Coral Key Scuba & Travel Center

I have been searching for a dive shop that had real world experience, product for all my diving needs, and business savvy (fair prices, knowledgeable of products, and customer friendly) THIS IS THE SHOP!
Freddy & Randy ROCKED my socks off. Their prices were fair and their help was priceless.
For ALL my diving needs they have my business here in Colorado.
It is well worth your time — UNLESS you just hate intelligent, experienced passionate professionals.
My bona fides: 10k+ logged dives (recreational) and 2k (technical)

Service was performed on my regulator by this shop and by the previous owner. In both cases the service was performed by the same technician. Despite a total of six return visits to the shop complaining of the regulator leaking water into my mouth the problem was not located. Multiple dives were missed and physical problems encountered due to the problem. It was a missing o-​ring in both the primary and octopus regulator. When the current owner was told of this repeated problem, his answer was that he wanted to, «make me happy, knock my socks off» with his settlement offer. (Both of these responses have sexual connotations!) His offer was to pay me for the rental of a regulator and cost of service at another shop. I asked for the return of the payment I had made to him for the incorrect service. He said it was a «simple mistake, they TRY to do their best on all service.» My life underwater depends on technicians not making mistakes and by being willing to keep investigating the problems till the answer if found. If you value your life underwater, you might want to find a shop that does more than TRY, one that actually guarantees. I told Ron, the owner, after much discussion, to pay me what he thought was fair. He did not see it as fair to return to me the money I paid for bad service.

I knew absolutely nothing about the certification process for scuba diving when I started classes at Coral Key. I can only speak to my experience during the process as I don’t know how other dive shops compare…
Let me start with the best part. First and foremost, the instructors at Coral Key are incredible!!! They are true professionals and the most patient people I have ever met! I had some anxiety and panic attacks during the pool classes. The pool instructor was patient with me and allowed me to try the skills as many times as I needed until I felt comfortable. By the final pool class, I felt confident I could pass the open water certification. My first day of diving in open water went smoothly and I hoped I had conquered the anxiety. It must have been wishful thinking, because the panic attacks returned with a vengeance on the second day. When I freaked out, our open water dive instructor allowed me time to rest, took me aside, gave me a few pointers, let me do some shallow water practices, and reassured me that I could do the skills. When I finally completed the skills, we were both ecstatic! If these two guys can help me overcome my fear to get certified, they can help anyone get certified!
As for the dive shop itself, it just wasn’t very convenient. The shop owner wouldn’t allow you wash the gear at the shop, so you had to take it home or to a car wash to rinse it. We also weren’t allowed to pick up our equipment on the day of the dives. Instead, we had to make an extra trip to the shop the day prior to the dives, load up the gear, and take it to the lake. Overall, there were a lot of unexpected trips to the dive shop for getting gear arranged, picking things up, dropping things off, etc. Because of this, I recommend using a shop that is close to your home.
The reason I chose Coral Key for my certification is that the open water dives are done in a private lake. When we were doing our dives, the visibility in the lake was 3 to 5 feet and the temperature was in the high 50’s/low 60’s based on the depth and thermocline. As bad as that sounds, it is much better than Chatfield or Cherry Creek Reservoir which are reportedly way worse!

The owner, Ron, is very knowledgable and helpful to people who are new to the sport. I purchased some nice snorkeling equipment from this business about 2 years ago. He suggested at the time that I get equipment which can also be used for scuba in case that is a possibility later on.
I will be taking scuba classes at Coral Key this year and will be able to use the same equipment thanks to Ron’s suggestion.
I would recommend checking out this shop if you are in the market for snorkel/​scuba gear or classes!