Sueno Del Mar

[mbiddi]

Has anyone dove with Sueno Del Mar operators in the past. Interested in hearing any experiences with them, good or bad. Going to Roatan in early March and want to stay on beach in West End or West bay.

 

[stevep4444]

I can't give you a review of the Sueno Del Mar dive ops but can offer options should that not work out for you. If you want to be on the beach in the West End then Lost Paradise next door is an option. They have air conditioned individual cabana's on the water, nothing fancy , but I have stayed there a few times and was satisfied. Then you can then dive with anyone you chose in the West End. Many good ones and I would recommend West End Divers.I think most dive ops will store your gear so you don't have to haul it back and forth. If a great beach and more upscale accommodation is more what you are looking for then West Bay is a far better option. Back and forth from West End to West Bay is a $3 water taxi ride so no problem splitting your time.
Enjoy!

 

[mbiddi]

Thanks for the information. We don't really care about the beach but I like to be as close to the ocean as I can afford. I'll check out West Bay though.

 

[Bay Island Diver]

I would have a look at Posada Arco Iris, you can stay there and then dive with one of the many West End Dive Ops, the closest two shops to Posada are Coconut Tree Divers and Native Sons

 

[HowieDean]

Dave and Elsie are 2 of the treasures of Roatan - Ray has been on the island for a long time

The place is nice and right on the beach - DM's come and go but when you have long time comitted people running the place I can assure you that the operation will be of the highest standard.....

HowieDean

 

[diversteve]

I like to be as close to the ocean as I can afford

You can't get much closer to the water than Cocolobo. It's walking distance to the West End - even with gear. (we rented a house just to the west of this picture) It's all ironshore on the point there so if you want a beach you'll have to stay further west - West Bay has the best beaches.

Posada and most other properties in the West End are across the street from the beach. You can get an idea in this photo. The two people are walking on the main road in the West End, Posada's beach is past the ropes. The Argentinean Grille is just above the Posada sign in the picture, rooms are to the right. They closed around 10PM - later on Fri-Sat IIRC:

At Posada the room balconies face west - not north - so your water views are somewhat restricted. This picture shows it, the yellow building upstairs is the start of the rooms.

+1 for Coconut Tree Divers, they do a great job and have fun doing it. We left our gear there all week and they stored it for us after it dried. Very accommodating, they made arrangements - including transport - for us to dive the Dolphin dive at AKR, the Shark dive with Waihuka and Mary's Place with Barefoot Divers. And without asking took us to the best dives near the West End IMO - Texas and Spooky Channel.

 

[RTBDiver]

I never dove with Sueno Del mar but they run a pretty tight dive operation, that is where i get my tanks hydro'd and most often filled if that counts for anything.

 

[Bill Parker]

SDL has two hotel buildings. One is inside the West End
(a string of dive shops, shops, restaurants, and bars)
and about a ten minute walk from their dock where
their two dive boats are kept. It's not beachfront but
it is very close. The second location is about 10' from
their dock and also where their equipment lockers
are and is beachfront. I wouldn't recommend the one
inside the West End unless you're a really heavy sleeper
or are planning to stay up late anyway as it's right next
to some noisy night clubs. The beachfront location is in
a quiet area. I chose their beachfront rooms and did
fourteen dives with them and had a blast. It was nice
to be right next to their dock so between dives you
could go back to your room and take a nap if you
wanted. The rooms were very comfortable to me. My
experience was 99% good. One small problem I had was
one day the battery in their best dive boat (Lolly) was
dead and we got off to a late start. I still got three
dives that day just a little later than planned. And they
forgot to pick me up from the airport like they said
they would but no big deal I found someone to split
the $20 cab fare with. All in all I though I had a great
time with them. Hopefully I can go back there someday.

 

[tendi]

We were just there a couple weeks ago. We stayed 13 nights and did 12 dives. Location is the best! Your room is 30 feet from everything - the bar, the dock, the dive shop and the beach is nice. It is on the quiet end of town but everything is still in very close walking distance. The staff is great. We had DM, Michelle the whole time. She is very laid back, goes slow and is good at pointing out all kinds of things. She made sure we never dove the same site twice. We were the only customers on our dives. On a few, there were other divemasters tagging along. It was great personal service. They also carry all of your stuff to the boat and set it all up. I don't mind setting up my own equpiment but it is nice not to have to carry tanks. On one dive, 2 dive masters came along. We spotted lionfish for them. They speared 10...fed one to a grouper and gave the rest to us for dinner. Tita (runs the bar at the hotel) cooked them for us. Delicious! The only negatives were the weather a couple days and a boat problem. The boat was fixed quickly.

Other suggestions: go to Gumbolimbo park for a day. Ray at the hotel can tell you how to walk there. It's a nice walk and a fun place to visit. We paid $55 for zipline + guided tour of the park. We went when there wasn't a cruise ship and we were the only ones I saw there. Cheap eats: rotisserie chicken, noodle shack, bealadas. Also, Tita makes a really REALLY good hamburger. I don't eat beef but my husband couldn't quit talking about it.