Living Colours Diving Resort — Hotel in Manado

I had to completely change gears and perspective when moving from the Kungkungan Bay Resort in Lembeh to Living Colours in Bunaken. In an odd way, I felt like I was transported back to Costa Rica—the mangroves, the jungle, the critters. I truly felt close to nature, but I’m not sure whether I was prepared for the reality of it coming from an air-conditioned villa that kept all that away.

ROOM/ACCOMMODATION: The cabins ooze some type of “rustic comfort” -- desk; spacious, beautiful rock bathroom; comfortable bed with mosquito netting (which had few holes on them, but as soon as I told Mia about it, she had someone go and stitched them right up). Please note though that the cabins only carry fans, hot water is delivered by a traditional heater and rooms are not completely sealed off, so critters can easily crawl in and out of your bedroom and bathroom.

Accordingly, the resort provides insect repellent both for your room (the big bottle that could be confused for OFF!) and your body (the pink bottle lotion). I actually only used the mosquito repellent lotion and didn’t see any unusual critters inside my cabin other than geckos, mops, butterflies, and the huge crab that surprised me in the shower haha! Scary at first, but all I had was to sprinkle a bit of water on it for it to crawl right out. All in all, I slept well my whole stay as it never got too hot with the fan as nights were fresh (plus the mosquito netting and lotion kept the mosquitos at bay).

DIVING: I went during the low season (around Christmas), and was told by a visiting dive master and fellow traveler that Bunaken wasn’t nearly as good/alive as it is in the summer months (she got certified here in July and said it was a different story then). Still, I saw a great amount of life and probably the greatest variety of coral I will ever see in my life. Many schools of glassfish, reef sharks, tuna, too many giant turtles to count, and even a yellow box fish hiding in a cranny that talented guide Fickly was perusing in order to find me some more nudibranchs to look at. I can’t complain, at all.

FOOD: I never thought buffet food could be so good. Seriously. Every day we had some kind of incredible curry, chicken, fish, about 2 different kinds of vegetables and tofu or tempeh. I love how it was mostly local dishes with a slight twist to a piece Western palates. Everything was so delicious. Some of my favorites include the pumpkin curry and the Indian yellow curry. Just really really good!

STAFF: I kept debating whether to give the resort either 4 or 5 stars, but after constantly thinking of sweet owner Mia, always so attentive making sure there are no problems with your room and you’re having a great time, to the laid-back dive instructors, guides, and even kitchen staff… I just couldn’t give the property any less than 5.

In conclusion: From the moment you step out of the boat and get the funny, unusual introduction by Mr. Al to the moment you have your first magical bite and change every single opinion you ever had about buffets, Living Colours was top-notch. Just make sure you come with the right expectations—or that this is the right place for the type of traveler you are—and you will have an unforgettable...

Going to split this into two halves, location and then accommodation.

Firstly, Bunaken Island is a real paradise, mangroves, jungle with not much development. Beautiful views of the clear seas and surrounding islands. When you go underwater you see why it’s such a popular place. So many great dive sites in terms of geography and flora and fauna.

Living Colours is a great place to stay on Bunaken for several reasons. We did our Open Water PADI and it is a really professional operation. Our instructor, Petra, was very knowledgable, well-practised in handling our nerves and very friendly and approachable.

The food at the restaurant is amazing, without a doubt the best we have had during our time in North Sulawesi. So much choice for all three meals of the day. This is not to be underestimated as we felt the food in the rest of North Sulawesi was pretty average.

The rooms are nice, there are mosquito nets (which you need) and a good shower and western toilet. The balcony is a real bonus too with a hammock and space to hang out wet clothes. The resort is nice and relaxed and the perfect setting to recuperate after a morning of diving. The communal dining area in the restaurant is a nice place to socialise with other guests who we found to be really nice too!

Things to bear in mind: lots of bugs (small and large) both on terrace and in room. This is the kind of thing you have to put up with if you want to stay in such a secluded location.

We spent an amazing week here thanks to Bunaken’s beauty and Living Colours, we would definitely recommend and would happily return here...

We are super disappointed about this stay. Yes, the food was good, and the rooms were clean, and big. Also the diving experience was enjoyable. But the ambiance of the place is really catastrophic, and thus it is the first time we decided to write bad reviews. The manager is almost rude, never smiling, not even talking to the guests. The owners were also very cold. The only time we got to discuss with them was for the bill, which was way too expensive for the service. After, we went to Panorama, which was a nice hotel where we...