Instant Reader Report
on Dive St. Vincent / Mariners Hotel in
Grenadines / S. St. Vincent island on
2002/08
by
Jose Kirchner , CA, USA
Report Number 020922211101325

 Wordwide, 46 years' dive experience. 

Dive Conditions

With experience you are welcome to do your own profile and times. Air only.
Computers encouraged.  

Dunk tank can be requested, no dedicated photo facilities onboard. No big
fish, but very healthy, picturesque corals and inverts, many rare fish and
fabulous macro; best Caribbean macro and rare fish we've experienced- from
Keys to Bonaire and much in between.  

Overall Rating

Dive operator Bill Tewes has been here 16+ years, knows it inside out. He
and his friendly, long-term experienced dive crew very customer oriented,
great critter finders, entirely used to video and photo divers with long
u/w times. When you've been to the spectacular walls and seen the pelagics
in the Caribbean and want log, relaxed diving with rare critters, you
finally come here, and probably come again. 

DSV has a competent, basic dive op with frills- smaller dive boats, one
partially coverd, two open, rinse, store and set up your gear, happy to
make no commission air and land arrangements, even offer to drive you to a
restaurant, or the market on occasion. They cater to experienced divers
with critter fixation, not the luxury-seeking or pelagic-chasing divers. 

We saw a number of Black Brotula, goden hamlets, seahorses, colorful
frogfish, pikeblennies, and any number of fish aficionados are happy to
document in their fish lists, not to mention film, on every dive. Sites
ranged form open water walls to bays and "Critter Corner", a
true muck-diving shallow flat with muck, eel and turtle grass, and a huge
cast of characters that has divers begging for more.

Land arrangements available range from the posh Young Island to apartments
to several moderate hotels. Food tends to be expensive- everything is
imported. We stayed at Mariners Hotel for convenience- close to the dove
op and several other hotels with restaurants. Rooms were clean and had 240
volts with Euro plugs, Internet TV. Some were noisy. Management was
accomodating, can arrange drivers and land tours. Our stay was pleasant
enough, with a room with A/C and a ceiling fan- but the restaurant was
maddening. (Rates: $125 - 175 for two dependent on grade of room and
season.)

Mariners restaurant was not always open advertised hours, and though food
was frequently good, sometimes it was limited in offerings, or poor.
Service ranged from very friendly and enjoyable to distant and cglacially
slow, with mixed-up orders. The cook was occasionally a no-show, and the
replacement cook would have had trouble in a short-order house.
Fortunately, other restaurants are nearby, including the excellent Lime'n
Pub, moderate to expensive, with great variety, seafood, imported beef and
friendly service. Lime'n Pub provided the consistency lacking at Mariners.
(But, we came for the DIVING, not the dining!)

St. Vincent is serviced by LIAT and Caribbean Star short-haul flights from
Barbados, serviced by US Airways, American and others form the US. Diving
is good almost any time of year. (Though hurricanes are not common, the
rare one can happen in this sector, usually later in the season.)


Dive St. Vincent
P.O. Box 864
St. Vincent, West Indies
Main Office: 784-457-4928
Dive Shop: 784-457-4714, Fax: 784-457-4948
http://www.divestvincent.com/
email: bill2s@DiveStVincent.com

Mariners Hotel & Royal Harbour Restaurant
Villa Bay ~ St. Vincent
St. Vincent & the Grenadines, West Indies
Phone: (784) 457-4000, Fax: (784) 457-4333
Toll Free U.S. & Canada 1-800-223-1108
Local US and Canada, 310-440-4225, Fax (310) 440-4220
http://www.marinershotel.com/



 

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