Dive Review of SCUBAQUA/Golden Rock Resort in
St. Eustatius

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SCUBAQUA/Golden Rock Resort: "The Blue Bead Prophecy", Aug, 2023, by Bobby Munno, NY, US ( Sr. Contributor 27 reports with 21 Helpful votes). Report 12509 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	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	The lore surrounding the Blue Beads of Sint Eustatius (Statia), is that if one finds you, you will return to the island. The Blue Beads of Statia are an interesting item worth research but not to be explained here. Almost a decade ago, my wife returned from our "muck" dive with Scubaqua at Blue Bead Hole amazingly clutching two blue beads. We recently fulfilled the prophecy and returned to Statia to dive with Scubaqua. Our United flight from Newark to Sint Maarten was delayed many hours for a nose gear tire replacement. Consequently, our many-hours SXM to EUX layover evaporated and we had to be hustled through SXM to make the puddle-jumper connection. The still-quaint, very nice & new EUX terminal, adjacent to the original, was noted and is so tiny that we could not have exited without running into our waiting shuttle driver, Hildo. Hildo was our first and frequent shuttle driver for the week. Our first visit to Statia had us staying on the west coast's Old Gin House, steps away from Scubaqua's beach-front dive shop and walking-distance to most everything else. This trip had us at the new Golden Rock Resort on the east coast cliffs which required a shuttle to everywhere. The shuttle service was hassle-free, timely, seamless and comfortable even on the east coast's unpaved single lane road. The Golden Rock Resort's marketing presentation at Beneath the Sea 2023 sold us on the property. Our prior experience and depth of Caribbean and world diveshop exposure made diving with Scubaqua the only consideration. With Scubaqua, we felt a sense of "homecoming" as we were warmly welcomed back. Free Nitrox is nice too! The Scubaqua folks and location made it easy to spend hours chilling between morning, afternoon, and night dives. The fantastic Scubaqua experience culminated daily with our post-last-dive-of-the-day adult beverage enjoyed on their "veranda". The reef biodiversity of Statia is Caribbean very-good. Night diving the Chien Tong and STINAPA wrecks gifted us huge Hawksbills, several Slipper Lobsters, Octopuses and all the other regular night creatures. The 350 foot AT&T cable ship "Charlie" Brown wreck was our deepest of the week with the sand bottom just over 100 feet down. Several sizable Nurse Sharks were found during the week and Lemons twice spied in the distance. Green & Hawksbill Turtles were omnipresent. Many large Angelfish were spotted daily with several being my favorite, Grey. Our stay at Golden Rock Resort started in Lodge accommodations, newly constructed one and two bedroom free-standing structures on the north side of the lush grounds. The two I saw were well-appointed with great furnishings, finishes, fixtures, fenestrations and hardware. Unfortunately, it was a very short time until the construction shortcomings became obvious, intolerable and uninhabitable. The staff did absolutely everything to correct the situation and deserve many kudos. The resort food and drink was great. The property's plantings and gardens are spectacular with constant hummingbird activity. Robes and towels were "Ritz Carlton" level. The Golden Rock Resort has tremendous curb appeal and will hopefully get past it's growing pains and overcome it's flaws.
Websites	SCUBAQUA Golden Rock Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Bahamas, Belize, Bonaire, Cabo, Cancun, Carriacou, 3 Caymans, Cozumel, St Croix, Curacao, Dominica, St Eustatius, FL, Grenada, HI, St Helena, Iceland, Jamaica, LI, St Lucia, Mntsrrat, NYC, Palau, PA, Philippines, Poland, Roatan, Saba, Socorro, Tobago, Turks&Caicos, Utila, St Vincent, Yucatan cenotes
Closest Airport	EUX - F.D. Roosevelt Airport	Getting There	flights to Sint Eustatius are all (?) 20 seat Twin Otter from Sint Maarten a couple of times per day.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	81-85°F / 27-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	do deco diving
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	[None]

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of SCUBAQUA/Golden Rock Resort in St. Eustatius

SCUBAQUA/Golden Rock Resort: "The Blue Bead Prophecy", Aug, 2023,

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):

Dive Review of SCUBAQUA/Golden Rock Resort in
St. Eustatius