Truk Blue Lagoon Resort — Hotel in Weno

PRO: ||You're in arguably the best place to stay on Chuuk. ||Select staff were friendly (many were not).||The wrecks are incredible to dive. Nowhere else like it.||Some local dive guides really know the wrecks.||Hotel and dive operation were very fair and honest with pricing and billing. Charged only for what we used, even when we left early.||Restaurant prices were reasonable, service ok (we tipped).||Grounds were kept as nice as possible. ||||CON:||You're on an extremely remote island.||Locals live in deprivation and squalor, generally seem hostile to tourists.||Do not leave the resort.||Significant language barrier.||The recently renovated hotel is dilapidated, moldy, dirty, in general disrepair.||Limited wifi connectivity.||Limited food options. Unsanitary conditions.||Dive operations were concerning, to the point of Red Alert and termination of the trip.|||| ||OK let's first consider the remote location, the limited access to everything that must come thousands of miles to get there, the squalor and primitive living conditions of the people, their limited educational opportunities, language barrier to tourists, and an evident culture of hostility toward them, which is frankly understandable.||That considered, it is amazing there is a functioning facility at all on Chuuk.||||Reservations came easily via email, too easy, no credit card asked, no confirmation number, just a reasonable rate for a dive package, again considering where we were going.||||The United Airline Island Hopper got us there from Guam, we were met quickly at the airport and transported expeditiously to the property. Checkin was easy and courteous. Nice people. Staff helped get our heavy bags and gear up some rickety stairs, in various states of repair, with rotting plywood landings of uncertain strength.||||The rooms made me sad. Clearly they spent time and effort renovating during Covid. The showers for example had marble slabs and modern fixtures with overhead and hand sprays, but they hadn't been wiped down probably since installation, so the finishes were corroded and dirty. The beautiful double sink was in similar condition, except the cold water faucets in neither sink worked. Must have been shut off somewhere. But we had no scalding worries, there was no heat to the water coming from sink nor shower. Ever. We saw large pipes fracture and leaking under some of the buildings, one really spraying water like a main. We reported the obvious.||Two towels per room, and a bathmat. Nice spa amenities like soap, lotion, shampoo in a basket.||||The room was comfortably proportioned, with twin double beds equipped with hard mattresses that slipped from the pedestal, exposing a sharp wooden, shin-biting corner. Black mold was evident everywhere, on the ceiling, strong scent of black mold on the pillows and bedding. People felt it when breathing, and got headaches in the room. Hair smelled moldy from the pillows. || ||They had a nice fridge that works, a good safe, and wonderful balconies with two upright chairs and small table, overlooking the water and nicely manicured lawns and gardens. That was truly nice, made me wish they had put similar effort into building and infrastructure maintenance.||||The electric outlets all accepted US plugs in theory, but most were apparently corroded enough to prevent insertion of the plug into the outlet. We unplugged the non-functioning TV and used that outlet as our main receptacle. ||||Wifi signal was variously received in different areas, usually present in our room but not the restaurant nor lobby at all. However bandwidth limitations prevented all but an occasional text from going out. It was truly worthless. Never anything so exotic as sending a photo nor getting online reliably. The lobby's separate wifi never allowed us to connect. There was no connectivity in the restaurant.||||At least our AC worked incredibly well. Our rooms were as cold as you'd want them.||||Regarding the dining experience, they offered a great selection but most things were not available regularly. When they had eggs, the Katsudon was excellent. The hollandaise on the Eggs Benedict on the other hand was a mustard/mayo combo. Truly. Burger was maybe half meat. Steak was shoe-leather thin. French fries were a good crispy staple. When they had tuna sashimi it was reportedly good. Fresh vegetables were nonexistent except cucumbers, which they kindly made into salads for our ladies twice daily. Fresh fruit was mostly limited to apples and bananas. Never anything tropical like mango, papaya, nor citrus except an occasional orange.||||When a container arrived the locals lined up for their provisions; suddenly we had eggs and great bread again. It is Chuuk. They have a small local dry good market on property, selling items you can heat. Ask for a hot pot at the desk to boil water.||We thought the dining room was unclean, and that people must have spilled regularly on the seats. Turned out it was probably rat poop on at least half the chairs; we saw a Big rat ambling through the dining room, along with roaches.||||Our focus was the diving. I've waited almost fifty years for this. We are experienced recreational divers and quickly went on Yellow Alert. This is no PADI dive shop. They checked no credentials. I knew this was going to be challenging diving, but risks can usually be managed. There were so many glaring concerns at this operation we cut our planned number of diving days in half, terminating after just three days/9 dives. While the dive shop manager was extremely nice and went out of his way to please, most everyone else had a significant language barrier and little interaction with us. Some were very nice, but I need more from a dive operation. I concur with other critical remarks made in other reviews. The operation was somewhat chaotic. The O2 analyzers were reportedly malfunctioning, causing great concern. Their O2 membrane separator had failed; staff was manually mixing gases within the tanks. Highly experienced tech divers were openly grousing about critical errors in fills. Fortunately the President of the Micronesia Dive Assn showed up our second day with new O2 analyzers and was trying to inservice the staff, who had uncertain comprehension. This Good Sam just wants to make diving in the area safer for everyone, a great guy, based in Guam.||||Concern increased when some divers in our group experienced repeated headaches during the dives, which relieved mostly during the shore interval, returning next dive. Suspecting contamination, I inspected the pump setup and gladly found electric pumps with no motor exhaust near intakes, but still wonder if the tanks could be contaminated with mold or other contaminants. Everything there was moldy. ||||The dive boats had tanks stacked underfoot, rolling around, biting ankles and feet, being tripped over during egress and entry. No tank holders or racks. The dive ladder had an L-shaped bottom that was guaranteed to hit you in the ribs when trying to board in rough waters. It was one reason I quit diving there, having been repeatedly slammed in the ribcage and sternum. It hurt to breathe. The ladder rungs were round slippery bars, difficult to negotiate. Just not a user-friendly dive boat. There was an O2 tank aboard, and they suspended an extra tank at 20', but the boat was unequipped with any communication ability. There was no connectivity anywhere as it was.||||The knowledge of the guide was impressive. He repeatedly found every wreck instantly, even with submerged buoys. Clearly a life-long wreck diver, this makes for a good guide but not necessarily an attentive dive-master.||While the guide apparently knew his way through the wrecks, language barrier prevented much of a briefing, with very limited plan articulated. On request, he showed us the dive map on day 2 and 3 to help orient us, but I kept asking which sites the night before so we could study the book and know what to expect. That didn't happen. By day 3, I brought the Truk book in a dry bag to quickly consult as we were gearing up, or at our surface interval.|| ||As he led, the guide apparently paid meager attention to the divers. Never checked us or our air supply, rarely looked back, not sure how he would do that in the bowels of a shipwreck anyway, Unsettling reports circulated from other divers about several divers running out of air the prior week, and a death the month before. We quickly realized we were personally responsible for our safety far beyond PADI norm.||||The guide would point his flashlight at various features you'd see if you were right behind him, then move on through the wreck. Several times I was unable to follow into a penetration, too circuitous or narrow; there is no way he would have known. I'd find his bubbles somewhere later as he exited. I had told him at the start that sometimes my ear would stick after ascending then trying to descend again, making such moves impracticable. I don't think he understood, because he repeatedly led us into such situations inside wrecks with no easy backtracking. He also took us through spaces too narrow for me (I'm 250#) and twice I got hung up inside a wreck, fortunately able to unstick myself without agitating the water. ||||There were no ropes nor lines to follow through the ship to help egress if needing to find your own way out, if left behind, if visibility was lost or if lights failed. I'm no expert, but this seems basic in safe wreck penetration. Especially if the guide is far ahead. He did drag an extra air cylinder along with him at least.||||Toward the end of the dive the guide would ascend to 20' and hover, usually exiting the water before everyone left the bottom. You must understand diving here is for competent, self-reliant divers with seasoned buddies. Guides do not babysit nor reportedly manage crisis effectively.||||Although I enjoyed the experience of diving several Marus (Shinkoku, Fujikawa, Rio, Yamagiri, NIppo, Sankisan, Kiyosumi) and airplane wrecks (Betty, Emily), after three days and nine dives the Yellow Alert went to Red Alert. Questionable air tanks and fills, analyzer issues, headaches from the gas mix, suboptimal conditions of the dive boat, repeated chest injuries from the ladder, poor communication, lacking safety procedures, and discomfort at facing my nightmares of getting stuck or being unable to descend back down to an exit; the sum of all fears made me listen to red flags and abort. ||||In 40 years of diving I've never done that! Never would I have considered missing a dive, certainly not at a bucket list destination. Just as I never passed on a skydive in 20 years nor a formation/aerobatic airshow performance in 30. I'd ski from first lift to last run. But I had finally had enough of this. Adhering to the safety culture of risk management I've learned in over fifty years of adrenaline sports, concerned for myself and fellow divers, we terminated our dive trip, departing for Guam ASAP (which was quite difficult to arrange with such poor wifi connectivity), escaping the moldy, sadly dilapidated conditions at the resort and the unacceptable risk of continuing to dive here.||||I am very glad we went to Chuuk and made some dives. Longstanding dive expectations 95% fulfilled. With compassion I understand how difficult it is for these people in this remote location, but I am saddened by the disrepair to which the new renovations have rapidly fallen, and remain justifiably frightened for the safety of less sophisticated and seasoned divers who...

Where to start the review of this absolutely terrible, dangerous, incompetent, negligent dive operation, hotel, service, and resort? I was there with a 20-person dive group for 12 days. We should have flown home after day one, the day a diver tragically lost his life. Below is the dive shop review, which takes some time to explain why this place is truly unsafe.||||The Positives:||||Parts of the grounds look pretty. That’s it. Clear skies make for nice stargazing.||||Hotel:||||There was never any hot water. The shower was broken and sprayed water everywhere. We had to tie a towel around the pole to keep it from spraying. Called the front desk to report the issue—took them eight days to fix it. There was no showerhead, either. The sink faucet was broken, and we had to turn it off from under the counter. The air conditioning struggled to work and eventually started dripping water. One day, we returned to find a cup placed under the leak. The Wi-Fi barely worked in our room, so we constantly had to go to the lobby. The beds were hard, and the mattress kept shifting off the bed frame. The TV didn’t work, not sure why they even bothered having one. The toilet valve malfunctioned, requiring us to take the lid off frequently to fix the float and allow the tank to fill. Eventually just left the lid off to push the float arm back down each time. ||||Restaurant Service:||||Service was almost non-existent. Yes, we had a large group, but that doesn’t mean a server can’t take an order. In general, service times were awful. We often waited 10–15 minutes just to place an order, even though we had memorized the menu to make things easier. Then, we waited at least 45 minutes for the food. Sometimes, we waited an hour and left hungry because the food arrived after we had already given up. The staff had plenty of time to chat with each other, but actual service seemed like an afterthought. On multiple occasions, there were bugs in the food. When we pointed it out, they even tried to argue that they weren’t bugs, despite it being completely obvious.||||Dive Shop:||||This operation should be shut down.||||Pre-Dive Day: We visited the shop to get organized. No certification card? No problem! They didn’t check credentials or even verify insurance. That should have been the first red flag as anyone could just show up, untrained, and be allowed to dive the wrecks.||||Gas Checks: The analyzers were either broken or unreliable throughout the entire trip. Only one barely worked, yet they still left the broken ones out for divers to use. Sometimes, the same analyzer would show a gas mix of 50% and then pure air moments later. Imagine relying on that for a decompression tank, only to realize too late that it’s incorrect. Tanks were filled incorrectly despite having labels. Nine out of ten times, the mix was wrong. On multiple occasions, tanks weren’t even filled overnight. Once, I requested air but received a 50% mix instead though my tank was properly labeled. These gas mix issues led to nearly two-hour delays each morning, making it impossible to complete more than two dives per day.||||Boats: The boats themselves are practically shipwrecks. Ropes and clutter everywhere create major tripping hazards. The ladder was rusted and unstable—it actually fell off twice while a diver was trying to board. Fortunately, we caught it before it sank. They placed tanks right by the ladder entry point, which is dangerous—imagine stepping up onto the boat, fully geared, only to step onto a tank instead of a solid surface. There were no proper tank holders. Parts of the boat were falling apart, exposing nails. There are two newer boats. ||||Boat Safety in Case of Emergency: There were no phones, no marine radios—nothing. If the boat malfunctioned, we would have been stranded.||||Briefings: The guides only spoke Chuukese, making it incredibly difficult for non-Chuukese-speaking divers to understand the wreck details, what to look for, or important safety considerations. The briefings were disorganized and unclear.||||Safety:||||Diving is a self-regulated sport I know, but even minimal safety measures should be in place. The guides didn’t conduct buddy checks or verify experience levels. They didn’t wait at the surface to ensure everyone was ready. Instead, they jumped in and immediately descended. Once underwater, they didn’t stop to count divers or check for issues. They swam quickly ahead, never turning around. It felt like a race, not a guided dive. The dives were rushed, typically lasting only 20 minutes—including a five-minute safety stop. Only near the end did we get another guide that took more time and was a little more cautious. But he didn't speak English that well either.||||The Tragic Diver Death:||||On the very first dive of the trip, all the previously mentioned issues from poor equipment, dangerous boats, lack of safety, etc. culminated in a fatality. We were delayed nearly two hours getting off the dock. One diver had been buddied with the guide. Another had a weight issue. While the rest of us waited at the surface for weight guy to sort himself out, the guide disappeared. We followed, swimming rapidly to keep up. The guide entered a shipwreck without briefing us on whether it was an in-and-out route or a penetration dive with different entry/exit points. ||||At the second penetration point, the diver lost his weights inside a hold and became trapped at the ceiling. Because the guide was moving so fast, most of us hadn’t entered that hold compartment. The Guide didn't stick around long enough to see who went in and who came out. The guide sped to a third penetration point, unaware that his buddy was stuck. By the time we surfaced, the diver was missing.||||We tried asking the boat driver if he saw a surface marker buoy, but he didn’t understand English. Eventually, the guide returned to grab an extra tank and went back down. After 20 minutes, he recovered the diver’s body.||||The response was completely inadequate. There was no attempt to resuscitate the diver, no protocol followed. The guide simply panicked, yelling, and did nothing. He knew English cursewords though. We, the other divers, had to attempt to remove the diver’s gear and check airways. It was too late.||||No radios aboard to call the shop to get an ambulance. After 30 minutes, we reached the dock, where the dive shop finally called an ambulance. No one from the operation asked us what had happened. There was no investigation. The guide was back working the next day as if nothing had occurred.||||Final Thoughts:||||I never felt safe above water. Underwater, the wrecks themselves were fascinating, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to see them. They are impressive. However, I would never dive with this operation again. If I return, it will be on a liveaboard or with the another dive operation.||||This dive shop is as good as sunk, it deserves to be shut down until someone...

Wish there was a "GOOD" option (rather than choose between AVERAGE and VERY GOOD) so we selected the next best thing when rating our experience. But to be clear, Blue Lagoon Resort is really a good solid hotel for Chuuk (even by western standards). I think anyone going to FSM and Chuuk should go with a certain mindset/expectation with Chuuk being a small island nation and the socio economic situation/local culture that goes with an isolated Pacific island (and I'm not talking about French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Guam or Hawaii). There are only a few recent reviews on Trip Advisor post covid and the negative ones gave us pause while we were planning our trip so we felt compelled to clarify the situation at the hotel and the island. ||The hotel did refurnished all the rooms here - so the rooms are in new-ish condition. Beds were comfortable and very hard/firm (we like that), AC really cold (necessary since it was hot and very muggy) and wifi was decent most of the time (a bit slow in the evenings when everyone is using). The restaurant was sufficient for breakfast/lunch/dinner with enough options for a 3 night stay. Keep in mind, they are an isolated island so easily impacted by supply chain issues (read, some items on the menu may not be available all the time or require substitution because the boat bringing the supplies are delayed or island hopper flight cancelled for the day).||We found the staff and Chuukese to be gracious, kind and helpful. In our observation, they are initially shy and reserve but a quick nod, greeting, fist bump or hello does wonders (any where in the world really). Hotel and service is what you would expect from a small Pacific island. Within the confines of their local culture, local work ethic and lack of mass tourism, they were helpful to us all the time and try their best given the resources/experience they have. This may require some patience on the travelers part (even if we're paying guests - that's what travel is all about) and continuous follow up on what we need but the staff will deliver if they have the means to or if the item exists. Staff may seem apathetic but I think it has more to do with the very slow island lifestyle (much slower than the Carribean) with not much happening and the generally acceptability even by locals of the slower pace of life and what appears as lack of proactiveness to the average western traveler. They are just chilled. The only high efficiency and fast pace I saw in Chuuk were the ground staff of United Airlines at Chuuk airport when they were prepping all the coolers for check in prior to departure!||We had a great comfortable stay, diving in the mornings and chilling in the afternoons. This is the best accommodation on the island. Note, this is not a beach destination.||On diving in Chuuk lagoon, this is the wreck capital of the world. It's 99.9% the reason why divers come here. The wrecks and the surrounding corals are simply amazing. Best I've seen and most largely untouched/unaltered. This is not really for novices or someone trying to do their Open Water course. We brought most of our equipment so not sure about the condition of their rental gear. They mostly deal with experienced divers and technical divers so there is a lot of freedom/independence while diving. So the onus is on you to dive within your skillset and making your own judgement call while underwater if you want to penetrate the wreck or just explore the exterior while others enter the wreck - there's plenty to see on the exterior! If you need a lot of "hand holding" and only dive in the turquoise blue locations like Bora-Bora, Chuuk diving is not for you.||I found this article really helpful in gaining perspective about some of the quirks of the island and why things are the way they are, Google a research paper from Georgetown University "Where is Chuuk Heading" by...