What's up with the bad press on Glover's Reef

[danieladamsmith]

Hey we are planning a big 10 person jaunt to Belize to dive. More than half are doing there certification.. One of the crew found these blogs about how horrible Glover's is and the people that run it. What's up....The complaints of nutcase or legitimate?
this is the link I am talking about ....

http://fullchangejar.blogspot.com/2006/04/glovers-reef-atoll-resort-update.html


anyone got any thoughts?

 

[peterbj7]

That's not how that blog comes across to me..... But if you want a slick service-oriented operation as you'd find in Hawaii or the Florida Keys, don't go to Glovers. In fact, be careful anywhere in Belize. You may prefer Cancun.

 

[danieladamsmith]

I certainly want what Glover's has. I'm the last person that wants a "Resort". I am travelling with some folk that haven't "roughed" it and one of them sent that as a "warning"....
I wanted the whole lonely island deal and an emphasis on the diving, rather than what the lounge looks like. Having said all of that, I don't necessarily see that blog ( You should check out more of the entries on that) as a positive.

 

[peterbj7]

OK. I know people who've dived Glovers from a liveaboard who said they found it disappointing. I can't comment, I've not been there. But they felt that although the shallow diving was superb the wall diving wasn't as good as either Lighthouse or Turneffe.

I also know people who've stayed at the various island resorts on Glovers and Turneffe and found very varied standards, from "not really acceptable" to "pretty good considering". And others who stayed on Tobacco Caye to be right next to the action but who for a whole week weren't able to go diving because they were the only divers there and no-one would put a boat out for just two people.

I think you'll find there's no general answer, you just have to research people's experiences at the various places (search for them here by individual name) and then contact the likely resort and form your own view. Ask questions beyond the publicity blurb and look for written answers.

 

[ChrisM]

I stayed on Manta Resort in 2002 or so (now reopened as something else) and dove Lighthouse, Turneffe and Glover's off Nekton in 04 and found Glover's to be superior. I beleive we visited this operation, and it is indeed rustic, if that's what you're looking for. Google Southwest Caye for whatever is there now, as when we were there Manta was pretty much paradise. Small island (could walk around it in 20 minutes), yet still the amenities you need or want (en suite, electricity, etc.)

 

[Scared Silly]

We looked at Glovers for our trip. It is basically camping on their island is my impression. Though I sleep in the dirt as a climber for many nights a year we chose to stay in Placencia just because of the hassles of arranging everything - we wanted a vacation.

I honestly think that in many cases people just do not realize that the atoll is really that rustic.

You might look at www.slickrock.com as they are out on one of the sister atolls. They do a bit more than just diving.

 

[deeper thoughts]

Hey we are planning a big 10 person jaunt to Belize to dive. More than half are doing there certification.. One of the crew found these blogs about how horrible Glover's is and the people that run it. What's up....The complaints of nutcase or legitimate?
this is the link I am talking about ....

http://fullchangejar.blogspot.com/2006/04/glovers-reef-atoll-resort-update.html


anyone got any thoughts?

Sounds bad to me but each his own

 

[hopefulist]

We had a BLAST at Glover's Atoll "Resort" in 2003 and are planning a return trip for next summer. I was concerned about some negative comments in a guide book and was pleased to get this recent feed back from divers:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=200869&highlight=glovers&page=2
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=197180&highlight=glovers&page=2

The blog seems pretty dead-on to me, though we found all of the family to be pleasant and especially enjoyed Marsha Jo and her dogs as well as the 3 kids. My husband and 1 son flyfished their brains out on neighboring cayes and we found the snorkeling from shore to be phenomenal - huge spotted eagle rays, sharks, barracudas, schools of stoplight parrot fish and dozens of other kinds - and the diving even better (add in more variety plus dolphins and turtles). Can't wait to go back.

Happy trails!

 

[danieladamsmith]

I checked out the same report. It heartened my feelings about going there.

 

[oceancat]

If your group is getting certified at Glovers, MAKE SURE they have enough equipment and that it will be the correct sizes. It is really remote there. My husband and I did our open water dives in San Pedro and then went to Glovers with Island Expeditions and dove with Manta Resort. The equipment wasn't the greatest and there wasn't a wetsuit/BCD that fit me well at all. Bring as much equipment as you can dive-wise. I really liked Glovers-it is pristine and i dove that before I did the other atolls on later trips. Definitely make sure they have appropriate equipment though, or people will be miserable. When we were in Belize, we stayed at various times in Placencia (went with a pretty lousy divemaster--SeaHorse Divers, who I wanted to go with wasn't running their boats), excellent instructor at Victoria House (we didn't stay there--just dove through them), had great diving, lousy resort experience at Lighthouse Reef Resort. I love Belize though. I can't get enough of it! You will be in a REALLY remote area, so make sure the whole group is on-board with the situation, or it will get ugly by the end of the week.