Dive Review of Saba Deep/Queens Garden Resort in
Saba

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Saba Deep/Queens Garden Resort, Mar, 2012, by Kimberly Krebs, MD, US ( Sr. Reviewer 7 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 6477.
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	We didn't have the greatest of conditions - it was extremely windy and choppy through our entire week. Generally the vis was pretty decent, but I know it could have been better. Saba Deep is a pretty casual organization - dives are at 9, 11 and 1 and the boat returns to the dock after each dive. They, or a taxi will pick you up at your resort and take you to Fort Bay. Taxi fare is included in your package. The dive shop would allow you to make plans at the last minute, and they were extremely accommodating to everything that we needed. The dive staff was professional and nice - they offered full valet service - give them your equipment and they'll set it up for you and you never need to touch it again. Nitrox was available, but not encouraged. The first dive of the day was typically a deep dive on a pinnacle (100+ feet), making it pretty short. These were pretty spectacular, although the surface was so rough that getting into and out of the boat was a problem at times. You could giant stride or back roll to enter the water, back roll was encouraged during our stay because of the chop. We saw mostly nurse sharks, but quite a few of them. Fish were plentiful - also lionfish. The marine park regularly goes on lionfish spearing dives. Turtles were found on nearly every dive. Saba Deep's dive shaft broke on the boat on our third day of diving (causing no problem for us), so we had to dive with Saba Divers for the rest of the trip - which I will review in a separate review. Queens Garden was a very luxurious resort. The staff was top notch. They arranged taxis when necessary, and dinner reservations each night. They offered assistance when we were ready to try some hiking. They were always there with a towel the second you were even thinking about heading down to the pool. I cannot say enough wonderful things about the staff. Food at Queens Garden was very good - but expensive. We would run a $50 tab for lunch, for example. If you dive with Saba Deep, you can eat at the restaurant attached to the dive shop for cheap - I would suggest that. If you choose to eat in Windwardside, you will pay $25 round trip for a taxi. Taxis are a huge money maker in Saba - even if you share a cab, you may not get a break. That being said, try to share a cab when you can. This means paying your driver when they drop you off rather than paying them at the end of a round trip. We found that when we didn't pay the driver if we were able to share on the way back, we were still charged for the full fare. We were in a superior suite including a Jacuzzi, which was a nice way to end the day. We were unfortunate to be on Saba during the medical school's midterm week, which meant that the med students were loud and rowdy. Once during the week, med students staying in the room above us overflowed the Jacuzzi on to our roof, waking us up and then keeping us up until after midnight. Friday and Saturday, there were parties at the med school in The Bottom, and the sound echoes up the valley so loudly that I thought at first that the party was at Queen's Garden. Friday, the music didn't stop until 2:15am. With no air conditioning, you either have to keep the windows open and listen to it or close the windows and try to sleep in a stuffy room - and you'll still hear the music with the windows closed. Definitely check and see what the med school will be up to during your visit. This would have been a deal breaker for us if we'd known in advance.
Websites	Saba Deep Queens Garden Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Little Cayman, Bonaire, Key Largo, Raja Ampat, Bali, Belize, Turks & Caicos, Florida Springs
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy	Seas	choppy, surge
Water Temp	79-82°F / 26-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	60-90 Ft/ 18-27 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	We were asked to stay within no-deco limits, and were generally asked to be back on the boat with the rest of the group. We didn't have any dives longer than about 55 minutes.
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	There was a rinse bucket on the boat, but it wasn't very large (could accommodate one or two smaller cameras). They did hook up a hose at the dive shop for rinsing.

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Dive Review of Saba Deep/Queens Garden Resort in Saba

Saba Deep/Queens Garden Resort, Mar, 2012,

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 Saba Deep/Queens Garden Resort in
Saba