Divi Tiara, Cayman Brac (was: HydroOptix mask tryout)

Nitespark <nitespark@cox.net> wrote:
> Toren Smith wrote:
> > I used to stay at the Divi but it's turned into such a dump I can't
> > hack it any more. I just rent a car, get tanks from Reef Divers and
> > shore dive 90% of the time. Plenty of unmoored and totally pristine
> > sites out there!
>
> Divi got hit hard with a hurricane recently. Can't remember whether it
> was this year or last.


It was September 2002: TS Isadore and H Lily a week later.

I was there during Lily. Damage from both Isadore and Lily was minimal.



> Totalled the bar on the beach.

No, it wasn't.

I couldn't tell anything was wrong with it after Isadore, but the
decision had already been made to claim it a total loss.

After Lily, the NW corner post wobbled a little, but in the past, they
would have just spent 20 minutes to re-nail it. The SW roof had also
lost some palm fronds, but I think they had been missing for a few years
(I'll have to check my photo collection), and the roof was years overdue
in needing to be redone.

This was a nebulous insurance claim. Let's not forget that that bar was
a temporary structure built 14 years earlier (after Hurricane Gilbert in
1988) with no foundation, and it should never have lasted anywhere near
as long as it did. For 5++ years, it has been a run-down shack that
frequently had water damage in rainstorms and the like...Isadore and
Lily were "nothing special" - merely the excuse to make the claim.


For everything else, my summary damage assessment was that 75% of the
damage were blown-down trees that did not damage any buildings, other
than to take out screens in Timeshare units 621 & 623.

There was also cosmetic water damage to several hotel rooms. These
required repainting. Bed mattresses that were damaged were due to
inadequate "due care" pre-storm preparations (eg, a sheet of plastic
over each bed).

The timeshares got water into their kitchens and electrical systems, and
wind damaged ceiling fans but this was all due to inadequate "due care"
in pre-storm preparations: can you believe that instead of closing down
the units, they opened some of them up, so that the wind/sand/rain could
blow in (and hopefully through)? Any damage caused by such actions is
clearly self-inflicted.

The water that was driven into the dining rooms got in not becuase the
duct tape over the seams was inadquate, but because they were not
boarded over with plywood. Again - no "Due Care" in trying to protect
the property from harm.

The tennis court lost two lightposts, one in each storm. The ones that
didn't fall down didn't have extensive rust in their bases...draw your
own conclusions.



FWIW, anyone interested in how the Divi Timeshare rennovations are going
should consider subscribing to the following Yahoo group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DiviTiara-CaymanBrac/


Also, if you're a Tiara Timeshare owner, if you can privately email me
(note my address spoofing) your name & email address, I'll forward it to
the moderator of this group to send you an invitation:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/D-TOG/





-hh

H. Huntzinger wrote:
> Nitespark <nitespark@cox.net> wrote:
>
>>Toren Smith wrote:
>>
>>>I used to stay at the Divi but it's turned into such a dump I can't
>>>hack it any more. I just rent a car, get tanks from Reef Divers and
>>>shore dive 90% of the time. Plenty of unmoored and totally pristine
>>>sites out there!
>>
>>Divi got hit hard with a hurricane recently. Can't remember whether it
>>was this year or last.
>
>
>
> It was September 2002: TS Isadore and H Lily a week later.
>
> I was there during Lily. Damage from both Isadore and Lily was minimal.
>
>
>
>
>>Totalled the bar on the beach.
>
>
> No, it wasn't.
>
> I couldn't tell anything was wrong with it after Isadore, but the
> decision had already been made to claim it a total loss.
>
> After Lily, the NW corner post wobbled a little, but in the past, they
> would have just spent 20 minutes to re-nail it. The SW roof had also
> lost some palm fronds, but I think they had been missing for a few years
> (I'll have to check my photo collection), and the roof was years overdue
> in needing to be redone.
>
> This was a nebulous insurance claim. Let's not forget that that bar was
> a temporary structure built 14 years earlier (after Hurricane Gilbert in
> 1988) with no foundation, and it should never have lasted anywhere near
> as long as it did. For 5++ years, it has been a run-down shack that
> frequently had water damage in rainstorms and the like...Isadore and
> Lily were "nothing special" - merely the excuse to make the claim.

Interesting. I was only relating what we were told. Can't remember
whether it was Max that told us or other staff.


>
>
> For everything else, my summary damage assessment was that 75% of the
> damage were blown-down trees that did not damage any buildings, other
> than to take out screens in Timeshare units 621 & 623.

I did a little walking around while there, but did not do any close
inspections on the facility.



>
> The timeshares got water into their kitchens and electrical systems, and
> wind damaged ceiling fans but this was all due to inadequate "due care"
> in pre-storm preparations: can you believe that instead of closing down
> the units, they opened some of them up, so that the wind/sand/rain could
> blow in (and hopefully through)? Any damage caused by such actions is
> clearly self-inflicted.

Reminds me of a similar story of our Town vehicle maintenance garage.
In 1985, we suffered a tremendous flood in this area. Our vehicle
maintenance garage was located in a lower part of town, but they had
plenty of warning. One of the police cars was there for maintenance
(oil change or whatever). Anyhow, the rocket scientists there decided
to CHAIN the car to a support beam inside the garage "so it wouldn't
float away". They could have very easily driven the car to higher
ground. The car was totalled as well as all the radios and electronics.
Guess they went to the same school of storm preparation.



> The tennis court lost two lightposts, one in each storm. The ones that
> didn't fall down didn't have extensive rust in their bases...draw your
> own conclusions.
>

I noticed the lightposts were still down when I visited.

>
>
> FWIW, anyone interested in how the Divi Timeshare rennovations are going
> should consider subscribing to the following Yahoo group:
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DiviTiara-CaymanBrac/
>
>
> Also, if you're a Tiara Timeshare owner, if you can privately email me
> (note my address spoofing) your name & email address, I'll forward it to
> the moderator of this group to send you an invitation:

I still liked the dive staff and dive conditions while there.

--
Gun Control works!!! 3 million Holocaust victims can’t be wrong.

Nitespark <nitespark@cox.net> wrote:


> >>Totalled the bar on the beach.
> >
> >
> > No, it wasn't.
> >
> > I couldn't tell anything was wrong with it after Isadore, but the
> > decision had already been made to claim it a total loss.
> >
> > After Lily, the NW corner post wobbled a little, but in the past, they
> > would have just spent 20 minutes to re-nail it. The SW roof had also
> > lost some palm fronds, but I think they had been missing for a few years
> > (I'll have to check my photo collection), and the roof was years overdue
> > in needing to be redone.
> >
> > This was a nebulous insurance claim. Let's not forget that that bar was
> > a temporary structure built 14 years earlier (after Hurricane Gilbert in
> > 1988) with no foundation, and it should never have lasted anywhere near
> > as long as it did. For 5++ years, it has been a run-down shack that
> > frequently had water damage in rainstorms and the like...Isadore and
> > Lily were "nothing special" - merely the excuse to make the claim.
>
> Interesting. I was only relating what we were told. Can't remember
> whether it was Max that told us or other staff.


A few days after Lily, my wife & I were sitting under what was left of
the Grape Tree next to the bar, and one of the dive staff walked by and
exclaimed "Oh, no, the bar is totalled!"

I looked over at him and said: "_Where?_"

He stepped over to the one corner and shook the post (the structure
wiggled ~6 inches).

I replied: "Uh, huh - - it did that last year."

He shrugged and gave a sheepish grin.

I rolled my eyes and replied: "Yeah, yeah, okay ... its "totalled".



> > For everything else, my summary damage assessment was that 75% of the
> > damage were blown-down trees that did not damage any buildings, other
> > than to take out screens in Timeshare units 621 & 623.
>
> I did a little walking around while there, but did not do any close
> inspections on the facility.

The above units were repaired after Isadore and put back into service;
we occupied our unit for a few days before we were then moved back into
the hotel to ride out Lily.

After Lily passed and the units dried out, we were told that our unit
was again ready for occupation, but we were down to only 2 days left, so
we chose to decline because we didn't feel like relocating a 4th time.

The units continued to be occupied until September 2003. Yup, two
storms a year earlier knocked 'em right out of commission. FWIW,
the real poop scuttlebutt is that the units were down because the Cayman
Hotel board was threatening to revoke Divi Hotel's operating licence.

Once again, issues must be elevated to crisis before management wakes up.



> I still liked the dive staff and dive conditions while there.

I do too. I just find it beyond irritating that that Divi Hotels cannot
fulfil their contractural obligations on the Hotel Services side. I'd
not recommend buying one of their timeshares - anywhere - to anyone.

BTW, the dive operation is reportedly getting a Nitrox station and one
new diveboat, but I don't think I'll be posting any reports on them
until the timeshares are re-inhabitable.



-hh

H. Huntzinger wrote:

>>Interesting. I was only relating what we were told. Can't remember
>>whether it was Max that told us or other staff.
>
>
>
> A few days after Lily, my wife & I were sitting under what was left of
> the Grape Tree next to the bar, and one of the dive staff walked by and
> exclaimed "Oh, no, the bar is totalled!"
>
> I looked over at him and said: "_Where?_"
>
> He stepped over to the one corner and shook the post (the structure
> wiggled ~6 inches).
>
> I replied: "Uh, huh - - it did that last year."
>
> He shrugged and gave a sheepish grin.
>
> I rolled my eyes and replied: "Yeah, yeah, okay ... its "totalled".

Sounds like they are cutting corners. Save a few bucks?? Pad someone's
pocket??? I dunno.
>
>
>
>
>>>For everything else, my summary damage assessment was that 75% of the
>>>damage were blown-down trees that did not damage any buildings, other
>>>than to take out screens in Timeshare units 621 & 623.
>>
>>I did a little walking around while there, but did not do any close
>>inspections on the facility.
>
>
> The above units were repaired after Isadore and put back into service;
> we occupied our unit for a few days before we were then moved back into
> the hotel to ride out Lily.
>
> After Lily passed and the units dried out, we were told that our unit
> was again ready for occupation, but we were down to only 2 days left, so
> we chose to decline because we didn't feel like relocating a 4th time.

Look on the bright side. Had you stayed in your original units, you
could have put your gear on and done a penatration dive in your own
room. :)


>
> The units continued to be occupied until September 2003. Yup, two
> storms a year earlier knocked 'em right out of commission. FWIW,
> the real poop scuttlebutt is that the units were down because the Cayman
> Hotel board was threatening to revoke Divi Hotel's operating licence.
>
> Once again, issues must be elevated to crisis before management wakes up.

Thats a shame. >
>
>
>
>>I still liked the dive staff and dive conditions while there.
>
>
> I do too. I just find it beyond irritating that that Divi Hotels cannot
> fulfil their contractural obligations on the Hotel Services side. I'd
> not recommend buying one of their timeshares - anywhere - to anyone.

I am not into timeshares. I just have not found any one place that I
would like to return to year after year. Some folks have. But not me.
Perhaps one day I will, and then perhaps a timeshare will be the way
to go. For now, I enjoy travelling around to different sites.

>
> BTW, the dive operation is reportedly getting a Nitrox station and one
> new diveboat, but I don't think I'll be posting any reports on them
> until the timeshares are re-inhabitable.

The dive operation had nitrox when I was there. The last day, I dove
nitrox. It was pricey ($10 for an AL80), but I generally try to dive
nitrox on the last day of diving before I fly out.




--
Gun Control works!!! 3 million Holocaust victims can’t be wrong.

" H. Huntzinger" <{NOSPAM-rm_to_reply}rec-scuba@huntzinger.com> wrote in
message
news:{NOSPAM-rm_to_reply}rec-scuba-7F049C.09582801012004@news-east.ash.giganews.com...
> Nitespark <nitespark@cox.net> wrote:
> > Toren Smith wrote:
> > > I used to stay at the Divi but it's turned into such a dump I can't
> > > hack it any more. I just rent a car, get tanks from Reef Divers and
> > > shore dive 90% of the time. Plenty of unmoored and totally pristine
> > > sites out there!
> >

That seems pretty hard to believe. Even with the lapses in possible repair
work, unless the dive operation went through the floor, which I highly doubt
, I can't imagine you are doing much wall diving from the shore.

George
> > Divi got hit hard with a hurricane recently. Can't remember whether it
> > was this year or last.
>
>
> It was September 2002: TS Isadore and H Lily a week later.
>
> I was there during Lily. Damage from both Isadore and Lily was minimal.
>
>
>
> > Totalled the bar on the beach.
>
> No, it wasn't.
>
> I couldn't tell anything was wrong with it after Isadore, but the
> decision had already been made to claim it a total loss.
>
> After Lily, the NW corner post wobbled a little, but in the past, they
> would have just spent 20 minutes to re-nail it. The SW roof had also
> lost some palm fronds, but I think they had been missing for a few years
> (I'll have to check my photo collection), and the roof was years overdue
> in needing to be redone.
>
> This was a nebulous insurance claim. Let's not forget that that bar was
> a temporary structure built 14 years earlier (after Hurricane Gilbert in
> 1988) with no foundation, and it should never have lasted anywhere near
> as long as it did. For 5++ years, it has been a run-down shack that
> frequently had water damage in rainstorms and the like...Isadore and
> Lily were "nothing special" - merely the excuse to make the claim.
>
>
> For everything else, my summary damage assessment was that 75% of the
> damage were blown-down trees that did not damage any buildings, other
> than to take out screens in Timeshare units 621 & 623.
>
> There was also cosmetic water damage to several hotel rooms. These
> required repainting. Bed mattresses that were damaged were due to
> inadequate "due care" pre-storm preparations (eg, a sheet of plastic
> over each bed).
>
> The timeshares got water into their kitchens and electrical systems, and
> wind damaged ceiling fans but this was all due to inadequate "due care"
> in pre-storm preparations: can you believe that instead of closing down
> the units, they opened some of them up, so that the wind/sand/rain could
> blow in (and hopefully through)? Any damage caused by such actions is
> clearly self-inflicted.
>
> The water that was driven into the dining rooms got in not becuase the
> duct tape over the seams was inadquate, but because they were not
> boarded over with plywood. Again - no "Due Care" in trying to protect
> the property from harm.
>
> The tennis court lost two lightposts, one in each storm. The ones that
> didn't fall down didn't have extensive rust in their bases...draw your
> own conclusions.
>
>
>
> FWIW, anyone interested in how the Divi Timeshare rennovations are going
> should consider subscribing to the following Yahoo group:
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DiviTiara-CaymanBrac/
>
>
> Also, if you're a Tiara Timeshare owner, if you can privately email me
> (note my address spoofing) your name & email address, I'll forward it to
> the moderator of this group to send you an invitation:
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/D-TOG/
>
>
>
>
>
> -hh
>