We wanted to go somewhere special and unique for my 50th birthday. Divers on two other trips had told us about Dominica and Castle Comfort Lodge. After researching what the island had to offer, we felt it was right up our alley: great diving and great hiking. We did both while there and found the atmosphere very relaxing, but also stimulating at the same time. Coming from Phoenix, Arizona, where there is no water and next to no green, we were in heaven. The entire island is densely packed with rain forrest vegetation. The diving was very easy and enjoyable. The warm water (82 degrees) was a welcomed relief to our New Year's Philippines trip where the water was only 75 - 77 degrees. The owners of Castle Comfort Lodge, Derek and Ginette, were very nice, along with the rest of the staff. Derek originiated diving in Dominica. His operation is so simple: walk out of your room a few yards to the dock and board the boat. Your gear is on the boat and all you need to do is put the BCD on the tank. Boat rides were short with beautiful scenery. About the only negative is that only one of the dive masters really made an effort to show us stuff. I think if they want to increase their tips, improving on this one thing would help. The food at Castle Comfort was pretty good most of the time. If you're looking for boring American food, don't stay here. The food in more of the local cuisine. We would also recommend the rum punches and Kabuli beer. We had many and really enjoyed the fill-in bartender, Curly. He's a very nice amiable guy. The rooms are getting tattered, but the convience of the diving and being somewhat away from the obnoxious cruise ships, unlike Fort Young Resort, made it better for us to stay at Castle Comfort. One last thing, Dominca is the only country outside of Canada that we've visited where we could drink the water from the tap. In fact, on a hike to The Boiling Lake, we drank it from a waterfall - best water we've ever had. There was a lot more we wish we had had time for on Dominica. We would recommend this jewel to anyone who enjoys both hiking and scuba diving and isn't looking for cookie-cutter hotels, food or other establishments. I had a great 50th birthday!

CCL- great service - clean room, good meals, short boat ride to dive sites.
room #4- location on east/south side, windows on both walls, so lighting good but close to road & no ocean view or balcony/patio. the room had 2 double beds & 1 twin which was great for 2 friends traveling together. There were high ceilings & ceiling fan, but A/C so/so. The bath room was spacious. It was easy to take bus into town.

We stayed at Castle Comfort the week of May 25 - June 2 2007. Castle Comfort has a package deal which includes 5 days of 2-tank dives, breakfast, wale watching, and a jungle tour. They greet you with a Rum Punch and give you all the information about staying at their place. (How to conduct shore dives, use the hot tub, when breakfast is served, when diving starts, and when the bar closes. The rooms are clean, air conditioned, and most have great views of the sea. When diving, they will take care of all your gear except your dive suite, and camera. They wash and store it for you after the day’s dive. If you want to take advantage of the shore dive, your equipment is located in a safe location that is easily accessible by the guests. The dive crew wants to make sure your happy and ask where you would like to dive. They try not to repeat dives. They also serve as the dive company for Fort Young and Evergreen. They keep customer from other hotels on separate boats. They only serve water on the dives. If you want something to snack on between dives, bring your own treats. The dives last for about 1 hour and then they park the boat at the next dive spot and wait an hour before allowing anyone to dive. You are allowed to swim if you like. The boat is large, has a nice dry hold for your belongings, and a top deck for sunning. We returned from diving each day at 1:00 pm.

It was fun getting to know the other guests staying at Castle Comfort. We all are divers, and ate breakfast together. You are allowed to choose your breakfast from a list. This includes, egg omelet, pancakes, with ham or cheese, a side of bacon, fruit, fruit juice, toast, coffee. If you want milk, you need to request it the day before.

We had lunch there once. And again you can choose what you want from a list. We had chicken and rice, which was very good. It was not included in the package, so the cost was around $8.00 ea. Cokes are $6.00 ea. (If you have it with lunch or order it at the bar.)

The bartender is great, and will amuse you with his stories and songs. He has a unique mixed drink he won second place with in a island competition. He speaks 6 languages! The ocean view is great, and peaceful. The office is open early in the morning until 10:00 pm. The owner is there most of the day to greet you and make sure you have everything you need. They greet you after your dive, making sure you are happy. We went on the Wale Watching trip, a little too late in the season for Wales, but saw Dolphins, rainbows, and Rum Punch.

We rented a car from Best Deal who met us at the airport with the car. We were allowed to drop the car off at the airport and give the keys to the airline ticket agent. Castle Comfort will also pick you up and take you back to the airport as part of their service. FYI, if you go out at night, Castle Comfort locks the gate after they close, but there is a night-guard who will open it for your. We felt very safe staying there.

Now for the down side, not much but I feel I should mention these. When you get back from your dive, everyone takes a shower and the water pressure goes down to a trickle. The drinks at the bar are pricey. Beer was $6.50 (US). We found the best priced beer at a restaurant called Port of Call (along with great food). The spa (hot tub) only has two jets working, which is fine as long as its just two people using it. The pool is about the same size as the spa ( 7 X 7’). The dinner tasted fantastic. We had pumpkin soup, salad, bread, and chicken. The cost was the most expensive dinner we had on the island. We ate at Evergreen Hotel next door which as almost as expensive, but the dinner was awful. I had chicken that looked like it was boiled and chewed like rubber. (The hotel cat ate well that night.) The room has two double beds, which are very hard, after a few nights I got use to them. No bugs, no other problems. The dive boat from the hotel will host all guests so it can get very crowded. On our first day of diving there were 18 people. As the week progressed it got down to 11 people. Luckily, we were all on dive computers, and experienced divers (well matched).
Tid-bits about Roseau. The bus stops just outside the hotel and is less than $2.00 to go downtown. There is a nice grocery store in downtown Roseau on Cork St. 4-blocks up from the waterfront.(Beer there is $3.00 EC.) We found two nice restaurants with good priced and great tasting food; Port of Call and CoCorico. CoCorico is on the corner of Cork St. and the waterfront where the cruse ship docks. Port of Call is one block away from the dock street on the north side of Cork St. Say hi to Ben the owner. We ate Maui Maui, rice, green beans with carrots, backed Plantain, and Beer. Dinner was less than $35 EC. (Beer is $3.50 EC.) I also had a pork chop that was a good 1 ½” thick, excellent taste! There is a money exchange on Kennedy Drive 2 blocks from the water front. If you plan to go to the bank to exchange money, the banks close at 2:00pm sharp. There is one the Canadian Bank at the waterfront where the cruse ship docks, and another a few blocks inland on Kennedy St. We had a great tour guide, named Big Mamma. He is very knowledgeable about the island. He took us to Emerald Falls, Spanny Falls, and around Roseau. He charges $40.00 for ½ day tour.

The diving was nice with lots of unusual critters - but did not make up for the Castle Comfort Lodge's shortcomings!

The Dominicans were sometimes friendly, sometimes downright surly in their attitudes. There is a 15% VAT on EVERYTHING you buy. Also a 10% service charge at all restaurants. So a Sandwich that costs $10 EC (about $3.85 US) will end up costing $ 12.50 EC - add $1.00.

The restaurant at Castle Comfort was appalling. Food was mediocre and the service abominable. Breakfast was included in our package, and one could select from a limited menu. Fruit and toast as wellas juice and coffee were part of the breakfast. If you had already eaten your allotted fruit and requested a banana (one of our group did just that) the response was NO!

You were requested to order lunch during breakfast, so "it would be ready when you got back from diving) which I did on the first dive day - a tuna sandwich, which was unrefrigerated, and the bread so stale and crusty it had to have been prepared at breakfast time! When I requested wheat bread instead of the stale white, I got the same wilted lettuce and warm tuna on new bread.

When we asked staff people where else we could eat, we were told that they were not allowed to suggest alternative places. We found a couple anyway - the Green Flash, just south of the lodge about 1/2 mile walk was wonderful.

The rooms were adequate, but nothing special, clean, if a bit worn.

DIVING:

Vis: 40 to 100 Feet. Water: 82 to 84 Fahrenheit, calm, no currents.
100 foot max depth (Dominican restriction)

The dive operation was somewhat better, and the dive crew took care to only take us where there was good visibility and no current. They were courteous, and helped out when asked, but no more than that. They were not all trained, and one poor soul tried to take a BC off a tank by lifting the tank and pulling the BC off from the bottom!

The offered boat night dive is extra, and so is nitrox. Shore diving is free, if you stay at the resort and dive with Dive Dominica.

The diving was very good, including the shore dives. My buddy and I opted to skip a day of boat diving when the previous day the boat had gone out with 16 divers and 3 crew - (management response was that the craft was coast guard rated to 24 people) - too many divers for the boat and for me - the first several days there were between 7 - 10 divers.

I am glad I went, but the experience could have been made MUCH better by a little bit of courtesy and had I not had the feeling I was being squeezed for every dime I could afford to give.

UW Photography Comments: Fresh water rinse tank - covered on boat. Adequate area for cameras on one dive boat, minimal on the other. Good macro and healthy corals, but fished out - the largest grouper I saw was about 12".

The island has fabulous waterfalls and rain forests, and on the day prior to departure, we did a tour called Waterfall Mania ($80 US including VAT - not including tip). Saw 8 waterfalls at 3 locations, but some of them were challenging to get to. Wear waterproof shoes (preferably not slip ons). Also, some of the climbing is slippery, but safe enough. Shopping was nonexistent - and expensive, compared to the same items anywhere else in the Caribbean.