Scuba West is great. We live a few minutes away, and it's nice having a local place to fill our tanks. I've seen bad reviews of them solely based on the grotto. If you don't want to be certified in the grotto then go to the east coast. Other dive shops throughout the Tampa bay region come here to certify their divers. It's over an hour offshore just to get to water deep enough to certify divers. I don't like diving grottos or springs so I got certified on the east cost. Please don't bash this business for using all that they have. This establishment is great. The customer service is awesome. It's not their fault that the area offshore Hudson is so shallow. read more

Glad to find this place since our local dive shop diver city aqua vertical went out of business. Had a 10 fill air card with six fills left when they closed read more

I received my tec training from them and I also trust them with all my gear servicing. Great people, good service and my go-to scuba place! read more

Scuba West - Preparing to challenge..." the grotto" - Scuba Diving Near Me - Hudson, Florida

These guys are my "local scuba shop" and I love them! Their staff is friendly and helpful every time we interact and I've never walked away with negative feelings of any kind. Their courses are very well taught (and I've taken courses all over the world), and an excellent value for the price. I've brought several friends there because I really like the staff and the selection of gear. GIVE THEM A TRY! You won't regret it! read more

I realize there is a Dive Shop here called Scuba West but I think it's important to have a different Yelp profile for the venue itself because there are plenty (like me) who simply use the spot and pay a fee and bring our own tanks to dive there. Our interaction with Scuba West is minimal. Hudson Grotto is a great, great place to get specialty certifications. It's dark, at times chilly, and deep. You can do navigation, limited visibility, and deep certifications here (I was already deep certified so I did the other two). Depending on the time of day you might get the place to yourself. read more

I received my OW certification through them only because I had a Living Social voucher reducing the price to less than half of what it would normally cost ($149 vs $350 or so). Allison was absolutely wonderful as were John and Chris. After the first day of diving in Hudson Grotto, my first offical dive experience ever, I was seriously considering not going back the next day to finish the class. It was dark, cold, murky and it stunk. It was a glorified mud puddle. If not for the major persuasion and reassurance from my boyfriend about how it was worst place I would ever dive and I would not have to go back, I sucked it up and finished the class. We have since dove so many other places that were incredibly better and more fun; Ginnie Springs, Troy, Orange Grove, Key West. I am glad I stuck it out but I would not go back and I would not purchase gear from them, their prices are ridiculously high! Diver's Supply in Tampa is much better as are other shops in the Tampa Bay area. read more

I'm so grateful that my search landed on Scuba West to teach and confer the certificate of Master Scuba Diver. I flew in, from MO, and Derek Akers was my instructor, along w/ John Tauber, for the week. They were more-than-awesome!! This is a 5-operation for sure. Jeff Tobey is a great leader and has a wonderful team & equipped shop to handle all diving needs. Kudos! read more

Very knowledgable and very helpful. Have a pool and massive sinkhole so you can do your full certification right there on their own property. If you can dive their grotto (sink hole) you can dive anyplace as its a bit of a scary place to dive, zero visibility when you get down to about 70 feet. To the people complaining about shop prices, ya its a small place so you could save bucks going to a huge place where you will be served by highschool kids with zero knowledge. When you are diving you;d be a fool not to listen to expert advice. Pay a bit more here and get the right gear. You can spend the few dollars youll save shopping elsewhere when you are dead because your cheap equipment failed or was not set up correctly. read more

I also took my Open Water class in March, and thought it was awesome! In fact, it got me hooked on diving, and have since gone back to take other classes from the instructors at Scuba West. The coldest the Grotto gets during mid-March of year is actually only about 70-72 and the visibility is much higher than that - it's tanic water, so you need a light, but can see just fine on average about 30 feet. If it was so awful, why would so many OTHER shops bring their students to Hudson Grotto for dives?? As far as the shop itself is concerned... of course there is a mark up. Anyone who has been involved in the management of a business knows that you have to mark up your products in order to keep the doors open and employ staff. If you find any business that doesn't, buy as quickly as you can because they won't be around much longer. What DOES set this shop apart? The fact that you can exchange products if they aren't working for you... leaky mask, don't really like the fins, BC doesn't fit quite right, etc. The large majority of scuba shops won't do that. And the knowledgable and helpful instructors. They are the best!! read more

I've been diving with Scuba West and Megalodon charters a few times and have had a fun time. They leave on time, are friendly and helpful, and give a great overview of the fossils you may find in the Venice waters. read more

Great dive shop. My husband and I are dive masters and took EFR-I course today and was excellent. Jeff, Derrick, and Jim are all amazing. Had a blast and looking to have many more adventures with this group. Sherry & Todd read more

I purchased my dive gear and then took my advanced class here. The staff is wonderful and very professional. I got a really good deal on my equipment and they allow you to exchange items if you don't like something. My instructors took the time to get me comfortable. Hudson Grotto was fun to dive and I learned much more than I thought I would. I wish I had gone here for my first class. I feel like I am a part of their family! read more

Great place to look @ new gear, and they have a pool on site for try outs (i believe) and their own grotto for open water....Very nice people in a relaxed diver friendly atmosphere.....highly recommended !!! read more

For the most part, my instructor was nice. The pool part was a breeze, but when we went over to the grotto it was after a storm and it was DARK. I don't know what I expected but I was so nervous. It had been a few weeks since my pool tests so admittedly I shouldn't have waited so long (but sometimes scheduling with the Mouse is difficult). So here we go, 20 ft down, in darkness with a frickin barracuda swimming around us. I was not prepared for a night diving class but that's what it felt like. So he signals am I good to flood/remove my mask. I signal no. He asks again. I seemed to have to do it anyway. I flooded it, panicked, shot to the top (big no-no). I start bawling. Well luckily he didn't yell at me too bad for being ex-military. He let me do it in the shallows which I was fine at. We did an exploratory dive at 20 feet which was okay but I was so nervous with the branches in the darkness. We had to use a rope and flashlights. I probably shouldn't have been passed. I haven't done a dive since but will take the retesting to hopefully gain confidence. Small, local place working with what they have but man that grotto freaked me the hell out. I guess I'd give it a 3.5 mostly from that experience and feeling like they shouldn't have let me pass. It was kind of them but now I'm not comfortable going to 20 feet. read more

The Grotto is mandatory diving as far as I am concerned. If you learn in clear water and only ever dive clear water you are not mentally prepared for anything LESS than perfect. Some people complain about the mark up on equipment, but that is going to be the case with every dive store. Everyone is always nice and never feel like I am being pressured to buy gear, air fills are spot on and not over priced. All in all great training site and local store. read more

Went today and had an amazing experience! The site was easy to locate, and the owner and other employee were very friendly and informative. I was skeptical when I first saw the grotto because it doesn't seem like a very inviting area, but after getting into the water my opinion changed. We snorkeled out to the line that goes down 100 ft and started our descent. The water wasn't very clear but at the same time it wasn't too murky; visibility was about 15 ft. It was great that there's a platform at 100 ft and the sunken boat and beetle at the bottom are cool to see. The random figurines placed around the grotto add some variety to the dive so you're not just looking at rocks the whole time. The plant and animal life also makes things more interesting. Overall it was a great experience and I would definitely go there again! read more

I am a very experienced diver and take my tanks to Scuba West to be filled frequently. Their fill techs are friendly and take good care of my gear. Fills are exactly the blend I ask for. Very satisified. read more

I attempted the open water diver certification, but I did not make it past the first OW dive in the dark, disgusting lake. The program was highly unorganized, the instructor was negligent, and it was overall a terrible experience that turned me off ever doing Scuba again. Even if you could do this program for free, I'd still recommend shelling out the $350-$500 for a better location and experience. read more

I dove there a few times, filled my tanks there, etc. Until I brought my tanks in to be filled and they accused me of stealing the tanks from the store. Police called. Bottom line I didn't steal the tanks and resent being accused. Not what I would call a professional establishment. A shame to call it a PADI shop, since PADI usually has higher standards for their businesses. read more

Our family of 6 took a class in August.The instructors were great. ( Nikol and Allison) We did our training in the Grotto. It was darker than I would of liked but it is do able. It did not stink as I read in other reviews.I would love crystal clear waters all the time but even if you dive the gulf it won't be crystal clear all the time.We even went to the main springs in Crystal River about 2 weeks ago and you could not see 10 feet in front of you.As far as prices in the shop.I have not had the chance to shop other shops to compare but I will before I make any decisions.Like anything else do your homework before you buy anything. I did like the idea that the Grotto was just across the street and we did not have to travel .There was a class there that came from Tampa.They have other shops do their training there.I really liked the convbience of that. read more

I have been reading some negative testimonials regarding Scuba West's Grotto. No, it is not an open water reef. As a Dive Master myself, l can tell you it is an excellent venue for training. The whole purpose of training is to aquire skills to not only enjoy the fantastic joy of diving, but to be a safe diver; a "thoughtful" diver! . . . Meaning , how to be aware of your environment, manage situations, deal with stress, be an effective dive-buddy, maintain control in adversity. The Grotto is a great place to hone your skills in a safe, confined environment with a Scuba West staff member or, if you are experienced enough, on your own. If you cannot manage yourself in the Grotto, I would not want to be you dive-buddy in the open ocean. read more

Loved it! I'm from Michigan and wanted to do my open waters in warm waters. Was able to do my open waters part 2 down Crystal River with 100 feet of visibility. It can't get any better than that. Also, my boyfriend (who was already certified) was able to scuba dive with me down Crystal River. read more