Deep Blue Divers

★ 5 · Mark P. · 2009-06-18

We have just returned from Deep Blue Resort and are now having a couple of days on the mainland of Honduras, I cannot express so far our wonderment with Honduras, when we first arrived we spent one day in La Ceiba then flew to Utila and now will spend two days in San Pedro Sula and go to the Copan ruins. La Ceiba when we arrived was very easy, we had booked to stay at the Quinta Real Hotel there was a cab waiting for us, after a day of shopping in La Ceiba we flew to Utila where we were met at the airport by Shirley one of the owners of Deep Blue, then from there we were taken by boat to the resort, everything was spotless and we knew we had made the correct decision straight away. The resort is set on the ocean front with all the rooms overlooking the sea, as is the bar and restaurant, it is also very relaxed and has an informal feel about it. It is a true divers resort, everything is dedicated towards diving. During our stay we did 5 shore dives and enjoyed them very much, the reef in front of the hotel was stunning and alive with fish and coral, apart from this we did 3 boat dives everyday and we were lucky enough to see 2 whale sharks, Mantas, Pilot Whales and so much more. Food at the resort was great we always had too much and Susan who looks after the kitchen was wonderful and would tailor food to as we wanted, the deserts were scrummy. Steve the owner was present most of the time and is very involved with the whale shark research that they do and is also wonderful on fish ID, if you go to Deep Blue I would suggest that you test him we did giving a brief description of fish and he gets them all. All in all this was one of the best dive vacations we have had and would certainly go back, and I would like to thank everyone there for a great time, the diving operation is first class and their motto that they have in the bar is ‘’A dive resort built by divers for divers’’ this is very very true.

★ 3 · Deb W. · 2009-06-16

We recently made a trip to Utila and stayed at Deep Blue Utila Resort. First, let us say that the resort, itself, was great. Clean rooms, groomed grounds, and great food. Beautiful beach, free shore diving and being with friends we haven't seen since last August. We think that's where the good parts end. Boy, how disappointing, to say the least. Let's start with their "wonderful" dive master, Zab. It was right after our first dive, on the first day, she saw something she didn't like. Some of the divers were crowding in on a sea horse. Well, let me tell you...when we got back on the boat , she started screeching and screaming at us, AND she used foul language. Telling us we were killing thousands of little animals and that by the end of the week, we were going to learn to dive in a group or else she was throwing us all off the boat. She claimed it was HER reef and we would dive it the way SHE wanted us to. Now, we are all in favor of diving correctly and saving the reef and all of us were experienced divers. We guess she doesn't know that there is a professional way of discussing problems with her divers. All she knew was to start in with her tirade that lasted several minutes. In all our years of diving, we have never been talked to the way Zab talked to us. We were there with friends and we know for sure that the 4 of us designated to the owner that she get none of the tip that we designated for the dive masters and crew. The others were were great, but none of them stood up to her about the way she was treating paying guests. After that first dive, I was ready to get on a plane and go home! Then, our dive light was stolen from the room. Our friends lost $500 worth of pesos from their room. We did get our light back, but not before we were told it was in there somewhere and we just couldn't find it. We tore the room apart 5 times, and no dive light. I reported it, but "the girls" knew nothing about it. Meanwhile, everytime we had the opportunity to look for it in our room, it WASN'T there. We took everything out of draws, looked under the bed about 5 times, looked through our empty luggage, and it wasn't there. Finally, the owner sent "the girls" to rummage through all our belongings, while we were diving. and what do ya know?!?!? They claimed they found the light in one of the draws that we must have emptied 5 times. We were really glad they rummaged through all my belongings (cough, cough). I have just never heard of such a thing. We're sure at other places, we've stayed, 'the girls' looked through our things, but to be told that they were instructed to do this horrified us. The bottom line was, the owner's common law wife told us it was in our room the whole time. All our friends had to do was report their pesos missing, luckily the afternoon before we left, so they didn't get the 'must be in your room, you just can't see it' treatment. When they got home and didn't find it in any of their luggage, the owner sent them a check for $500. I am very glad they were reimbursed, but not thrilled that our ability to find a silly light, in our room, was called into question. We would NEVER recommend any of our friends to go there. We were NOT happy with the way we were treated. By the way, the owner said that no one was ever robbed before and he didn't respond to our comment of didn't he think it was more than a coincident that it happened in 2 different rooms, in the same week? To say the VERY least, we will never go to that resort, again, and for that matter never go to Utila, again, either. No whale sharks seen and the rest of the diving was so-so. Oh...did we say we both have about 350 Caribbean dives under our belts? It's not like we're newbies. If you go and stay there, good luck! Hope nothing like this happens to you!

★ 5 · Jim W. · 2009-06-18

I recently returned from my 6th stay at Deep Blue Resort on Utila. What a great trip. I stayed for two weeks this time. I travel extensively in the Carib and this is one of the places that I return to year after year. The resort is a very comfortable place to relax and unwind. The diving is getting better with each visit. Unlike many of the Caribbean dive locations where there is noticeable degradation to the reefs, Utila acutally seems to be recovering somewhat. There was a noticeable increase in growth of staghorn coral and I did not see as much algae as in other locations. Of course the highlight of this trip was the numerous sightings of Whale Sharks. We got to smim with them 7 times while I was there. Any experienced diver knows that there is no guarentee of seeing whale sharks on a dive trip. After all the sharks do not work for the resort :-) but it is always a thrill when you do get a chance to be in the water with one. As always the staff at Deep Blue were warm and friendly. They take excellent care of their guests and unlike other resorts that I have stayed at where you really feel like you need a vault to keep your valuables in, I have never felt like I needed to worry. That is not to say that you should not use common sense but I have never felt like it was an issue. The Dive Masters are awesome. I am impressed by how protective they are of the reef system. Making sure that the groups of divers that they are leading are not damaging the reef. I have been to other locations where the divers are laying on the reef or kicking the coral. If more operations where like this one, maybe the health of the reefs throughout the carib would be in better condition. I always find it interesting when looking at trip reports how you can find 50 to 100 positive reports on an operation and then there is that one "sour apple" that goes out of their way to make a place look bad. I have been diving at most of the well known dive locals in the Carib as well as other parts of the world and in comparison, Deep Blue Utila is one of two dive operations that I return to on a regular basis. I am looking foward to my next trip already