Luxury Dive Resort

[Mossman]

Never been on it but the "Executive Suites" looked a lot nicer than what I've seen on Nekton or Explorer Ventures. And quite a bit pricier. I've been looking at it for Socorros, it seems better than the Solmar V. Any boat that offers microbrews and single malts can't be that bad. Know something I don't?

Nekton and Explorer are generally a tier below the "luxury" liveaboard as epitomized by Peter Hughes and copied by Aggressor et al., though sometimes it's hard to tell the difference. The Nautilus Explorer looks to be as nice as the nicer Aggressors, but neither would be considered "luxury" like you would find in a luxury hotel or on a cruise ship even with turndown service and chocolates on the pillow. As for the single malts and microbrews, it's my understanding they charge extra and you can't bring your own. (That said, for the Socorros or Sea of Cortez trips, it's the clear winner - I might even try to get on one this year now that the s/o won't be busy in October)

I'd love to give the Four Seasons boat a try, but I doubt I will unless my fortunes change. If I do get to the Maldives, I'll settle for the Manthiri or the Peter Hughes boat. But it would be nice one day to travel on a liveaboard that has: (1) a truly comfortable bed and pillows; (2) a larger bathroom with lots of space for toiletries; (3) drink service to the sun deck and hot tub; and (4) finer dining/drinks. That's my wish list.

 

[Damselfish]

If you read the description
http://www.fourseasons.com/maldives...typical_day_on_the_four_seasons_explorer.html
the 4 Seasons "liveaboard" is not a dive liveaboard but more like a small cruiseship with a little diving that is incidental to cruising and other activities. They schedule only 2 dives per day 1 early morning and 1 late afternoon, and who knows if their priority is to get to the best places. (The afternoon dive is "Afternoon dive and Discover Scuba Diving (DSD) course for beginners" which could rather limit site selection. It would be cool to get a group and take over the whole boat and force a real dive schedule, assuming they have knowledge of the better sites and the capability to dive them.

I don't think there are many or any high end resorts that are really "dedicated dive resorts" I doubt the numbers work. But there are certainly plenty of options out there where the diving should be good and convienient enough. If a place is not a dedicated dive resort I think one key is whether shlepping through a place dripping and looking like a drowned rat while carting gear would feel normal, and how far you have to go.

One I like in the Carribean is Young Island off Saint Vincent. Not exactly super luxury in accomodations more of a rustic-luxe kind of place on a private island. But beautiful with great service and you can be picked up right at the dock for some good diving. Even worth burning a tank or 2 from shore if you like to muck about for critters. Can usually get in at least 3 a day without too much trouble, though the place tends to make you a bit lazy.

I agree Divetech/Cobalt Coast is a pretty good option. CC is not real high end but very nice and it's pretty much a dedicated dive place. You could also look at The Reef Resort on the East End, again this is not real high end but very nice (though a bit of a haul to many restaurants.) And diving with Ocean Frontiers is fairly convienient, they pick you up, take excellent care of your gear and offer great service. You could certainly stay at the Ritz on Grand Cayman and get to some great diving but it probably won't meet the schlepping/convienience test.

There are some really nice places on Provo (Turks and Caicos) though for most places there it's a ride to the boat. You might look into the Amanyara. They have a dive op on site but no idea what's they're like. Write up a trip report.

 

[Chaseh]

I'm surprised there weren't more names mentioned in the Caymans and Bonaire.

The entire island of St. Barts seems to be 4 stars, is there any worthwhile diving there, or resorts that cater to divers?

 

[Steve50]

All inclusive resort dedicated to diving. They handle, store, rinse your gear, and put it on and take it off your back at the rear of the dive boat. You still have to do the dive yourself ;-)...I think - haven't been there in 9 years, but going back this year. Food was buffet style, but wide variety and excellent.

 

[Damselfish]

LCBR is generally a great all around experience, but it's not really luxury.

 

[Mossman]

I'm surprised there weren't more names mentioned in the Caymans and Bonaire.

Grand Cayman has a few luxury hotels that may offer diving through an outside company (i.e. Red Sail), but they are hardly dive resorts. Same in Hawaii and plenty of other upscale ocean-side tourist destinations. You end up carrying your gear through a grand lobby (dripping water everywhere on the way back), then walking a ways to self-park or waiting for a valet to pull your car up. A few days of this and you always end up in self-park since you don't have the heart to hand over a car with wet driver's seat and horrid dried plankton stench to a valet in a clean snappy uniform.

Bonaire doesn't really have any luxury resorts, though Harbour Village is supposed to be nice.

 

[Crawl79]

Anse Chastenet Resort in St. Lucia has a nice diving package. Never been so can't tell you how serious the diving. I have thought about it but the price was a little high for me.

 

[vladimir]

Bonaire doesn't really have any luxury resorts, though Harbour Village is supposed to be nice.

The suites at Harbour Village are comparable to a Four Seasons resort, for example. The level of service is not--but for me, it is more than adequate.

 

[Mossman]

If you read the description
http://www.fourseasons.com/maldiveskh/four_seasons_explorer/a_typical_day_on_the_four_seasons_explorer.html
the 4 Seasons "liveaboard" is not a dive liveaboard but more like a small cruiseship with a little diving that is incidental to cruising and other activities. They schedule only 2 dives per day 1 early morning and 1 late afternoon, and who knows if their priority is to get to the best places. (The afternoon dive is "Afternoon dive and Discover Scuba Diving (DSD) course for beginners" which could rather limit site selection. It would be cool to get a group and take over the whole boat and force a real dive schedule, assuming they have knowledge of the better sites and the capability to dive them.

Yeah, I noticed this. But that doesn't detract from the Four Seasons as a liveaboard dive boat, it's just the typical European way. French Polynesia is similar. A lot of the resorts have onsite dive shops with their own boats, but they only offer a single tank morning trip and a single tank afternoon trip. When we stayed at the Moorea Intercontinental, for example, we ended up using an outside dive shop that offered a 2-tank trip. If we could only convince those lazy Europeans to dive more and sun less we'd have a lot more luxury dive resorts to choose from.

The Kia Ora hotel in Rangiroa has an excellent dive shop, even renting Draegers and Inspirations. A couple dives a day on a rebreather would be equivalent to four a day on scuba, so perhaps that hotel should count even if the Four Seasons Explorer does not.

I don't think there are many or any high end resorts that are really "dedicated dive resorts" I doubt the numbers work. But there are certainly plenty of options out there where the diving should be good and convienient enough. If a place is not a dedicated dive resort I think one key is whether shlepping through a place dripping and looking like a drowned rat while carting gear would feel normal, and how far you have to go.

I think the best compromise is a luxury hotel with an on-site shop, but that often means compromising on the number of dives a day (usually just two) and the quality of the dive operation (which usually caters to the lowest common denominator, the recently certified inexperienced diver, since experienced divers usually know better and don't dive with the onsite resort). I dove with ScubaDu at the Presidente Cozumel once when Aldora canceled on us at the last minute. They had a briefing that actually included showing the divers how to use their BC power inflators. A first dive to 80' limited to 25 minutes, then a max 35 minute shallower dive, and we had to pay $80 for the privilege (vs. the $60 which is far more common for 2-tank dives in Coz). Decent hotel, but hardly a dive resort.

There are some really nice places on Provo (Turks and Caicos) though for most places there it's a ride to the boat. You might look into the Amanyara. They have a dive op on site but no idea what's they're like. Write up a trip report.

Sure, starting at $1,000/night during hurricane season. I didn't find the diving at Northwest Point to be all that, at least in comparison to the far better stuff at French Cay when we did the Aggressor. For a $1,000 a night dive resort I'd want to be sitting on a much healthier reef.

 

[vladimir]

LCBR is generally a great all around experience, but it's not really luxury.

I agree, but would amplify the "not really luxury." My priority is good diving. Once I've met that, I seek out the best accommodations I can get. In the Caribbean, my choices are Harbour Village in Bonaire, Turneffe Island Lodge in Belize, and LCBR in Little Cayman. If my girlfriend isn't traveling with me, I default to an Aggressor. They all represent a compromise in terms of luxury, but I'd rather do that than compromise on the diving.