I was there this past spring with a group of about 24 people, mostly divers. The dive operation - Ocean Encounters - is fantastic: extremely well organized, great DM's, boats are in good repair, great captain, no "you need to come up in 50 minutes" stuff, and the entire staff knew what needed to be done and smiled while doing it. Our group of 22 divers had a very good time with them and it was like diving with friends the entire week. Yes, the wave action was "sporty" but doable even for an older crowd. The boat staff did all of the "heavy lifting" when needed and without having to ask. Several of our group took their gear off/on in the water and was not an issue. It appears to be a separate business from Lion's Den.
The Lions Den property is very nice and out of our group about 6 couples upgraded to a suite or ocean front room. Rooms are nice. The resort was packed. The one major issue that we had was the noise on the beach. The suite I was in was right in front of a band on the beach that was to be done by 9:00 PM, then 10, then 11..... Property staff on duty could not give a definitive answer when it would stop even though it was their band. Every night they promised to write up an incidence report. After that a venue right next to the Lion's property will blare music until 3 or 4 in the morning 3 or 4 nights a week. One couple were able to "enjoy" a jack hammer for three days in the room next to them. They had 24 hours of noise. They did get a $50 credit..... Even 33dB ear plugs did very little to block out the music in my room. No matter how many people complained, management did nothing to lower the music. Management did offer me a room in the back, but only for me and as the lead I was not going to take care of myself and let everyone else suffer. If you go get one of the cheaper rooms in the back to avoid the noise.
It was difficult to make a reservation for dinner for our group because they requested a minimum of a 3 day lead time for a reservation. After speaking with management several times I was able to make a reservation for the next night. No one was expecting us when we showed up so I had to use a letter from management stating I had a reservation. After that we just walked off property to Mambo Beach area next door where there are quite few good restaurants. It is less than a 3 minute walk from Lions Den. They all handled my group with even as little as a 1 hour request for the reservation.
Other than the noise it was a fairly typical mid to large Caribbean resort. To me it is not a dive resort, but a resort with an excellent dive shop next to it would be a better description. It appeared to me that most guests on property where there to sit on the beach and party since we were the only divers that week for the most part. For reference I have been to about 20 different Caribbean dive resorts.
