WillAlter
Registered
This was our second trip through St. Maarten’s Princess Juliana Airport since Hurricane Irma, and the repairs are still ongoing. It is a chaotic airport with crowded, and overlapping, waiting areas. So be prepared for noise, heat and close contact with frustrated travelers. Coming in, we had a 3 hour layover until our Winair flight to Statia. Coming back, we had an 8 hour layover. We spent that time at Loterie Farm relaxing in a cabana, sipping some tropical drinks. The Winair flight was a short 20 minute affair.
Sarah from Golden Rock Dive Center was waiting for us at the Statia airport. She quickly whisked us away to the Old Gin House. We had reserved Room 301 months in advance, which might be their best room. It is an ocean view suite that sits over the shoreline. The Old Gin House seems to be in perpetual repair. The garden view rooms are part of the original property, and were being remodeled. Lots of sanding, sawing and painting going on. Our bathroom was okay, and the view was fantastic, but the suite was a bit tired. Another pair of divers we got to know over the 10 days said their room was “okay”. They were in our building but had no windows to the ocean.
We were pleased with the onsite restaurant. They served more grilled meat than we are accustom to on an island. We ended up having steak a few times during the trip. We really liked the Barrel House restaurant a few steps away. They offered more seafood options and the chef is very good. A good place to catch an after dive lunch. The mojitos are good. But get there before 2:00 as they close down for a few hours before switching to dinner service. It would be a good practice to check with the restaurants’ schedules and to make reservations. Some shut down for certain days. We had lunch at the Boardwalk a couple of times and the Blue Bead another time. They are okay, but can be slow. Some restaurants such as the Bay Harbor Club have not reopened from Covid. So don’t rely upon Trip Advisor for meal planning.
The new resort on Statia is the Golden Rock Resort. We visited the resort twice during our stay to eat at the Breeze. The resort is spacious and top end. Built after Irma, the resort has expansive paths and pools. The Breeze is a very nice restaurant. Some of the island’s other hotels remain closed after Covid (Orange Bay and Kings Well).
Statia has two dive operators. What we found in our research was that Scuba Aqua was used by dive clubs and was suited for larger groups. We went with Golden Rock Dive Center because it seemed to cater to couples and smaller groups. GRDC has two boats, but the larger was out of commission during our trip and so all dives were off Stumpy. Typically there 4 to 6 divers on any given day, and once they took me out by myself. The weather was not as accommodating as they had hoped. We got rain most mornings and there was wind to factor in. But there were plenty of dive sites within the bay to offer diving variety. A break in the weather let us go out to the Aquarium one afternoon. There we found the red tip sea goddess. A few of them actually.
In contrast to Saba, most dive sites are in 50 to 60 foot range. Fish were plentiful, and we say 6 to 8 reef sharks and 3 or 4 nurse sharks. There were a few turtles (hawksbills). We hoped for green turtles but they were hiding. Several sites were breading grounds for yellow jawfish. We saw hundreds. In the middle of one patch of jawfish was a black sailfin blenny. I found a large green moray on one dive site that swam to meet us on the other side of the reef. The spotted morays were evident on several sites, include one that rivaled the green moray is size.
There are artifacts to be found on some dive sites such as three wrecks. The three wrecks dive site was one of our favorites. The reef that is included on the site is abundant with fish life. We saw squid on both dives we did there. It is nice to circle the reef and then search for rum bottles that date back a couple of centuries.
Water temperatures ran between 79 and 77 degrees. Visibility was around 50 to 60 feet on the days with rain. Slight currents would also kick up some sand. Our dives ran from 50 to 60 minutes. The daily routine was to be at the shop at 8:30 to start gearing up and for the first dive briefing. We would return to the shop after the first dive for refreshments and discussions about what we saw. Then a briefing on the second dive destination. With only 2 dive shops, there’s no competition for a dive site.
The dive environment at Statia is very different from Saba. The bay provides more protection from wind and currents. The dive sites are shallower. But you won’t find the more exotic dive site that Saba offers. Overall, though, we prefer Statia.
Sarah from Golden Rock Dive Center was waiting for us at the Statia airport. She quickly whisked us away to the Old Gin House. We had reserved Room 301 months in advance, which might be their best room. It is an ocean view suite that sits over the shoreline. The Old Gin House seems to be in perpetual repair. The garden view rooms are part of the original property, and were being remodeled. Lots of sanding, sawing and painting going on. Our bathroom was okay, and the view was fantastic, but the suite was a bit tired. Another pair of divers we got to know over the 10 days said their room was “okay”. They were in our building but had no windows to the ocean.
We were pleased with the onsite restaurant. They served more grilled meat than we are accustom to on an island. We ended up having steak a few times during the trip. We really liked the Barrel House restaurant a few steps away. They offered more seafood options and the chef is very good. A good place to catch an after dive lunch. The mojitos are good. But get there before 2:00 as they close down for a few hours before switching to dinner service. It would be a good practice to check with the restaurants’ schedules and to make reservations. Some shut down for certain days. We had lunch at the Boardwalk a couple of times and the Blue Bead another time. They are okay, but can be slow. Some restaurants such as the Bay Harbor Club have not reopened from Covid. So don’t rely upon Trip Advisor for meal planning.
The new resort on Statia is the Golden Rock Resort. We visited the resort twice during our stay to eat at the Breeze. The resort is spacious and top end. Built after Irma, the resort has expansive paths and pools. The Breeze is a very nice restaurant. Some of the island’s other hotels remain closed after Covid (Orange Bay and Kings Well).
Statia has two dive operators. What we found in our research was that Scuba Aqua was used by dive clubs and was suited for larger groups. We went with Golden Rock Dive Center because it seemed to cater to couples and smaller groups. GRDC has two boats, but the larger was out of commission during our trip and so all dives were off Stumpy. Typically there 4 to 6 divers on any given day, and once they took me out by myself. The weather was not as accommodating as they had hoped. We got rain most mornings and there was wind to factor in. But there were plenty of dive sites within the bay to offer diving variety. A break in the weather let us go out to the Aquarium one afternoon. There we found the red tip sea goddess. A few of them actually.
In contrast to Saba, most dive sites are in 50 to 60 foot range. Fish were plentiful, and we say 6 to 8 reef sharks and 3 or 4 nurse sharks. There were a few turtles (hawksbills). We hoped for green turtles but they were hiding. Several sites were breading grounds for yellow jawfish. We saw hundreds. In the middle of one patch of jawfish was a black sailfin blenny. I found a large green moray on one dive site that swam to meet us on the other side of the reef. The spotted morays were evident on several sites, include one that rivaled the green moray is size.
There are artifacts to be found on some dive sites such as three wrecks. The three wrecks dive site was one of our favorites. The reef that is included on the site is abundant with fish life. We saw squid on both dives we did there. It is nice to circle the reef and then search for rum bottles that date back a couple of centuries.
Water temperatures ran between 79 and 77 degrees. Visibility was around 50 to 60 feet on the days with rain. Slight currents would also kick up some sand. Our dives ran from 50 to 60 minutes. The daily routine was to be at the shop at 8:30 to start gearing up and for the first dive briefing. We would return to the shop after the first dive for refreshments and discussions about what we saw. Then a briefing on the second dive destination. With only 2 dive shops, there’s no competition for a dive site.
The dive environment at Statia is very different from Saba. The bay provides more protection from wind and currents. The dive sites are shallower. But you won’t find the more exotic dive site that Saba offers. Overall, though, we prefer Statia.
