leadweight
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My vote is for Brac Beach Resort. I stayed there and loved it. The Divi looked a bit worn out. We had complete buffet hot lunches, they ate burgers and pizza.
Who has been to Brac?
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caymaniac
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leadweight:
They painted the place a little over a year ago, it looks great. When were you last there?
-hh
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caymaniac:
I've historically said that the decision on which hotel has the "better" rooms varies by whichever place has had the most recent rennovation and I stand by that.
The Divi has indeed gotten a recent refreshing, so they're probably pretty close to equal in regards to this criteria. My historical advice has been to compare who's offering the best package deal for your needs & timeframe, and I stand by this too.
Disclosure: I own a timeshare at the Divi Tiara, although I'm in a legal dispute with them at present.
-hh
leadweight:
Strange. I thought I ate pretty well when I was at the Divi. Buffets were the norm, and the setup made it really easy to meet a variety of people while you ate. We had no trouble making some pretty good friendships.
I ditto all the people who liked the place and the people.
As for jewelry and stuff, when we were there, they had a grill man who did all the short order work for the buffet. He made a lot of material himself which he sold on the side.
As a possibly interesting side note, the first day I was there was just after a tropical storm, and the sea was too rough to get boats out the channel. We therefore asked about possible shore dives, and they had some recommendations. (Tanks were free.) We selected one that was the closest shore to the Tibbetts wreck. When we saw where the buoys were for that, we ended up swimming out and doing the Tibbetts as a shore dive. It was not really that big a swim.
smb1014
Contributor
This is a post I made after my first time to Cayman Brac - Divi Tiara in August 2001. I will be going back to the Brac and Divi Tiara for my fifth time in five years. That should tell you as to what I think of it so far. Most of the information is still the same except for some of the dive masters names. I was there last year and I had Gary and Cary (yes, thats their names) the dive masters for the week I was there. Gary is very professional, personable, and knowledgeable. Top notch. Cary, the same. They are great guys who will go out of their way to make your stay memorable and relaxing.
If you can, go to Little Cayman. The reefs are amazing. They start out a little shallower than over on the Brac but the wall diving is second to none. They are just sheer cliffs that drop of into the deep blue oblivion.
Ok, the 2001 report-
"I was in Cayman Brac in late August 2001. I stayed with Divi Tiara Resort and Dive. I had a wonderful and relaxing time there. The diving on the Brac is amazing, especially with Divi Tiara. The dive masters that I had were Mark and Heidi and if they are still there when you go, ask for them. They were fun, knowledgeable and very professional.
The Divi Resort has all the amenities that one could want in a dive resort. Now, I am not talking the Waldorf Astoria or The Plaza here. The rooms are clean and comfortable and will do the job fine after a great day of sun and fun out on the water. The staff at Divi Tiara is very friendly and helpful and will try to make your stay as comfortable as possible. The food is very good, plentiful and varied for all tastes. They probably will make something for you if you ask a couple days in advance. The menus ranged from barbeque one night to lobster tails and steak another night. Sometimes I didnt want to leave the table because the food was really good but I had to because the boat was going to leave. Make sure you try to get the all-inclusive package when you are there. Now, I dont know if I saved all that much money by doing the all-inclusive thing, but it sure did make life VERY easy.
Cayman Brac as an island is VERY quiet. If you are looking for relaxation and solitude, the Brac is much more suited for your tastes than Grand Cayman. If you are looking for nightlife, fancier restaurants, and shopping are your thing, than you might be suited on Grand Cayman than Cayman Brac. BUT, I can tell you that the diving is great on Cayman Brac and isnt crowded as far as worrying about a lot of boat traffic. From what I understand, the Brac is what Grand Cayman was like before it became all built up.
The dive operation at Divi Tiara is excellent. The dive masters are VERY knowledgeable and professional. They dont baby experienced divers but are very aware of the new divers. The great thing about Divi Dive is that when you arrive and get settled in your room there is a dive bag on your bed. All you have to do is put all the gear that you want on the boat and set up in the bag. The dive masters setup all of your gear and it is waiting for on the boat when you are ready to dive. After each dive they change your gear onto a filled tank and all you have to do is relax and get ready for your next dive. Thats worth it alone to stay there. Not too many other places do that. I mentioned to another diver is that all we have to worry about here is getting wet and sunscreen. When you are ready to leave, the dive masters rinse your gear and put it back in front of your door.
Some of the good dive sites on the Brac are East Chute/Cayman Mariner, The Fishery (great for the fish lovers, go figure); End of Island, Tarpon Reef, Greenhouse Wall/Reef, Mixing Bowl, Cumbers Cave and, OF COURSE, if you go to Cayman Brac you have to dive THE WRECK Russian Destroyer #356 M.V. Capt. Keith Tibbets. THE WRECK is an awesome dive for wreck lovers and non wreck lovers alike because it has a nice reef area on one side where you can find plenty of fish and critters. The other side is a sand flat where you will find stingrays and similar animals. In recent years the ship has broken in half. The ship is accessible at certain points and is easy to navigate in most areas. The front of the bow is in about 100 feet of water. The bow has broken off and is lying on her port side. The stern is upright and is easily accessible by beginner divers. The radar tower on the stern is about 40 feet deep. The rear gun turrets are in good shape and are a great background for photos and video. There are some large groupers that like to hang out there and are rather friendly. I happened to see two trunk fish mating out in the open while I was there. It was pretty cool to see even though they were right out in the open and a larger fish could have come along and had lunch.
If you are into wall dives, Little Cayman has some of the best around. They start at around 25 feet or so and go off into 6000 feet of total blue abyss. The good dives on Little Cayman are Hole in the Wall, Bus Stop Reef, Anchor Wall and of course, Bloody Bay Wall.
The diving conditions most days were great. There was very little current to speak of. Most days visibility was 100 feet or more. Only one day there was a bit of surge and the visibility wasnt as good as the other days. On the East Chute/Cayman Mariner dive there was a little bit of current which is actually great for that particular dive. We did a drop and drift on that dive site and it was terrific because on that dive it is like you are going up and over underwater mountains. The drift made it simple to navigate these underwater mountains. The Cayman Mariner is a small wreck, about 65ft, that has some great coral and marine life on it. It is located on sand flat and on one side you will probably see southern stingrays in the sand. The other sides are the underwater mountains.
When I was there in late August, the weather was sunny and HOT. There was very little rain and the nights were warm. At night the pool at the hotel made a great place to hang out in and sip some cold drinks. PS, If you get a chance, and want to indulge in some adult beverages, ask the bartenders to make you a Brac Sunset. After a couple of these, they will definitely have you on an island of your own."
STAY WET
If you can, go to Little Cayman. The reefs are amazing. They start out a little shallower than over on the Brac but the wall diving is second to none. They are just sheer cliffs that drop of into the deep blue oblivion.
Ok, the 2001 report-
"I was in Cayman Brac in late August 2001. I stayed with Divi Tiara Resort and Dive. I had a wonderful and relaxing time there. The diving on the Brac is amazing, especially with Divi Tiara. The dive masters that I had were Mark and Heidi and if they are still there when you go, ask for them. They were fun, knowledgeable and very professional.
The Divi Resort has all the amenities that one could want in a dive resort. Now, I am not talking the Waldorf Astoria or The Plaza here. The rooms are clean and comfortable and will do the job fine after a great day of sun and fun out on the water. The staff at Divi Tiara is very friendly and helpful and will try to make your stay as comfortable as possible. The food is very good, plentiful and varied for all tastes. They probably will make something for you if you ask a couple days in advance. The menus ranged from barbeque one night to lobster tails and steak another night. Sometimes I didnt want to leave the table because the food was really good but I had to because the boat was going to leave. Make sure you try to get the all-inclusive package when you are there. Now, I dont know if I saved all that much money by doing the all-inclusive thing, but it sure did make life VERY easy.
Cayman Brac as an island is VERY quiet. If you are looking for relaxation and solitude, the Brac is much more suited for your tastes than Grand Cayman. If you are looking for nightlife, fancier restaurants, and shopping are your thing, than you might be suited on Grand Cayman than Cayman Brac. BUT, I can tell you that the diving is great on Cayman Brac and isnt crowded as far as worrying about a lot of boat traffic. From what I understand, the Brac is what Grand Cayman was like before it became all built up.
The dive operation at Divi Tiara is excellent. The dive masters are VERY knowledgeable and professional. They dont baby experienced divers but are very aware of the new divers. The great thing about Divi Dive is that when you arrive and get settled in your room there is a dive bag on your bed. All you have to do is put all the gear that you want on the boat and set up in the bag. The dive masters setup all of your gear and it is waiting for on the boat when you are ready to dive. After each dive they change your gear onto a filled tank and all you have to do is relax and get ready for your next dive. Thats worth it alone to stay there. Not too many other places do that. I mentioned to another diver is that all we have to worry about here is getting wet and sunscreen. When you are ready to leave, the dive masters rinse your gear and put it back in front of your door.
Some of the good dive sites on the Brac are East Chute/Cayman Mariner, The Fishery (great for the fish lovers, go figure); End of Island, Tarpon Reef, Greenhouse Wall/Reef, Mixing Bowl, Cumbers Cave and, OF COURSE, if you go to Cayman Brac you have to dive THE WRECK Russian Destroyer #356 M.V. Capt. Keith Tibbets. THE WRECK is an awesome dive for wreck lovers and non wreck lovers alike because it has a nice reef area on one side where you can find plenty of fish and critters. The other side is a sand flat where you will find stingrays and similar animals. In recent years the ship has broken in half. The ship is accessible at certain points and is easy to navigate in most areas. The front of the bow is in about 100 feet of water. The bow has broken off and is lying on her port side. The stern is upright and is easily accessible by beginner divers. The radar tower on the stern is about 40 feet deep. The rear gun turrets are in good shape and are a great background for photos and video. There are some large groupers that like to hang out there and are rather friendly. I happened to see two trunk fish mating out in the open while I was there. It was pretty cool to see even though they were right out in the open and a larger fish could have come along and had lunch.
If you are into wall dives, Little Cayman has some of the best around. They start at around 25 feet or so and go off into 6000 feet of total blue abyss. The good dives on Little Cayman are Hole in the Wall, Bus Stop Reef, Anchor Wall and of course, Bloody Bay Wall.
The diving conditions most days were great. There was very little current to speak of. Most days visibility was 100 feet or more. Only one day there was a bit of surge and the visibility wasnt as good as the other days. On the East Chute/Cayman Mariner dive there was a little bit of current which is actually great for that particular dive. We did a drop and drift on that dive site and it was terrific because on that dive it is like you are going up and over underwater mountains. The drift made it simple to navigate these underwater mountains. The Cayman Mariner is a small wreck, about 65ft, that has some great coral and marine life on it. It is located on sand flat and on one side you will probably see southern stingrays in the sand. The other sides are the underwater mountains.
When I was there in late August, the weather was sunny and HOT. There was very little rain and the nights were warm. At night the pool at the hotel made a great place to hang out in and sip some cold drinks. PS, If you get a chance, and want to indulge in some adult beverages, ask the bartenders to make you a Brac Sunset. After a couple of these, they will definitely have you on an island of your own."
STAY WET
OP
This makes me feel a lot better about Divi. When I called PADI travel about this a few weeks ago, they kinda discouraged me from staying there. Wonder why??????
smb1014
Contributor
PADI - Put Another Dollar In - They might have made more of a profit on another hotel/dive shop? Maybe. dunno exactly...downdeep:
OP
I really hate to think that is the case, but you may be right.
florida native
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downdeep:
Well,
I agree with most of the people who have replied as far as diving goes. Brac is one of the BEST best kept secrets in diving in the Caribbean. No matter who you dive with, the diving is the same, UNBELIEVABLE. Little Cayman is well known which the reason that the Brac stays so much more prestine. The walls are just as spectacular as Little Caymans but you dont have the Bloody Bay name attached to them. As far as accomodations go, Divi is pretty good but not as good as Brac Reef in my opinion. I've stayed at the Brac Reef for 3 consecutive years now for 7 days at a time. Food was better, the staff was ever so knowledgable, and the hotel itself was awesome, minus the dock which was a victim of Hurricane Ivan.
Anways, good luck, and I HIGHLY recommend the Brac. Im actually going down for their Splash week. Awesome time and really REALLY low key. And the jet service is REALLY nice too!
Good luck!
Oh and for those that stay at Divi and continually go back must not have ever stayed at the Brac Reef Beach Resort. I've stayed at Divi's other resorts around the Caribbean before, but Divi at the Brac just does NOT compare to the Brac Reef. And remember=== Diving is the same no matter where you stay at the Brac... Its all about the experience you and your family has TOPSIDE that counts! Visit both hotels while you are there. You'll see.
Tim Ingersoll
Contributor
florida native:
Respectfully disagree. I found Little Cayman much more "pristine". I also found that the walls on Brac while impressive started much deeper than on LC. You lose the light and you lose the sight. IMHO LC is just that muc better for that reason.
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