Dive Review of
HMS Minnow/Holiday Inn Key Largo Resort in
The Continental USA/Florida

US, Pacific, Carribean, Asia

Dive Conditions

Return to boat with 500 psi  

[None]  

Overall Rating

HMS Minnow:  The HMS Minnow is a 25' boat - holds up to six divers.  Jeff
tailors the dives to your preferences.  I was diving with my younger
daughter (Jr Open Water), so we dove shallow reefs and the Benwood, a
shallow wreck.  Jeff planned great dives, increasing in difficulty. 
There's no dive master in the water with you, but Jeff gives excellent
briefings, with charts, to help you plan the dive.  Jeff leaves the marina
earlier than most other boats, so he's able to get to the dive sites you
want.  

The boat is comfortable.  He carries first aid supplies, as well as oxygen,
marine radio, and cellular telephone.  With a quick email, he had nitrox
waiting for me for the dive.  Jeff does not intrude, but clearly observes
the divers and assesses their skills.  He had a rinse tank waiting on the
pier.  The only drawback is HMS Minnow has no head.  The HMS Minnow website
is <http://www.hmsminnow.com/>, and his email is
<hmsminnow@msn.com>.  Jeff and I easily arranged our trip via
e-mail.

Summary:  I would easily dive with the HMS Minnow again.  It's excellent if
you want personalized diving, with the opportunity to do the dives you
want.  However, if you would prefer a divemaster in the water to show you
the sites, I would recommend another operator.

Key Largo Holiday Inn:  I'll merely list the facts:
o) Conveniently located to the HMS Minnow.
o) Check-in was simple and accurate
o) At dinner, our three entrees at the hotel restaurant came at three
different times
o) The room had a sleeper sofa in it.  It was made, with the sheets
covering the packing plastic which the mattress was left in.
o) We were locked INTO our room.  When we went to get ice at bedtime, the
door would not open.  It took over one-half hour before they could unlock
it from outside, and then another one-half hour before it was fixed enough
that the door could be open and shut from inside the room.  However, no one
at night could reprogram the lock and they did not call in anyone who could
reprogram the lock.  As a result, one of us needed to stay in the room at
all times until the next morning.  This meant we could not have breakfast
together.  (If we hadn't tried to get the ice, we would have discovered all
this as we tried to leave for our dive the next morning.)
o) At checkout, I was billed for a meal that someone else had.  It took
them ten minutes to verify the charge was not mine.
o) The hotel website links to "Visit Our Other Hotels and
Resorts" -- The Marriott Key Largo, The Ramada Key Largo, The Marina
Del Mar, The Travelodge and Suites. 

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