I just returned from Santa Barbara Resort this past week. This is my second time there. I went in 2011 when it was the Hyatt. It is a beautiful upscale property, and they have an Ocean Encounters onsite. I could write a book about this place, but I'll keep it short... Diving is easy at SBR. The dive sites are all 5-10 minutes from the resort. The boat starts at Lions, picks up at Sunscape, then picks up at Santa Barbara... then goes to the dive sites. So the Santa Barbara guests are the last to be picked up and the first to be dropped off. Normally, you are on the boat at 8:30 and off at 12:30. It is nice because if you have non-diving family, you don't end up spending the whole day on the dive boat and you are back in time for lunch. Book your dives in advance, because the boats fill up. The OE staff are great and the reef is healthy. Can't ask for much more for the diving.
Other than that, the property is really really nice, the food is very good (but expensive). The beach is different... it is a protected lagoon, so the water is clear and calm, but it doesn't go out very far. There used to be shore diving (and it was pretty good) but they stopped that due to boat traffic. They don't recommend snorkelling beyond the lagoon (again, due to the boats) but I don't believe there is any rule against it. We didn't try.
That said... know that the food is really expensive and the resort is waaay out there in the "sticks". It was annoying to sign a bill for $100+ every time we ate. Make sure you budget for food. We had a rental car and used it to eat out whenever possible. The service at the resort was hit or miss. We had some major issues with the Kids Club, and "lost" reservations at one of the onsite restaurants. Both issues were addressed by management to our satisfaction.
Overall, its a nice place, and the easy access to diving is a plus. Despite the issues we had, I'd go again knowing what I know.