Grand Cayman Diving - Sunset House as good as it sounds?

[Zerathorn]

I'm a new diver and new to the forum so be gentle. I've searched for Sunset House and did not have any hits.

So, anyone have any experience with Sunset House in Grand Cayman? I know that PADI's Total Submersion 2014 is coming up in June and I'm considering it. Also, the website makes this place look like a great place to do some training.

Any thoughts or advice?

Zera

---------- Post added March 9th, 2014 at 09:33 PM ----------

Guys.....found the right forum for this post over in the Cayman Islands forum. No need to answer I'll take my questions over there.

 

[divin'dog]

I don't think too many places are as good as they sound... but I do like Sunset House. There are other places to stay on GC but Sunset does a decent job. They have a training pool carved out of the reef/rock which is pretty nice because it limits the wake but has open access to the ocean. I like it. I'm going back again. There are better places to dive on GC like the east end or the north side but they have their caveats.

 

[hroark2112]

Sunset was a fun shore dive, some great photo opportunities, and their shop folks were AWESOME in helping us get in the one dive we really wanted to do before we left GC. No one else was wiling to help, and they added us to their boat for our last dive of the vacation.

 

[diversteve]

moved to the Cayman Islands forum.

 

[ianr33]

I've searched for Sunset House and did not have any hits.

Try searching: "Sunset House" should get 4 pages of hits.

My opinion: O.K. Shore dive. Nice view from the bar. Too close to town. Did not care for the dive shop staff. (but that may have changed)

 

[dmoore19]

I spent a week at Sunset House. There are quite a few things I liked and some I didn't.

The bar was a nice place to hang out. The food was good and the atmosphere was better.
We didn't rent a car so we ended up walking to town. The path is not an easy one.
The weather kicked up the day after we arrived and I never got a chance to do the shore dive. Sunset Divers took us to the south side for diving so we never missed a dive.

edit I forgot to mention 3 days with no hot water. But I digress.

It was overall a good trip.

 

[diver 85]

I've got good info of SS House-----but the latest is from about 1993.......So I'll just let everyone else give their thoughts......you'll enjoy , no doubt---have a great trip.......

 

[Doctorfish]

Sunset House is a great place for a new diver to stay. Accommodation is OK but not plush, restaurant and My Bar are good, shore dive OK and dive operation is good.

As mentioned, near town so a car is not essential if you want a dive only holiday.

The dive op tends to dive west and south which, for a new diver would be excellent.

Another thing you could do is finish all your class and pool work at home and then do your open water dives for certification at Sunset. Don't know where you live in US but the open water is probably clearer, warmer and more to see on Grand Cayman.

There are a number of other dive resorts on GC, including Cobalt Coast and Ocean Frontiers but for a newbie, I'd opt for Sunset House.

 

[Zerathorn]

Thanks all for the responses. At this point as a "newbie" to diving, my short term (2 yrs) goals are getting AOWD, and some specialties and I'd very much like to take a couple of vacations a year to the Caribbean to build experience for possibly more ambitious trips in the future. I live in Ohio, so the local dive opportunities are quarries and the lakes. Lake Erie and Michigan are just a few hours drive from where I live and my dive HQ, Columbus Scuba Inc. plans trips almost every weekend in the summer. I plan on making many of these trips to keep up skills and increase my training, but all this so I can dive in the ocean.

As I'm reading through these vacation forums I'm beginning to get the sense that the best strategy is to book accommodations separate from the diving. Then research the local dive ops and book individually with them. Take Grand Cayman as an example, since that is where I have concentrated my research to date. There are a ton of Dive Ops and a couple of handfuls of Resorts that are either diver oriented, like Sunset House, or offer diving packages. Again, I'm guessing this is the case anywhere you go to dive in the Caribbean.

As you can imagine I'm trying to get a handle on what to consider and how to go about planning my trips so I avoid the 'bad experience'. I'm sure most of you have learned these hard lessons through experience, and admittedly, I'm trying to glean the collected experience of the group.

However, is it fair to say that for a newbie like me, a 'bad experience' to an experience diver would still be an amazing experience to someone like me who has no history for comparison. Am I just worrying too much?

So what are the key things you look for in a Dive Operation in addition to small groups? My feeling is they are all in competition with one another and probably do many things the same. Is it basically the people that run and lead the dives that set one apart from another....uh basically service...and is there any way to tell when shopping?

Sorry for the long windedness of this spew......any additional help and comments are greatly appreciated

Zera

 

[caymaniac]

Just get your feet wet, you pretty much can't go wrong on Grand Cayman. As a more experienced diver than you, Grand Cayman is where I snorkeled first and found a whole new world that keeps me fantasizing about diving when I'm not diving. Like you I live in a northern area that is great in the summer but through the years I would so much rather have some dive time in warm water. I have dove a number of quarries, many lakes and all the Great Lakes, I still dive in Lake Michigan ( about a half mile from my house) but now prefer to dive where the weather and water are warm. The diversity of marine life in places like Grand Cayman to me is exciting. I hope you have a blast, I have my preferences in the Caymans, which would be first Little Cayman, second Cayman Brac, then the north wall of Grand Cayman. I've pretty much been to all the areas. Sunset house has one of the best bars, "My Bar" is the name of it. Sunset House does have some good DM's, Sunset house does not have the nicest rooms. Sunset house has nice boats. Sunset House is a bit far from 7 mile beach and if you like the beach then you would be staying at the wrong place. I suggest you rent a car for a few days of your stay and see places like Rum Point and the South Sound, go to Georgetown and do the tourist thing for an afternoon. There are plenty of dive ops if you don't stay at SunsetHouse that cater to small groups (6 pack) refers to about 6 divers on the boat. You'll find some places expensive to eat at but not that much more than a expensive restaurant where you live. It is possible to find the less expensive places by searching this board. I've used VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) a number of times to find nice accommodations on 7 mile beach. This is my rant back at you, .....have more questions?

The cruise ships in Georgetown Harbor: