Dive Review of Sunset House in
Cayman Islands/Grand Cayman

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Sunset House: "Eight Days on Grand Cayman", Dec, 2015, by Gregory S Bruce, OR, US ( Sr. Contributor 24 reports with 19 Helpful votes). Report 8780 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Much has been written about Sunset House over the years, so I am sure I don't have a lot of new things to contribute. We did 7 days of 2 tank morning boat dives. Some sites were spectacular: Round Rock East and West; Big Table Rock; Trinity Caves; Kittiwake Night Dive-- and others were quite good and solid and there were a couple duds. We did 29 dives in total. 15 from boat and 14 shore dives. In addition to Sunset house reef afternoon and night dives, we went down to Eden Rock Dive Center and did a couple of dives at Devil's Grotto and Eden Rock (*worth it!). We also went up north and dove Turtle Reef. It is just past Lighthouse Point and across the street from the turtle farm. Turtle Reef is well worth it! Great mini wall dive. Top of reef is at 30 feet and bottom of wall is at 70 feet. I recommend an afternoon of 1-2 dives at turtle reef and then stay for the all you can eat BBQ dinner on Monday nights. If you plan to get away from Sunset House to eat elsewhere or dive elsewhere, you definitely need a car. I suggest renting one online for pickup at the airport upon arrival. Otherwise, you are pretty stuck. The Sunset House reef is not bad, but it will get old and repetitive if you dive it daily. We noticed that a lot of guests did not dive the house reef a lot and those that did, tended to stick around the mermaid and Nicholson wreck areas. Best diving IMHO is out and south of where the boats are moored. Lots of fish and enjoyable reef structure. Our breakfast was included as part of our package and it was average to below average. Others seemed to concur on that point. Food at My Bar/Sea Harvest restaurant (all food comes from the same kitchen) is decent, but also gets a bit tiring half way through the week (what wouldn't though). They do have a pretty extensive menu though and a large Indian Food menu. I knew the Caymans would be expensive, but frankly, I was a bit shocked at the prices of everything. Food is expensive, tank rentals at dive shops are expensive, additional boat dives or afternoon boat dives with other operators are expensive. Just something to keep in mind. Nowhere near the value of a place like Cozumel. Back on the boat: Dive briefings were extremly well done and executed. Dive guides were always available to lead dives for those who wanted one or you had the option to buddy up and dive your own profile within the limits of 100ft max on deep dives and 500 psi back at the boat. First dive of the day is typically a deeper dive or deep wall dive and the divers have the option of going deep with one guide or shallower (top of reef) with another guide. 50 minutes on dive one and 60 minutes on dive two was the typical and preferred dive times. We were there from 12/4/15 to 12/12/15- weather was outstanding. 84 air temp and 84 sea temps. Occasional rains and wind, but nothing that hampered diving at all. In order to let my wetsuit dry out prior to departure, I dove the last day without it and was as comfortable as with it. Water temps were ideal. Most people dove in shorties, skins or 2-3mm. Our room was always cleaned and tidied when we came back from diving. Deep cleaning could be improved. We dropped something under the bed and noticed that it had not been swept or mopped under either bed for quite some time. Shower could have also used a bit of a better cleaning. The setting and location are ideal. The swimming pool, rinse tanks, dive lockers and outdoor shower area are all nice and adequate. It is always nice to be at aresort with other like minded divers and meet new people that you may end of connecting with again down the road. We thoroughly enjoyed our time overall.
Websites	Sunset House
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Cozumel, Thailand, Vietnam, Channel Islands, So Cal Coast, Pacific NW, Monterey, CA
Closest Airport	GCM	Getting There	Portland to Houston to Grand Cayman on United- Same day service
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy, cloudy, dry	Seas	calm, no currents
Water Temp	83-85°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	50-120 Ft/ 15-37 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Dive your own profile within certain parameters. 100ft max depth (Cayman Islands restriction- not the dive operation)- 50 minutes on deep dive and 60 minutes on dive two and 500psi back at boat.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters	N/A	Large Fish
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Dedicated rinse tank on boat

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

Subscriber's Comments

By Craig A Wood in PA, US at Dec 13, 2015 05:21 EST

Hi Gregory, all the sites you mentioned are in the West, does Sunset Divers go to the North wall?

By report author: Gregory S Bruce in OR, US at Dec 14, 2015 10:47 EST

I was a bit disappointed that we did not go up to the North Wall dive sites. Sunset House is located on the south end of the West side of the island. They seem reluctant to venture any farther than necessary. If I go back to Grand Cayman in the future, I will likely look for a house/condo rental, rent a car and go diving with various dive operators around the island that will provide me with more variety. There is a lot of good shore diving as well that can be easily accessed if you have transportation.

By Craig A Wood in PA, US at Dec 14, 2015 11:09 EST

I couldn't agree with you more. Many fine operators to get you out to the North Wall. Good shore diving at Lighthouse Point and at Cobalt Coast Resort in addition to Turtle Reef, both mini and main wall. If you don't need the glitz of SMB, you may also like the East End. Compass Point/Ocean Frontiers would be my choice for a return trip (10 visits 1997-2011)

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Dive Review of Sunset House in Cayman Islands/Grand Cayman

Sunset House: "Eight Days on Grand Cayman", Dec, 2015,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Subscriber's Comments

Dive Review of Sunset House in
Cayman Islands/Grand Cayman