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Dear Boardies,
I'll be staying at Seastar and looking for information regarding cliff access for snorkeling in the morning.
Any places within walking distance from Seastar or a Route Taxi?
How much do they charge for access?
Is the access via ladder or stairs.
Much appreciated!!
Happy aka VVHT
Catcha Falling Star is walking distance. They once had a day pass but since they added so many rooms, that's only available now when they are at
low occupancy. Rick's also has ocean access but you're at Rick's. We went once with a friend who was eager to get in the water to try his new underwater camera. Go on Sunday just as they open the gates because the place starts to fill up with Benzes and beemers around noon and you will feel the need to flee. Xtabi is a short cab ride and has easy ocean access through a pirate cave where you can hang out in the shade and swim. No cost but we always eat at the bar when we're there. Hope this helps.
ol'yardie,
Good stuff!
Thanks,
Catcha's pretty good on the far west side but they closed off my favorite ladder there closest to the old Banana Shout. Don't like that or their new uncomfortable, double restaurant chairs. You can still get to the coral heads on that side but it's a bit longer swim.
Agree with a previous poster - Xtabi has cool sea level access. Last time I was there, there was a little 1 meter x 1 meter sandy beach even.
Please stab any lionfish you see down there!
I personally like that Catcha does not allow non-guests entry. I'm paying to stay there, not to share. Never understood how someone who is not staying there would or should be allowed to use the facility. Not to mention that, to me, part of the allure of Catcha is that it is small, quiet and private. When and if I want noise and lots of people I walk down to Rick's.
I think I may have resolved in my mind the issue of the Catcha day pass. My wife and I stayed at Catcha several years in a row after Hurricane Ivan. It was small, quiet and private. They were still planting the small Croton bushes, vines and other plantings that provide the lush landscape of today. But the rates also grew to the point that it was no longer the affordable place we knew. One day I ran into Susan, the manager and later owner, and lamented about the steep rate increases. She asked if we had seen "the gardens". Later that day she walked us up to what was then Catcha Falling Star Gardens and gave us a tour. Part of her pitch was that we could get day passes for ocean access at Catcha. Even after she and Bill sold the gardens and it became LTU Gardens we were still able to get day passes. Maybe this was because we always went in August to avoid the crowds and Catcha had very low occupancy then. However, all that changed after Catcha bought the multistory building next door and added many more rooms to inventory, straining their cliff side availability for guests. Who knows? Maybe we were the only ones ever to get that deal.
BTW...Ivan's is open to the public for dinner after 5 pm. Sometimes we still walk down for drinks, sunset and dinner on the cliffs. Then back to LTU for after dinner drinks with our friends there.
The multistory building was always part of the property. It was the original owner's home at Catcha. He and I watched many NFL games there on Sundays. After Harry, from the US, bought it, he gutted it and used it for storage of building supplies for the upgrades and new small units. Harry finally got around to designing the new interior of the house.
That is how those 6 seaview rooms came to be.
I was the caretaker of the the property for 4 years during the transition. Talk about an amazing place to wake up each day. Sagi has always been my favorite.
But I do miss watching the NFL in the sunken living room with Lyndon and the twins. They were small then. Both of the girls are taller than I am now!
Rob...thanks for the clarification. I remember Harry. He was something else. I don't know if it's true but I was told that right after one of the storms (maybe Ivan) he asked everyone who was able to come in to work, then threw open the tool storage and started the cleanup and rebuilding then and there.
Yes, we were there that day. The tree in Ivan's was the only thing left! Serious sea wave disaster! We were a small part of the clean up.Quote:
Originally Posted by ol'yardie
I've seen the photo album they keep on the bar. That lone, scraggly-looking almond tree trunk makes a spectacular center pole for the bar today. Where were you hunkered down during the storm?
We love Catcha and I really enjoy reading these stories of the past. It has been too long since our last visit there and we are ready to be back. :eagerness:
Chris at Seastar put us up for safety. We probably would have been fine, but it was a generous gesture for sure!Quote:
Originally Posted by ol'yardie
We've book Home Sweet Home for December. I hope the snorkeling there is as good as I think it will be!
Just to add somewhere different I've heard Sir D's Firewater Bar has ocean access now but haven't gone to check it out lately. It has always had a great view for sunsets. It's not always open though. When walking down Sea Star Lane to the main road turn left. If you get to the Lighthouse then you've gone too far.
xtabi
It's a bit further west a couple miles past the lighthouse, but Westender Inn has a very nice cove for snorkeling. There is a reef conservation project that was started by the owner some time ago and the corals and fish are abundant. The day pass is $15 usd if memory serves. There is a ladder and several nice pools, with a nice bar and restaurant on the property. The owner also culls the urchins anywhere near the ladder area, so you won't have any unpleasant surprises.