Blue Grotto Dive Resort — Hotel in Newberry

I spent two full days at the Blue Grotto Dive Resort in October. I found out about this dive location from my dive instructor who suggested this location for me to get my dive certification. Day one was a Friday morning and we spent the first half of the day in the on sight pool. The pool was heated to a comfortable level but I found the pool to be quite small for getting any really helpful underwater practice in. That afternoon we moved to the Grotto and began our open water practice. The Grotto had been affected by a recent hurricane and there had been a mudslide on the edge of the opening. This greatly affected visibility and when we dove it was at about 15-20 feet. The access platform felt well constructed and sturdy and made getting in and out of the Grotto very easy. There are several training platforms around the main Grotto floor at about 15-20 feet deep. These were great in helping keep of the bottom while going through drills and instruction. There are always fish swimming around and little statues and rock towers setup throughout the Grotto which makes it a very interesting dive. The Grotto stays at a fairly constant 72 degrees year round so if the air temperature is any colder than that, you WILL feel cold. A 5mm wetsuit is recommended.

Staff were friendly and helpful and worked with us to get access to what we needed to do.

We stayed at one of the cabins at the resort for two nights. They are small and definitely not made for comfort. The bed was small and hard and the kitchen was barely a kitchen. Don't plan on cooking any elegant meals here. There was a small table that seats two people and a couch that could pull out to make another bed, but it too was lumpy, hard and uncomfortable. It was evident some thought was put into the bathroom to make it usable for cleaning and drying dive gear. There was also a deep sink just outside the bathroom that was great for washing...

My son and I needed to get some practice diving and since there is almost no good, controlled environment to do that in Georgia, we looked around and found this place. Here is how it went:

The Good: The staff were very knowledgeable and helpful Check in was easy Dive rentals got us everything we didn't bring with us to include an appropriate wet suit and dive light There are a lot of areas to set up your gear but be careful since a lot of them get taken up by the dive schools. We just used the back of our car to set up. Water was cool and clear. Once you get out of the main hole and go into the cavern, it is even better. Multiple platforms to practice what you need or to knock the rust off your diving skills before you venture into the cavern. Air refill was easy. Be aware, you need to have a refill token from the shop to show you've paid for it. We didn't realize that and had to go back and get them. There are some places to camp but we didn't use them so I can't give any good feedback on those. Place was easy to find both from signs and from the phone mapping app Beautiful area, in and out of the water.

The Not So Good: Okay, I'm still a beginner diver, but the prices for the rental seemed a bit expensive. Lots of people go here, so the main pool can get a bit crowded and the water stirred up. Having said that, in the cavern was a LOT less crowded. There should be more parking

Bottom Line: Nice place, clear water, fun experience. This is a good place for diving practice. They put some things in the cavern to look for underwater which is fun, but if you are looking for new sights, you will probably only go here...

Driving down the highway amongst big oaks with plenty of Spanish moss gives you the impression your somewhere hidden but great. Look sharply for the turn it's a dirt road with plenty of potholes and easy to miss. Arriving through the gate a clean very clear blue spring awaits you.

Plenty of day use covered picnic benches, but who needs covered when the gourgous large oaks do it anyway. If you're diving or training the water is just amazing, chilly 72 all year so plan on that, but the clarity is great, ( I was there on a slow weekday in summer) Wonderful cavern offer easy enjoyable dives for all levels of experience, even no experience. The dock platform allows easy giant stride entry, and stairs make it quick to step up remove fins and walk out, just watch out for Virgil the friendly Turtle, she likes to bake in sun on steps.

Clean facilities, picnic benches bbq grills crisp clear swimming hole and large open green grass with giant spainsh moss covered oaks make this place just wonderful.

Tent Camping is available, and looked very nice. To those that would rather a bed and shower on site rooms are available too, but they are small, a simple shower and bed is all you need here.

During my weekday visit, I encountered clean facilities, dive shop on site has what you need. Best of all I had the Grotto to myself for all 3 dives, all the way to the 100 foot mark. Everything around here on weekday was slow and quiet. Cant speak to weekend, but highly...