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Dive Review of Sunset Divers/Sunset House in
Cayman Islands/Grand Cayman

Sunset Divers/Sunset House, May, 2008,

by Jeremy Ellis, GA, USA (Sr. Reviewer Sr. Reviewer 9 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 4107.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 3 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 3 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving 5 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments Sunset House is a fantastic resort, but it isn't the Ritz-Carlton. The resort is old and went through an upgrade/repair after hurrican Ivan. The ocean view rooms are the nicest, but the island view rooms will serve most people's needs. The only issue with the island view is that they don't have an extra table to store equipment (camera, books, computers, etc.) like the ocean view rooms do. Every room has tons of electrical outlets to charge electronic equipment and are all US-110V. There are 2 restuarants on site and both have excellent views of the sunset each night. The food is great and there are usually 2-3 specials each night in addition to the menu. However, you are only a short taxi ride from several other great restuarants such as Lobster Pot and the Wharf.

The resort is definitely geared toward divers, so if there is a non-diver in the group you might want to look elsewhere or confirm they are OK with the accommodations. There is no sandy beach - it has an iron shore. The hot tub and pool are nice and elevated but they get crowded after lunch. The bar and large deck are a great place to hang out. There is wireless internet through most of the resort with the best reception at the bar and it decreasing significantly in the rooms due to the thick concrete walls.

If you book the dive package, you get 2 boat dives each morning (8:15am departure; noon return) and unlimited shore diving. Nitrox is $12 per tank with no package. Since they have a limited number of Nitrox tanks it seems like the staff are talking you out of using it. The shore diving is very easy and there is a very detailed map at the dive shop that shows you how to navigate the very easily. There is a decent reef, a wreck and the infamous mermaid statue.

The boat diving is great and the staff does an excellent job of finding sites with little to no current and good visibility. The sites are still recovering from hurrican Ivan so the soft corals and sea fans that used to be plentiful are mostly gone, but after almost 4 years the sites are getting healthy again.

We saw several turtles (at least one daily), 2 dives with spotted eagle rays, dozens of moray eels and lots of reef fish.

The resort is a fantastic place for several days of diving.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cozumel, Curacao, Florida Keys, Grenadines (Mayreau, Petite St. Vincent, Tobago Cays), St. Vincent, Turks & Caicos
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 82-84°F / 28-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions Usual Cayman rules - maximum depth of 100 feet; first dive limited to 40 minutes; second dive limited to 50 minutes; minimum 40 minutes surface interval confirmed by divemasters.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 3 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 5 stars
UW Photo Comments Sunset House is the home of Cathy Church's studio. Therefore, you can find anything you need for your u/w photo needs including repair/service; add-on equipment; batteries, memory; cords; strobes; arms; etc. In addition to Cathy, there is a very capable staff that will work with you to improve your photo taking.

The boat crew are more attuned to photographers b/c of Cathy Church's presence. They give a briefing at the beginning about the camera bucket and dry table and do an excellent job of assisting you in/out of the water with your camera.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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