Resorts with large dance floors?

[diversteve]

Ask cardzard (Dennis) our Invasions and Surges coordinator.

They always have some sort of group get together so he may know places with meeting rooms that could be used to dance. Plus they'll be dive resorts.

Or ask him for his contacts at Bay Islands Adventures - our booking agent.

Ask Dennis about the Sunscape AI resort on Curacao - they must have meeting rooms. Ocean Encounters is on-site, The Dive Bus nearby for escorted shore dives/snorkels and Curacao has about 60 dive sites off the beach. IMO better diving than Bonaire but similar.

The Tugboat south of town is a signature wreck - it's 17' deep. My friends were there when a cruise snorkel trip dropped 50 snorkelers. To the west - Playa Jeremi was a good dive - the north wall of the cove is listed on Frommer's top 20 Carib Snorkels list. No facilities there, To do the best shore dives you'd need vehicles.

Check with Lions Dive resort also - it's a sprawling place with open areas - maybe concrete/pavers though - I walked around it one morning. Ocean Encounters main shop is there plus they do the Dolphin dives since the Sea Aquarium is a short walk across the channel. Kind of a small beach and average shore dive. Beach bar and Hemingway's restaurant. The Mambo Beach club/Blvd shops is within a few minutes walk. They also have a scheduled shuttle to downtown - maybe 10mins. away.

hth,

 

[KathyV]

@tursiops, I think that the suggestion from @diversteve to ask @cardzard for advice is a good one because he must review lots of dive resorts.

But an idea occurred to me regarding your quest for a diving and snorkeling resort venue with a dance floor. Take a look at the all-inclusive Club Med Columbus Isle on San Salvador in the Bahamas, see the link below.

We haven't been to San Salvador in years but we had fun and I have read recent reports that the diving is still good (for the Bahamas) and you will see lots of sharks.

We stayed at Riding Rock Inn on San Sal and it was great, but it is a 3-star resort and I don't think it would offer much for the non-diving members of your group, and they probably don't have space for dancing anyway. They do have a good dive op and UW photo center.

We only went on one Club Med dive vacation many years ago on St. Lucia and we didn't much care for it. The resort was lovely, the rooms were plain but clean, the food was delicious, and the diving was good but we didn't like the dive op. However, that resort has since closed and I understand that Club Med dive operations are greatly improved nowadays, but you would have to get more current info from individuals that have been there recently.

They host weddings at the Club Med resorts so they must have space and facilities, and if you are bringing a whole group there they may let you use the space for dancing when they don't have a wedding scheduled. Just an idea, good luck with your quest!

All inclusive resort in the Bahamas | All inclusive vacations with Club Med

 

[KathyV]

Every two years I assemble a group of divers/snorkelers from around the world who also do Scottish Country Dancing. Our goal for a week is to dive/snorkel all day, dance all night...well, all evening, anyway. We've done this in Bonaire, Roatan, Grand Cayman, and Saba. We are now looking for a place for 2020, during June-August. We expect possibly 16-24 people.

Requirements:

1. good to excellent diving
2. good to excellent snorkeling
3. a dance space, preferably wooden floored, at least 30x40 ft.
4. combined cost for ground and air (from US east coast) under $2500/wk

We've danced in exercise studios, conference rooms, and patios. We are hoping for the Caribbean or Mexico.

!, 2, and 4 are pretty easy. 3 is tough.
Any suggestions? We'd love to go to Mexico somewhere.....

Thanks!

Hi @tursiops, is your group still looking for a place to go diving, snorkeling, and dancing in 2020? Don't mean to be nosy but I think that's just a great combination of vacation activities for a group of friends!

Just an FYI, the Cobalt Coast resort on Grand Cayman is now advertising meeting/conference space that will be "coming in 2019". I don't know how big the space will be but it's new so it'll probably be air-conditioned, and they might be willing to offer a good deal to a group that books the space in advance, to help get the word out about their new facility.

 

[tursiops]

Hi @tursiops, is your group still looking for a place to go diving, snorkeling, and dancing in 2020? Don't mean to be nosy but I think that's just a great combination of vacation activities for a group of friends!

Just an FYI, the Cobalt Coast resort on Grand Cayman is now advertising meeting/conference space that will be "coming in 2019". I don't know how big the space will be but it's new so it'll probably be air-conditioned, and they might be willing to offer a good deal to a group that books the space in advance, to help get the word out about their new facility.

Thanks for the info. We are set (we hope, Fort Young hotel in Dominica) for 2020 but will be looking for a spot in 2022!

 

[chillyinCanada]

Or there's the newly opened place out at Turneffe, Belize Dive Haven. They seem to be offering a good special for groups. But since it is so recently opened, it's been difficult to get any feel for the operation.

 

[KathyV]

Thanks for the info. We are set (we hope, Fort Young hotel in Dominica) for 2020 but will be looking for a spot in 2022!

Great! We went to Dominica years ago and stayed at the Castle Comfort Lodge but I don't know if it is back in operation after the last major storm. It's a gorgeous island with nice people. We had lovely diving and we also saw humpback whales while we were there! A mother and calf checked out our boat and the calf circled our craft and gave us a good looking over!

I remember seeing some less common sealife on the reefs in Dominica including frogfish, seahorses, and flying gurnards.

Has it gotten any easier to travel to/from Dominica? We traveled from Chicago and had to overnight on Puerto Rico both coming and going to the island.

Have a great time and please write a report after the trip because we hear very little about Dominica.

 

[tursiops]

Great! We went to Dominica years ago and stayed at the Castle Comfort Lodge but I don't know if it is back in operation after the last major storm. It's a gorgeous island with nice people. We had lovely diving and we also saw humpback whales while we were there! A mother and calf checked out our boat and the calf circled our craft and gave us a good looking over!

I remember seeing some less common sealife on the reefs in Dominica including frogfish, seahorses, and flying gurnards.

Has it gotten any easier to travel to/from Dominica? We traveled from Chicago and had to overnight on Puerto Rico both coming and going to the island.

Have a great time and please write a report after the trip because we hear very little about Dominica.

We tried to go to Dominica in 2018, but of course had to cancel due to all the damage, and ended up in Saba at Queen's Gardens. It was fine for the dancing and scuba, but not so good for our snorkelers. The Fort Young had a wooden-floored ballroom (!!) that we intended to use. It is gone, but they say they will have complted an alternative space for us later this year. Still hoping. Getting to Dominica used to be best through St Martin (SXM) using WinAir for the final leg....but WinAir is not showing any Saturday flights to DOM at the moment. I certainly hope that changes!

 

[KathyV]

We tried to go to Dominica in 2018, but of course had to cancel due to all the damage, and ended up in Saba at Queen's Gardens. It was fine for the dancing and scuba, but not so good for our snorkelers. The Fort Young had a wooden-floored ballroom (!!) that we intended to use. It is gone, but they say they will have complted an alternative space for us later this year. Still hoping. Getting to Dominica used to be best through St Martin (SXM) using WinAir for the final leg....but WinAir is not showing any Saturday flights to DOM at the moment. I certainly hope that changes!

@tursiops I've just tried to email you via the ScubaDance address; please let me know if you received it, thanks!