Raja Laut Dive Resort — Hotel in Manado

My wife and I stayed here on our honeymoon. The staff was extremely friendly and accommodating. They helped with all of our dive gear. They carried it to and from the boat, helped us put it on and, cleaned it after each use. The diving was spectacular. The corals were amazing and for the diver this is a must see area. You will see huge corals tons of fish, turtles, and much more. The resort though left something to be desired. I understand that they are on a remote island where water is precious and electricity is not the most reliable. These make things like not getting new sheets and towels regularly acceptable and understandable. What was not understandable was that it did not seem like they make a concerted effort to actually clean the rooms. They would spend more time cleaning the grounds then the actual rooms, and when they did clean the rooms they would use a bundled up bunch of sticks and just sort of spread the dirt around. The other thing that was unacceptable were the rats in the kitchen. Absolutely no effort was made to control the pests. They would walk around on the rafters of the common area during the middle of the day and go into the kitchen to get food (we would actually see multiple rats at a time on the wall between the dining and kitchen area). When you would hear them crawling around on the roof the staff would say something like, 'It's a bird". Sorry but where I come from birds don't have fur, a long pink tail, and they have wings. There was also one day were a disgruntled ex-employee came to the resort and broke some things. The police had to come and take him to jail. I will commend the staff for how they handled the situation. They were apologetic and mindful of how something like this can make one uneasy. If the cleanliness issues were fixed this would have easily been a five star review. I recommend the area for any diver, but I would be hesitant about suggesting...

I spent some time searching for lodging for a snorkel trip to the Bunaken Marine Park and found Raja Laut Dive Resort. We were very happy with our time at the small spot right on the water on Bunaken Island. ||Thank you to the proprietor we stayed in the little bungalow right near the water - our balcony overlooked the beach and mangrove swamp to our left. It's my understanding this is the only (or one of very few) resorts on the island that front the water without the mangroves to walk thru. The staff were friendly and helpful. The three meals were delicious and plentiful - apart from breakfast, served family style. ||Our room was smaller but cozy - the bed was comfortable. It was a darker room with little window but we did not spend time other than sleeping in the room - it was a joy to it on the balcony or the lounge chairs or hammock on property. ||If you are seeking a 5-star experience with super modern frills this is not your place - but if you're looking for a clean, comfortable, affordable home base for exploring the wonder of Bunaken Marine Park - this is it!||They arranged a local person with a boat to provide us with our own snorkel excursion - one day with another couple who stayed at the resort. This captain really knew the area well, with significant tidal action every day - he would take us to the best spots around the island. And he was very attentive - an excellent captain/guide.||It is named a dive resort and they do provide dive excursions but we were very happy they attended to us snorkelers as well - not as "2nd class guests" but with full hospitality.||The snorkeling around Bunaken Island was/is magnificent. Our expectations were high and they were exceeded. We even heard from other guests that Bunaken is on par or even better than the snorkeling in Raja Ampat (on our list). ||We will definitely be back here - to enjoy the hospitality and...

I spent some time searching for lodging for a snorkel trip to the Bunaken Marine Park and found Raja Laut Dive Resort. We were very happy with our time at the small spot right on the water on Bunaken Island. ||Thank you to the proprietor we stayed in the little bungalow right near the water - our balcony overlooked the beach and mangrove swamp to our left. It's my understanding this is the only (or one of very few) resorts on the island that front the water without the mangroves to walk thru. The staff were friendly and helpful. The three meals were delicious and plentiful - apart from breakfast, served family style. ||Our room was smaller but cozy - the bed was comfortable. It was a darker room with little window but we did not spend time other than sleeping in the room - it was a joy to it on the balcony or the lounge chairs or hammock on property. ||If you are seeking a 5-star experience with super modern frills this is not your place - but if you're looking for a clean, comfortable, affordable home base for exploring the wonder of Bunaken Marine Park - this is it!||They arranged a local person with a boat to provide us with our own snorkel excursion - one day with another couple who stayed at the resort. This captain really knew the area well, with significant tidal action every day - he would take us to the best spots around the island. And he was very attentive - an excellent captain/guide.||It is named a dive resort and they do provide dive excursions but we were very happy they attended to us snorkelers as well - not as "2nd class guests" but with full hospitality.||The snorkeling around Bunaken Island was/is magnificent. Our expectations were high and they were exceeded. We even heard from other guests that Bunaken is on par or even better than the snorkeling in Raja Ampat (on our list). ||We will definitely be back here - to enjoy the hospitality and...