August in the Keys

Althought I was aware this was more of a Motel then Resort I still was expecting a lot more than I got. I do not know how they continue to win awards in the magazine survey. First the room, it was okay, but how do you have a microwave, sink, and fridge and provide little or no utensils and plates? And then, after asking repeatedly they arrive as you are packing your car to leave!! No Kleenex or paper towels either and never enough cups or toilet paper. And we were a party of three and lucky to get two towels. Now we were three and this is a dive resort. The cleaning of the room was probably 5 minutes. I have traveled to over thirty countries rich and poor but never saw anything like this. Bottom line as I came to find out, ownership is very cheap and makes the staff follow suit. Speaking of mgmt, saw one of Amy's brothers three times, never acknoldeged me, for example to say,' how is your trip going,' 'anything you need', etc. But I did get to witness him berate staff members and complain how the guys were cleaning up the BBQ's. As someone in sales working with people all the tine you can get a feel for how people are treated. Here it is very evident this is just a job and nothing more. They have no love for ownership and are treated very poorly. Washer and dryer were broke the whole week, now in Honduras that could be but in Florida?? Could have been fixed same morning. Dive boats were fine however I did not recall being advised that I would need advanced certification to go on deep dives. I have around 180 dives and have done them elsewhere. So this meant I either could not dive that trip or had to pack all my stuff and hustle off to another shop at another location, again not something I was told up front. And I think what really got me was nowhere could I recall beiong told that there was no divemaster in the water un less you paid for a guide. Now for me that is okay, but our plan was by the end of the week was to dive as a family, with a brand new certified 12yr old and my wife who needed a refresher. Now I do not think DAN would have thought that was a good idea. All the other divers I told this too thought it was crazy as well.

Bottom line I see why they stay busy, it is CHEAP, but you DO NOT get what you pay for. I also see why those who I met who were repeat visitors say they never see the same staff. These people cannot wait to leave there. I have a place in Cozumel where the same people have been there fr 10yrs or more. This place has a lot of potential, best thing is to sell it and let someone else run it and fix things up right.