skelzer

Kids are finally old enough to let mom and dad sneak out for a few dives! ^

Trying to narrow down a list of offshore resort properties near the East Coast that have decent dive sites )non-Sheraton, cat-4 and up). Both adv/deco divers... so looking for a bit more wildlife than the usual recreational fare. Wrecks are a plus.

Within a 4 hour range of the East Coast... this is what I'm seeing so far:

1) The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico (cat 7)
- Our personal favorite property in SPG, 4 years straight. Good food, great people, lots to see.
- No idea about the dive sites.

2) The Westin Puntacana Resort & Club, Dominican Republic (cat 5)
- No idea about the property, new build is a plus, early feedback of disarray is a minus. Not big fan of DR.
- Previous dive trip to the island... dive sites nearby are no good. Have to drive to other side of the island for amazing sites, which is a bit too far considering kids.

3) The Westin St. John Resort & Villas, USVI (cat 5)
- Only loyalty hotel on the island, repeated bad feedback, will likely avoid.
- No idea about the dive sites.

4) W Retreat & Spa - Vieques Island, Puerto Rico (cat 6)
- No idea about the property, likely not kid-friendly.
- No idea about the dive sites but will likely avoid due to history of nuclear testing.

5) The Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach Resort & Spa, BWI (cat 5)
- No idea about the property.
- No idea about the dive sites.

6) The Westin Dawn Beach Resort & Spa, St. Maarten, Sint Maarten (cat 5)
- No idea about the property.
- No idea about the dive sites.

7) The Westin Golf Resort & Spa, Playa Conchal An All-Inclusive Resort, Costa Rica (cat 7)
- No idea about the property.
- No idea about the dive sites.

Any additions / corrections / suggestions?

Wish SPG.com had a checkbox for hotels with diving... then again, that's why we have Flyertalk!

mahasamatman

Nearby Saba has quite possibly the best diving in the Western Hemisphere. The pinnacles are amazing, and they had the sense to make it a marine sanctuary before it got popular so it's pretty pristine. It also has the distinction of having (I believe) the shortest commercial runway in the world, making the approaches very exciting! Fly over in the morning and back in the evening (there's enough time after diving and flights are at 1,000 feet or below, so no issues with decompression). But the kicker is that St. Martin (the French side in particular) is the gourmet capital of the Caribbean.

skelzer

We're avid divers, foodies, and little guy is in the middle of a "Planes! Planes! Planes!" chapter... so couldn't have asked for a better reply.

Thanks mahasamatman!

jamienbaker

Concur. Skip SPG and book a place on Grand Case. That's where you'll likely set off for diving anyway, and the food options are of surprisingly high quality. I normally prefer time slow to a crawl when on vacation, but in this case I simply wanted dinner time to arrive each day, as quickly as possible. Diving was pretty good, but I'm in Bali right now which is simply in a different league. But travel time is 6x your requested duration!

Flews

IMO Cayman has the best diving of all the places listed by the OP.

Cheers,

Fizzer

Of the properties listed the only one I have stayed and dived at is the Westin St John. I was a newbie diver then so may not be the best source but it seemed fine. We never had any problems at the resort either.

This was the dive operator at the resort at that time.

http://www.cruzbaywatersports.com/scuba-diving

AlxStevens

Was just there - property was great and ALL about the diving. Dive boats leave every morning from the Westin beach to one of the wrecks and right back to the hotel. I don't dive but the divers I talked to loved it, and as I said the property was fantastic.

mahasamatman

I used to love the Caymans (especially Cayman Brac), but my big problem with the Caymans these days is that they're way too crowded for me and the reefs have suffered significant damage from all the tourism.

dtwdoc

Although the US military carried out munitions testing and bombing in Vieques, to my knowledge there was never any nuclear testing (the Navy withdrew in 2003, and the area, which is essentially half of the island, is now under the supervision of the US Fish and Wildlife Services)

I've visited Vieques multiple times (staying both at the W and local B&Bs). It is a wonderful island which has a ton to offer, especially if you are active and have an interest in activities beyond the hotel pool. I have recommended the island to many friends and have yet to hear a negative comment.

W Vieques is a VERY nice hotel, though an obviously different vibe from the St. Regis Bahia Beach. I can't speak to it being kid-friendly or not as I'm not at the point in my life where that matters.

I did my open water dive on Vieques. We went pier diving. Not exactly crystal clear, but saw a good deal of wildlife, including 6 or 7 turtles. Booked through BlackBeard Sports. I would recommend speaking to them re: what else is available aside from the pier dive. They likely also have insight as to what is available near the St. Regis.