Hall's Diving Center
Hall's Diving Center
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Scuba & Snorkelling
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Hall's Diving Center
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
4.0
101 reviews
Excellent
66
Very good
9
Average
7
Poor
7
Terrible
12
David R
2 contributions
Jul 2020
Hall's is one of the better places to book a dive through in the middle keys. While we had wanted to go out to Sombrero Reef, the traffic was crazy on the day we went out and they found to alternate but exceptional spots including Delta Schoals and Boom Ledge.
The staff is easy going but helpful, which is exactly what you want from an operator. Several newer divers were on the boat and they made a few mistakes (setting up equipment backwards for example) but the team merely helped them out. That is the right way to handle it.
They serve pineapple slices between and after dives, which is a nice touch as well.
The boat is a little old and emits some unpleasant fumes, so you want to get up front if possible but it offers easy entry and exit.
The staff is easy going but helpful, which is exactly what you want from an operator. Several newer divers were on the boat and they made a few mistakes (setting up equipment backwards for example) but the team merely helped them out. That is the right way to handle it.
They serve pineapple slices between and after dives, which is a nice touch as well.
The boat is a little old and emits some unpleasant fumes, so you want to get up front if possible but it offers easy entry and exit.
Written July 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bill Bevard
7 contributions
Mar 2020 • Friends
Very professional and friendly. The instructor was very patient with us. They gave us pool instructions and then to the open only after we were comfortable. They took us to a beautiful coral reef not too far away. We watched turtles, or they were really watching us. Plenty of fish, but just one very large barracuda.
Written March 6, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Congratulations on your Open Water Certification!Thank you for choosing us and taking your time to write this nice review.We are glad you enjoyed your time with us.
Written March 11, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Christopher B
1 contribution
Jul 2014 • Friends
Went to Halls Diving Center after checking with several other dive shops in the area. Their gear was newer, the boat was in good condition and was NOT a cattle boat. Great prices, cheaper than going to the movies. There were 8 divers plus a student/instructor. All the staff was professional, and kept you informed of water conditions, currents, best places to see fish, and safety expectations. We had Captain Brian the two days we went diving and had a blast with them. The Captain and Crew were very welcoming and even invited us to their 4th of July celebration. Next time I make it back to the keys (I are from TN) I would defiantly dive with Halls Dive Center again.
Written August 1, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your compliments. It is good to know that you appreciate our extra efforts to make your experience with Hall"s a good one.As always, we look forward to seeing you back again in the near future. Thank you for the complimentary remarks on TripAdvisor.
Written February 10, 2016
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
divingisfun1000
Marathon, FL4 contributions
Jun 2014 • Family
This is my very first review on trip advisor and the way I was treated made me have to do this. I am not the type to complain, but here's my story.
Two days ago, stopped in to check on our dive trip for this morning. All was great according to the shop. Even purchased more defog gel for my trip. Disappointed I spent money there. This morning arrived and was bumped from the boat. We were told we were given a courtesy call last night on voicemail. Never received an incoming call or voicemail. And a call the night before does not even give you a chance to reschedule with another company. They replaced us with students. I understand that their students get priority, but when you have a trip booked for at least 4 weeks and check on it two days ahead of time. This should not have happened.
Two days ago, stopped in to check on our dive trip for this morning. All was great according to the shop. Even purchased more defog gel for my trip. Disappointed I spent money there. This morning arrived and was bumped from the boat. We were told we were given a courtesy call last night on voicemail. Never received an incoming call or voicemail. And a call the night before does not even give you a chance to reschedule with another company. They replaced us with students. I understand that their students get priority, but when you have a trip booked for at least 4 weeks and check on it two days ahead of time. This should not have happened.
Written June 26, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Deb M
2 contributions
Sep 2014 • Couples
There are many things to appreciate about Hall's, ample equipment to rent or buy, availability of trips for different experience levels, a great boat and boat captain, and they took very good care of us while we went out to the dive site offering us fruit and water on the boat. What is unforgivable, is that the young man who escorted us, because we were beginners, had no respect for the ocean, he smashed the floor of the ocean with his fins destroying sponges and plant life mercilessly. Not
deliberately, but carelessly. We felt hurried, like we were on a time constraint and as beginners, we WERE slower. I wish I had an opportunity to email the shop owner or manager to let them know of my dissatisfaction before posting it to Trip Advisor, but there is no email address on the website and because we were hurried through the process of getting our gear together, I realized no one working in the store would have cared about our dive experience or the fact that one of their instructors is destroying the ocean floor with his carelessness. The seasoned divers who were with us seemed happy and had great dives, so maybe it's just beginners who need a little more TLC. Next time I will shop around for a better fit.
deliberately, but carelessly. We felt hurried, like we were on a time constraint and as beginners, we WERE slower. I wish I had an opportunity to email the shop owner or manager to let them know of my dissatisfaction before posting it to Trip Advisor, but there is no email address on the website and because we were hurried through the process of getting our gear together, I realized no one working in the store would have cared about our dive experience or the fact that one of their instructors is destroying the ocean floor with his carelessness. The seasoned divers who were with us seemed happy and had great dives, so maybe it's just beginners who need a little more TLC. Next time I will shop around for a better fit.
Written October 22, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We were able to get a hold of this customer. It took some digging but we finally figured out who she was and called her. After talking to Deborah I found that her and her boyfriend were as they stated, beginners (newly certified divers). However, through her own admission they were not comfortable in the water especially her boyfriend. And they did not arrange for a dive guide when they came to the dive center. Instead they enlisted one of my part-time employees who just happened to be on the boat diving on his day off for a pleasure dive to go with them on their dives.
This part time employee was not authorized to be there. He especially was not authorized to guide Deborah and her boyfriend on a dive. He would not be our choice. We were appalled with Deborah's description of how this fellow dived on this (Deborah's) comment on Trip Advisor. This Trip Advisor comment was the first we ever heard of a complaint.
The person Deborah is complaining about is no longer working for us. We did not nor would we authorize him to do this. Sorry Deborah and your friend Kirk. we will make sure this will never happen again.
But please, next time arrange for our official employee to escort you in advance. It is what we do for a living. It is important to us to be represented by a professional, experienced dive guide authorized by us to guide and train you to become 100% comfortable in the water.
As I explained to you Deborah, our email address and phone number are clearly visible on our information sheet on our website. I am surprised you missed them. Maybe next time you could just call me using the same number you used to make your reservation in the first place.
I hope we will get another chance with you and your boyfriend in the future. We would love to be given the opportunity to train you and your boyfriend to be 100% comfortable in the water and no longer require supervision. Believe me, we can do it. It is our specialty. Happy diving.
Written November 28, 2014
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Todd H
2 contributions
Jun 2014 • Friends
Would not recommend Hall's Diving Center. Captain Brian was unprofessional and store employees very unfriendly. There are many dive operators in the Keys....suggest staying away from this one!
Written June 30, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lauren J
Atlanta, GA1 contribution
Jun 2013 • Family
We went to Hall's over a year ago, and I am just now able to write this review because of how traumatizing our trip truly was. My parents nor I had ever been snorkeling before, my husband had been a couple times. First off, the instruction was terrible and they did not explain what to do in detail at all. We went out and the waves were AT LEAST 3' to 5' waves. There was about 12 people going out on our trip and by the end of it, only 3 had not gotten sea sick and thrown up. Seems like they just wanted their money because the conditions were not ideal for snorkeling at all. My husband ended up getting dehydrated because of how many times he threw up and they were all but accommodating. They kept telling us he would be fine, but he kept explaining how his chest was tightening and he was locking up. I kept explaining how he never acted like this and something was really wrong. We literally had to beg them to take us back early because it was so miserable. Thank God everyone was in favor of going back before our next stop. When we looked up symptoms of dehydration, he should've been hospitalized and pumped with fluids. This has ruined us of ever wanting to go snorkeling again!!!!
Written May 29, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ForTheStory
163 contributions
Apr 2019 • Friends
Avoid this dive shop at all costs. The shop is unprofessional, took our dive group out into unsafe conditions and the management was rude to its employees as well as the paying customers. On the boat, the members of the dive shop were all smoking and were not helpful.
The conditions were extremely poor and unsafe. There are many dive shops in the Florida Keys--do your research and choose wisely.
The conditions were extremely poor and unsafe. There are many dive shops in the Florida Keys--do your research and choose wisely.
Written June 3, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sounds like a really bad day. I sincerely apologize this happened to you. Mother nature is sometimes unpredictable. I tried to look into this review to correct any problems and verify. I looked back through all our trips and could not find a record of a trip as you described.
I questioned all my staff. Sure enough some of them do smoke as do some of our customers. Wish I could say I got to the bottom of the other part of your TripAdvisor complaint and could help you in some way. I would appreciate it if you would contact me with a little more information. I love to have the opportunity to do something to try to make this up to you.
Sincerely, Bob Brayman Owner
Written June 28, 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Lauren M
5 contributions
Jun 2017 • Friends
Making a reservation is just a formality for them, they don't honor them at all. My father and I are very experienced divers and called three months ago to dive the Thunderbolt, explaining we are coming down to dive the entire keys wreck treck. One week before our trip, we called to confirm that our trip to the Thunderbolt is still good - and they confirmed that we are all set. We show up the morning of our trip and while checking in, the general manager Randy makes a comment "I hope the other two people show up so we can go out." At this point, he calls them and some misunderstanding was made over their reservation. He then tells my father and I that the trip is canceled due to not enough people, after we made this reservation THREE MONTHS AGO. My father then asked to speak to Randy aside, and he said he needs four people to run the trip, which we then offered to pay for four spots so that we can dive. He stumbled for words and explained "well that would be a private charter price," so which is it, 4 paying customers or $500 private charter. I am an active SSI AOWSI and PADI MSDT and currently work in Miami Beach for a dive shop there, and never have I had something so frustrating without even a sincere apology or phone call the day before to let us know that the trip has a low number of people.
Very unprofessional and extremely disappointing especially to my father, who flew down from New Jersey for this dive trip for Father's Day week. Upsetting experience all around on this trip, especially as an instructor and dive professional myself, this customer service is unacceptable.
We will now be diving the thunderbolt wreck with Tilden's dive shop, who was more than happy to accommodate us in a couple days, and guaranteed not to cancel on us. Luckily, Tilden's saved our dive vacation and wreck treck trip, and Looe Key Dive Shop was also very accommodating to reschedule our Adolphus Bush trip from morning to afternoon.
Very unprofessional and extremely disappointing especially to my father, who flew down from New Jersey for this dive trip for Father's Day week. Upsetting experience all around on this trip, especially as an instructor and dive professional myself, this customer service is unacceptable.
We will now be diving the thunderbolt wreck with Tilden's dive shop, who was more than happy to accommodate us in a couple days, and guaranteed not to cancel on us. Luckily, Tilden's saved our dive vacation and wreck treck trip, and Looe Key Dive Shop was also very accommodating to reschedule our Adolphus Bush trip from morning to afternoon.
Written June 14, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We are very sorry that we were not able to run this trip for you. Unfortunately, the other customers that had made reservations for that trip cancelled at the last minute. There was no way that we could have warned you in advance because the other folks did not give us any notice. They just did not show and when we called them they said, "Sorry but we have been out partying the night before and everybody wants to sleep in." I agree that it was very inconsiderate of them but these things happen. It is out of our control. I know that is very disappointing to you. You have my sincere apology.
When you book a trip on a boat that is dependent on other divers to also pay for part of the fare and they cancel, or for other reasons like the boat breaks, the crew is disabled or the weather fails, it is possible for that trip to not run.
Please be forewarned, as previously mentioned, because of circumstances out of our control these trips are never guaranteed. It is unlikely that something like this can happen. But, it is a gamble and it did happen. We do not run private charters. Sorry that it did not work for you. Next time you are down come see me and I will do every reasonable thing in my power to try to make this up to you.
Bob Brayman
Owner/Operator
Hall's Diving Center & Career Institute
Written June 19, 2017
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
JohnNKelliKing
Rock Springs, Wyoming, United States31 contributions
Jan 2015 • Couples
I contacted Halls six months before our trip that was to be a belated honeymoon/anniversary. Half of my emails and phone calls were not returned...even after I paid the deposit! These calls and emails surrounded dive sites, booking classes, buying ALL NEW GEAR, and even scheduling a ceremony to renew our vows. It seems that they excell at passing the buck...everybody I talked to blamed someone or something else...even the owner! The last straw was about one month out when I asked the specifics about deep water dive class, "Oh, I don't know if we can even do that since we only have ONE deep water sight". Ya, that would've been nice to know 5 months earlier! Believe me, EVERY bad review that you see about Halls is true. One month out, we switched to Amoray in Key Largo; It was PERFECT! We did our AOW, did a total of 21 dives could not have been treated better or had more fun.
Written February 20, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Really? We had five months of John's constant adding to or changing his future dive trip. It was like they were not sure what all they wanted to do. It was a work in progress. I think they got to talk to every employee on my staff plus all my new trainees at one time or another. It took five months of constantly trying to pin down a solid complete reservation for what they wanted to do before they finally made up their mind, sent a deposit and booked their reservation. Then after the reservation was made they again came back and had something new to add or ask. It was hard for my employees to keep up. Hopefully, my staff learned from dealing with John how to do it better in the future.
John quoted that he talked to the owner. I am the owner. Have been for over 41 years. He never talked to me. I never heard of John, until the time, I signed the check to refund his deposit and cancel his reservation.
He wanted us to sell him equipment without tax through the mail. We explained we couldn’t do that. The companies we represent forbid us in our agreements with them to sell through the mail. After going to all the trouble of quoting and reserving equipment for John's arrival we still never received a deposit for the equipment he ordered or word from him that he didn't want it after all. My General Manager emailed him several times but he never responded.
All I can say is “Sorry John that we didn’t live up to your expectations I wish we could have handled it better.” In retrospect, we sure made it easy for John and Amoray in Key Largo. In less than a month, John finally made up his mind with one simple reservation and took his dream vacation with Amoray in Key Largo. Amoray was a good choice for John and his wife. I have known the people at Amoray for years and they run an excellent operation.
It could have been that way here. We have lots of deep dives for John and his wife to go on and we do an excellent job in training. Sorry there was messed up communication for John. But because of him, my staff will endeavor do better with our future customers. We wish John and his wife the best in their future diving and hope they give us a second chance sometime in the near future.
Bob Brayman, Owner
Hall's Diving Center & Career Institute
Written March 5, 2015
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Curtis Bale
Providenciales1 contribution
Hi I am a dive instructor living in Turks and Caicos and am very interested in your gear servicing and compressor maintenance course. It is very difficult for me to just pick up a phone and call thou, do you have an email where I can reach you to find out more. Sometime Mid-late October this year is ideally when I am looking as I plan to be in Ft Lauderdale from the 21 Oct - 5 Nov. Can you tell me more about the course itself and my options?
Thank you, Curtis.
zachhook
Marathon, FL
Oh I can tell you about the course. It's filled with 1980's equipment and even worse schematics. Save your money, contact an actual dive shop in your area with someone who works on modern equipment. The school's founder, one Bob Braymen, is an absolute crook who has barely withstood many lawsuits for false advertising.
carly992015
Jamison, PA3 contributions
Do you have a trips that include both Scuba diving and snorkeling? Some in our group at certified divers, but some of us just snorkel. Can you accommodate or tell us who can?
Bob B
Marathon, FL
Just about all of our trips accommodate both snorkelers and scuba divers on the same boat trip. It makes for great family fun. Everybody can participate. We also take riders on-board for those who do not want to get in the water and desire to just ride along, enjoy the scenery out on the ocean or maybe just lay out and get some sun. We would love to have you. Bob