[cppike79]

We were thinking of diving with Scuba St. Lucia at the Anse Chastanet Resort. Any thoughts or suggestions would be great.

Hopefully you havent left on your trip yet. You will love Anse Chastanet, I was there about two years ago and did some diving with Scuba St. Lucia. The resort is absolutely amazing, in fact you wont even want to leave the resort much less look for a different dive op on the island to dive with. The dive op is well run, and just what you would expect at a place that really caters towards vacation divers (i.e. conservative profiles, 40 minute dives, and you must always have a DM with you). I have a feeling you would find similarly run dive ops all across the Island, as it is an Island that is a vacation spot first, and a dive spot second. This is not to say that the diving is not great though, in fact Anse Chastanet has a great wall dive right off the beach (really a must do night dive)

I also know a friend of a friend who went to St lucia and thought it was dirty/had rats, ... (went to a sandals)

Not to put down the many Sandals resorts, as I'm sure that they have their appeal to some people, but Anse Chastanet is in a league of its own, and is completely secluded from the rest of the island.

And it'd also be useful to exchange a bit of money for eastern caribbean dollars (EC) when you're down there. The exchange rate is constant and about 2.7 EC to US.

I would say that this wont actually be necessary, especially if you have the all inclusive package at Anse (which I would recommend, as the food is rather expensive). Unless you really see yourself leaving the resort frequently to explore the rest of the island, which is quite a chore in itself.

I hope you have a great time in St. Lucia, and if you have any specific questions feel free to write back or PM me.

p.s. I have been to Hawaii many times and can tell you that for me it doesnt compare to my trip to St. Lucia, but like everyone has said, our opinions are shaped heavily by our individual experiences.

Brian