Of the places you've been, if money isn't factored in (a big factor though for most of us) how would you rank Brac Reef, TIR, AKR, Utila, etc?
Damn, now the pressure's on! Well, we just rebooked TIR for March... does that tell you anything?
I think my preference for the "best" place we have been in the past few years would go like this: TIR ("Best" best overall), Little Cayman Beach Club (Best diving... love that Bloody wall, and reconfirmed this a few of weeks ago), Laguna Beach in Utila (great "vibe" in Utila, whale sharks and wild dolphins, nice diving tied with AKR (great accommodations, very good diving and love those dolphins) and finally Brac Reef (great staff, very nice diving, but the resort itself was somewhat "Holiday Inn-ish".
We have stayed at some other places such as La Source in Grenada
LaSource - The Amazing Holiday Grenada | Official Site but never really reviewed them here because these weren't primarily dive trips. (I got married at La Source, but conveniently, the wreck of the Bianca C. is just off the beach. This wreck was recently voted "best wreck dive" by Diver mag in the UK. The accommodations and food at this place were unbelievable, but the diving wasn't great.
I think if you like ocean views, AKR is the cat's patooties. The Key accommodations are hanging off the edge of the islet with slat walls that you open up at night and the wind howls though... A little rustic for some, but I loved them...
I think I mentioned in some other thread that Mrs. Stoo and I rate these places with different priorities but she just confirmed that she agrees with my list!
All in all, I don't think you can go wrong with any of these places. There are times when "something" might not be great... but overall, these are all great places. We do like small, intimate resorts, and none of these are very big places. I suppose what they all share, is attentive staff who seem to enjoy their jobs and that always makes for a better trip.
As for the price, none of these places are "cheap" but I have come to believe that any decent place is going to cost a chunk of change and the extra cost of one of these places really isn't that big a deal overall, especially when you take the cost of the airfare out of it.
I hope that helps... But of you go to one of these places and don't like it, don't blame me! Just send me back so I can learn the errors of my ways!
