About The Old Gin House
The Old Gin House is next to a scuba diving center in Orange Bay on St. Eustatius Island (called Statia by locals), which is near St. Marten and Saba in the Caribbean Ocean. This resort has 20 accommodations. They have 14 garden view rooms, 2 ocean view room, 2 junior suites, and 2 ocean view suites. The resort has shared balcony views. Each room has a king or twin colonial mahogany bed, a large tv, minifridge, and bathroom. It first opened as a guesthouse in 1760, but has all the modern amenities. Enjoy our blog article on Sea Turtle’s; The Godfathers of All Dive Magazines?
The Old Gin House Diving
Right next to the resort is Scubaqua Dive Center. So, they have 2 boats; the Green Flash is 36ft long and the Yellow boat is 27ft long. They teach scuba dive courses and do day and night dives. Nitrox is free here for Nitrox certified divers. They fill up to 40% O2 (enriched air). Down the street from The Old Gin House and between Blue Bead and Boardwalk Café is Golden Rock Dive Center. They have Stumpy, a 29' long covered boat, and Ez-going, a 34ft' long covered boat. In addition, they have a zodiac style boat called Ringy. So, they cater to private groups, have air and nitrox available, and also do snorkeling tours. Finally, before you visit The Old Gin House, you should know that all the waters around this dormant volcanic landscape are part of the protected Statia National Marine Park.
So, because of the volcanic nature of the island, expect to dive soft and hard coral encrusted lava fissures, pinnacles, and walls. There are 36 official dive sites all within 5-20-minutes by boat and some accessible by shore. Some sites to visit while staying at The Old Gin House include: Grand Canyon, Hangover, Barracuda, Drop Off, Mushroom Gardens, Aquarium and The Cave. So, for wreck dives they have the 327ft long cable layer Charles L. Brown (Charlie Brown). Furthermore, they have Double Wreck and Chien Tang. A small fee is required to dive this marine reserve.
Attractions and Activities
The Old Gin House is home of the #1 seaside restaurant and has the only ocean lounge deck. Their bar area is the site of the original gin mill and is quite unique historically speaking. If you need to do some business, the resort has a business/conference room. On the other hand, if you want to relax, you can rest in a lounge chair by the secluded pool or go for a short walk past the dive shop and rest in the sand. Smoke Alley Beach and Lynch beach also have great sand for laying down and getting tanned. Zeelandia is a black sand beach, so be sure and bring a beach towel. Crooks Castle beach is great for snorkeling. Be sure and keep a lookout for 17th century blue beads. So, for exercise, you can hike the Quill dormant volcano and go into the jungle filled crater.
You can also do a history tour, or visit Fort Oranje, the St. Eustatius Historical Museum, or the Historical Foundation Museum. The Miriam Schmidt Botanical Gardens are a beautiful sight too.
