Belize Dive Haven?

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What is market rate at Belize Haven?

I saw another group post their trip somewhere on the internet and it was more than Scubaboard's.

I'm not involved in the Scubaboard Surges in any way shape or form. My opinions is as independent as anyone's.

Again, I'm not talking about the absolute price or the value you allegedly get. I'm talking about the reliability and reputation. I'm questioning the wisdom of putting so much on the line for a place that is completely unproven, and in fact, unfinished. But SB can run it's trip however it wants and if it wants to risk it's reputation on a place without a track record it's not my problem.

A place can offer you 5 dives a day and AI for $500 but it means nothing if they don't actually deliver. Where arethe reliable verified reviews? SB is known for it's reliable reviews. Most are TripAdvisor reviews, and even the positive ones mention the hotel is unfinished, half the restaurants aren't open and limited menu, the spa and bar isn't open, etc. I also remember looking into this place last summer and nothing seems to have changed. You'll note lots of reviews talking about things unfinished but no mention of lots of work finishing them.
 
Again, I'm not talking about the absolute price or the value you allegedly get. I'm talking about the reliability and reputation. I'm questioning the wisdom of putting so much on the line for a place that is completely unproven, and in fact, unfinished. But SB can run it's trip however it wants and if it wants to risk it's reputation on a place without a track record it's not my problem.

A place can offer you 5 dives a day and AI for $500 but it means nothing if they don't actually deliver. Where arethe reliable verified reviews? SB is known for it's reliable reviews. Most are TripAdvisor reviews, and even the positive ones mention the hotel is unfinished, half the restaurants aren't open and limited menu, the spa and bar isn't open, etc. I also remember looking into this place last summer and nothing seems to have changed. You'll note lots of reviews talking about things unfinished but no mention of lots of work finishing them.
Though I haven't attended any of the Surges nor Invasions, It seems to me that Dennis and Roxanne do a smashing job of organizing these trips to some great diving locations. They seem to have a sterling reputation on SB from the attendees. Perhaps this particular "adventure" doesn't suit you with it's "unknowns" in your opinion. If it's not for you that's understandable. But, some of your criticisms seem to be harsh. Given Dennis and Roxanne's reputation, they deserve the benefit of doubt, IMHO. And here is another review from TA.

A Diamond in the Ruff
I had the pleasure of visiting Sir Hakimi’s jewel of a resort with 4 dive buddies. We are all very experienced divers with many trips under our belts all over the world. We were a little anxious having read the few reviews posted for this “yet to be opened” resort. We were greeted at the airport and taken to the private marina to begin our 1.5 hour ride to the resort. The trip over was pleasant and when we arrived we were immediately surprised! The grounds were clean and everything was sparkling! The staff was very friendly. Naomi, at the reception office was polite and had our rooms ready. We were escorted to the main hotel building situated behind the enormous pool. Did I say enormous? OMG...its amazing in every detail. More about it later. Our rooms were super clean. The a/c was ice cold and the beds were super soft. After we all freshened up we headed to the bar where Oscar was waiting for us. He was super friendly and very attentive. Dinner is served daily at 7:00 in the main outdoor dining area. The dinning staff was also super friendly and attentive. The food was great and plentiful. The following day we met Cardinal, the dive manager, Max, the dive instructor, and Alberto, the captain (in training). They were eager to take us out for a couple of test dives to asses our abilities (and another couple there as well). Once everyone was comfortable with our abilities the dives became better and better and better and better! Over 6 days we dove 17 times and for me it was one of the very best diving experiences I have had in years. Every dive we saw sharks, Les, tons of fish, turtles, lobster, rays, and lots of little things too. Belize has adopted an aggressive approach to managing the Lion fish problem with hunting. We learned how to spear them and over the week we bagged well over 30. They made for tasty snacks after diving too! Both Max and Cardinal are very experienced divers. They shared their knowledge and experience with us on each dive. From knowing where the Toad fish was to the Elbow experiences in morning and afternoon, they know how to share the beauty of Belize. I took my rescue diver while there and really enjoyed the quality of the instruction from Max along with his patience and willingness to make sure I understood each and every skill I needed to learn to obtain the certificate.

The grounds are still being completed. There is a roof top disco, an inside fine dining room for 200! The main pool is simply enormous! They are putting the finishing touches on yet another pool complete with swim up bar!

The resort is still figuring some things out and it wasn’t 100% open yet. However, for the price it was worth it! It is an island so there are mosquitos and sand fleas. They do a great job of controlling those and they have plenty of spray. I would recommend taking DEET wipes and using them often. There is a 5,000’ runway. If you can afford it fly direct there! I will be back in April and am already looking forward to seeing my new friends and doing more of the best dives in the world!

Cheers,
 
Though I haven't attended any of the Surges nor Invasions, It seems to me that Dennis and Roxanne do a smashing job of organizing these trips to some great diving locations. They seem to have a sterling reputation on SB from the attendees. Perhaps this particular "adventure" doesn't suit you with it's "unknowns" in your opinion. If it's not for you that's understandable. But, some of your criticisms seem to be harsh. Given Dennis and Roxanne's reputation, they deserve the benefit of doubt, IMHO. And here is another review from TA.

Yeah, that review sounds like a plant to me. Who refers to the owner's name when reviewing a place? But I'm not questioning past SB surges. I'm just pointing out that they seem to be doing something never done before. All previous surges have been at well-established places with proven track records while this place, even according to the glowing review you found, calls it unfinished.
 
Though I haven't attended any of the Surges nor Invasions, It seems to me that Dennis and Roxanne do a smashing job of organizing these trips to some great diving locations. They seem to have a sterling reputation on SB from the attendees. Perhaps this particular "adventure" doesn't suit you with it's "unknowns" in your opinion. If it's not for you that's understandable. But, some of your criticisms seem to be harsh. Given Dennis and Roxanne's reputation, they deserve the benefit of doubt, IMHO. And here is another review from TA.

A Diamond in the Ruff
I had the pleasure of visiting Sir Hakimi’s jewel of a resort with 4 dive buddies. We are all very experienced divers with many trips under our belts all over the world. We were a little anxious having read the few reviews posted for this “yet to be opened” resort. We were greeted at the airport and taken to the private marina to begin our 1.5 hour ride to the resort. The trip over was pleasant and when we arrived we were immediately surprised! The grounds were clean and everything was sparkling! The staff was very friendly. Naomi, at the reception office was polite and had our rooms ready. We were escorted to the main hotel building situated behind the enormous pool. Did I say enormous? OMG...its amazing in every detail. More about it later. Our rooms were super clean. The a/c was ice cold and the beds were super soft. After we all freshened up we headed to the bar where Oscar was waiting for us. He was super friendly and very attentive. Dinner is served daily at 7:00 in the main outdoor dining area. The dinning staff was also super friendly and attentive. The food was great and plentiful. The following day we met Cardinal, the dive manager, Max, the dive instructor, and Alberto, the captain (in training). They were eager to take us out for a couple of test dives to asses our abilities (and another couple there as well). Once everyone was comfortable with our abilities the dives became better and better and better and better! Over 6 days we dove 17 times and for me it was one of the very best diving experiences I have had in years. Every dive we saw sharks, Les, tons of fish, turtles, lobster, rays, and lots of little things too. Belize has adopted an aggressive approach to managing the Lion fish problem with hunting. We learned how to spear them and over the week we bagged well over 30. They made for tasty snacks after diving too! Both Max and Cardinal are very experienced divers. They shared their knowledge and experience with us on each dive. From knowing where the Toad fish was to the Elbow experiences in morning and afternoon, they know how to share the beauty of Belize. I took my rescue diver while there and really enjoyed the quality of the instruction from Max along with his patience and willingness to make sure I understood each and every skill I needed to learn to obtain the certificate.

The grounds are still being completed. There is a roof top disco, an inside fine dining room for 200! The main pool is simply enormous! They are putting the finishing touches on yet another pool complete with swim up bar!

The resort is still figuring some things out and it wasn’t 100% open yet. However, for the price it was worth it! It is an island so there are mosquitos and sand fleas. They do a great job of controlling those and they have plenty of spray. I would recommend taking DEET wipes and using them often. There is a 5,000’ runway. If you can afford it fly direct there! I will be back in April and am already looking forward to seeing my new friends and doing more of the best dives in the world!

Cheers,

I see that the trip report describes the same conditions, however, this reporter is just a more positive upbeat type of person.
 
Yeah, that review sounds like a plant to me. Who refers to the owner's name when reviewing a place? But I'm not questioning past SB surges. I'm just pointing out that they seem to be doing something never done before. All previous surges have been at well-established places with proven track records while this place, even according to the glowing review you found, calls it unfinished.
Yet their website does not seem to make any mention that many things are still no complete - at least not that I could see. Not questioning the SB organizers, but I would not be comfortable taking a risk on a place like this when there are more established/proven options nearby.
 
100% planted review. IMO. I’m more concerned that the SB guys are getting duped.
 
Ok... Since folks seem to have lots of opinions about the resort chosen for the 2021 SURGE.

There is a HUGE difference between some small group or dive shop showing up at a resort and ScubaBoard showing up. These events like the SURGE and Invasion are not pull a destination out of a bag choices.
If we chose resorts based on reviews or post from folks with hidden agendas or bias, then we would never go anywhere.
If you have a favorite resort to spend your vacation time and money, by all means continue going there.
I would note NONE of those with negative views have attended any ScubaBoard events in the past.

Roxanne, I and Bay Adventures do our homework and I am sorry if folks think this is a gamble.
 
There is a HUGE difference between some small group or dive shop showing up at a resort and ScubaBoard showing up. These events like the SURGE and Invasion are not pull a destination out of a bag choices.
If we chose resorts based on reviews or post from folks with hidden agendas or bias, then we would never go anywhere.

You're right, there is. Has Dive Haven ever in history handled a group the size of SB Surge before? Any group over 6? All resorts have their negative reviews but there is a HUGE difference between taking a large group to a proven resort with long track record like Anthony's Key or Little Cayman versus taking a group to an unfinished resort being built by a non-local who's never ran a dive resort before.

I guess we shall revisit this thread in a year.
 
Ok... Since folks seem to have lots of opinions about the resort chosen for the 2021 SURGE.

There is a HUGE difference between some small group or dive shop showing up at a resort and ScubaBoard showing up. These events like the SURGE and Invasion are not pull a destination out of a bag choices.
If we chose resorts based on reviews or post from folks with hidden agendas or bias, then we would never go anywhere.
If you have a favorite resort to spend your vacation time and money, by all means continue going there.
I would note NONE of those with negative views have attended any ScubaBoard events in the past.

Roxanne, I and Bay Adventures do our homework and I am sorry if folks think this is a gamble.
No offense intended as I’m sure you guys do your homework based on the threads I’ve read on past trips. I hope to join one of the surges or invasions at some point if it’s a location I’m interested in.

However, this resort seems out of character to the resorts you’ve normally booked at as it’s incomplete at present - so just curious as to what about this location made it a good choice given it’s current, unfinished state? That seems to be what folks are concerned about/questioning.
 
I think you will find most of the commentary has been ‘concern’ and assessment of the information at hand as opposed to ‘negative views’. Surely you can concede that there is merit based on those concerns? This is a resort where there is evidence of repeated overstating and underdelivering. In some cases with verified individuals in this community who feel that the location was dishonestly represented and not worth the money demanded. Surely that is relevant discussion material as opposed to just being ‘negative’ or ‘Debbie downer’ etc?

If you have done your homework, then that’s great. What made you choose this resort or what was the ‘homework’ as ‘reviews aren’t taken into account?’

any offers/advertisements on this board that encompass Investment from divers and contributors to this board are going to be scrutinized. I feel that’s one of the advantages of this board and the discussions that take place here. I’m not sure what ‘prior attendance’ has to do with anything as none of the discussion has been about surge organization/execution etc...it’s exclusively a discussion about this resort and how it may impact a future event.

I’m genuinely interested and I honestly hope your trip is a success. I am sure you have insider information, I’m just interested to know what that is? I presume a travel agent who has been onsite and you trust or there has been a large improvement in the resort etc.
 
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