think. Especially if you really explore around and don't just do the typical dive out to the statue or wreck. The diving to the south end is really pretty good. South of where the dive boats are moored. Very easy entry with a simple giant stride into the water and a nice ladder exit. Showers and rinse tanks are just a couple of steps away from the entry/exit.
9. The dive shop closes around 5-5:30pm. So, if you want to do a night dive or early morning dawn dive, you need to get your tanks before they close and put them in your locker. They do have both 21% and 32% nitrox available.
10. If you decide that you don't want to rent a car, they will pick you up and then drop you off at the airport. I'd recommend renting a car though. If you want to do shore diving anywhere else on the island or hit up any other 7 mile beach restaurants and night spots, you will want the car.
11. They do not offer afternoon boat dives (with the exception of the Kittiwake and Stingray City mentioned above). So, if you decide you want to do some additional afternoon boat dives, instead of shore dives, you will need to go with another operator. I am pretty biased toward Brad Nelson and Cayman University Divers.
https://www.cudivers.com/
12. WIFI is very good at the restaurant/bar/lobby and any room close to those locations. It can be a bit spotty the further away you get from them.
13. This website will really go a long way in educating you about all of the dive sites and locations:
Best Dive Sites Grand Cayman - iDive
14. Sunset House/Divers is a PADI and SSI dive shop for the sake of certification needs.
