Blue Ribbon Dive Resort — Hotel in Mabini

I spent 1 week here at the resort diving with them and staying at the hotel. My stay started out bad but I ultimately left there happy, and would definitely return again.

The good things: The staff is extremely kind. The first two days, there was a “maintenance issue” with my room. They attempted to fix it and find a solution, and eventually moved me to a different room. They get a 10/10 for customer service. The food was good and homemade. The diving in Anilao was amazing and the boat crew was very professional and kind. The wifi is strong and works well in the rooms. They have a dedicated rinse for the camera and an air gun to dry it after.

The not so good things that can improve: From my view the place is still recovering from the Covid Pandemic and possibly other economic troubles like typhoons. The sheets, blankets, and pillows for the bed in both rooms were very old and worn out with stains on them. (the management switched them with much newer ones after I mentioned it, so once again 10/10 for customer service) the bathrooms had bathroom mats and carpet rugs that just looked very old and unpleasant looking for me to put my feet on after a shower and so I didn’t use them. I hope that the owner/management does a thorough review of this and invests in new sheets, linens and bathroom mats for all the rooms.

Diving- I am an divemaster myself who came here to Anilao to do underwater photography. On one of the days, the only divers was myself and a very new diver who was only open water certified, and they put us together. It ended up being completely fine and I completely understand them not paying for 2 divemaster for 2 divers, HOWEVER, the following day they had 4 Europeans arrive to dive and they attempted to add me into their group of 5 divers total with 1 divemaster. When I expressed my concerns about this being too many divers for one group and over crowded, Jeff the divemaster gave me a very blank look and told me “they are advanced divers also” and told me to go speak to the manager of the dive center if it was a problem, to which I did and they argeed to call in divemaster and split us into 2 groups which worked out perfect. Later While diving I saw very clearly that these Europeans were using their hands and kicking up sand so they were really not “advanced divers” and it seem to me that they were simply attempting to save cost and maximize profit while not thinking enough about the customers experience. Every other dive center in my 2 months traveling in the Philippines had a rule of not allowing more than 4 divers to 1 divemaster. Transportation- The rates they wanted to charge me for transportation to and from the resort were much higher than what I found on my own. The rate they wanted to charge me for pickup from Manila airport to the resort was around 25-30% higher than what I found on my own. Also for transport to/from batangas Port, they gave me a price of 2,500 pesos, but using Google the first taxi company I called arranged me a car for 1,200 which is more than 50% less. This part saddens me since with a simple google search I found such a cheaper option. I expect the resorts to pocket a small amount of profit for arranging transport but to charge double the price Is a bit of an exaggeration… I encourage management to do a full review of these things. I take in account the need to economically recover from typhoons and covid 19, but this must also be balanced out with the customer experience. Once again, in the end, I left here happy and would definitely...

We visited in June, so this is the low season, and the place probably feels very different when full. The diving sites and the sea conditions, we are told, are very different in the high season. In June this side of Anilao can get rough conditions, so at times we had to swim to and from the dive boat because the waves were crashing too hard for the boat to get onshore. At other times, they booked a jeepney to take us back to the resort if it had gotten really bad. The pros: *The amazing three dive guides: Laura, Dang and Aphol, the latter being our guide on most dives. He has a great ability to find creatures, and he has a great personality. Laura and dang were super friendly and excellent guides as well. The kindness of all the staff, from the security guard to the reception staff to the waiting staff. They could not have been kinder, more welcoming or friendlier. *The diving is phenomenal, with a mix of corals and muck diving and a great variety of sites. The guides usually asked us what we were in the mood for, coral or macro photography or a mix, and would do their best to select dive sites that would awe us. Success! In this low season during the week, there were so few of us that we were able to enjoy the little pool, hammocks, open air little restaurant at our leisure in a very serene, quiet environment, reading the fish identification books and enjoying the ocean views. Hey are hoping to expand, though, so I am not sure the place will have the same atmosphere and it may feel cramped. The restaurant right now has only 5 tables of 4 plus the bar. I hope it stays small and “family style”. On two occasions, when the sea was really rough, instead of coming back after two morning dives for lunch, they organized a BBQ picnic (700 PhP) on a beach in the calm waters area where we were diving. This was so much fun! The cons: • If you are allergic to cigarette smoke, there seems to be no rule against staff / customers smoking, so at times in the middle of dinner I had to leave my table and my food until they were done or the wind changed directions. Some of the staff are considerate and vape instead, which is a little less harmful, but at other times they will switch back to cigarettes. • There is absolutely no grocery store or restaurant anywhere along the road that runs behind the property ( except for a little place/ shack called OMG which we did not want to try, as we wanted to make sure to not get sick and enjoy daily diving. So you are stuck with the limited offerings of the onsite restaurant for breakfast (included), lunch and dinner. No fish on the menu, a big bummer for me. Prices are about 30 % higher than the identical dishes (quality wise too) we had in Sabang the week before. • Orders can get messed up and service is slow, so if you are planning on diving after, take this into account. • Twice during our stay they forgot to clean our room. No night stands so you have to leave your stuff on the floor by the bed. There is warm water in the shower, but no hot water. • No restrooms at the dive shop level so you need to go all the way up to your room (dripping wet) after diving. Laura told us they are planning on installing one, as the resort is still very new so they have not completed...

Spectacular Diving & Dive Team

The macro diving was spectacular, with the variety of critters the most we have experienced, including dozens of different nudibranchs, pygmy seahorses, pipefish, crabs, shrimp, etc. Larger critters included turtles, moray eels, frogfish, weedy rhinopias, octopus, larger crabs & shrimp, various puffers, butterflyfish, damsels, anthias, barracuda, cowfish, boxfish, anemonefish, cuttlefish, etc. The variety of diving ranged from muck diving on sandy slopes to beautiful healthy coral reefs crammed with marine life, so crammed it was hard to know what to look at! The night diving was not to be missed at the pier & included numerous octopus, bobtail shrimp, stargazers, pipefish, squid, crabs, Melibe nudibranchs, a pipehorse, Bobbit worm, gurnards, burrfish, etc.

After a dive I was constantly remarking that it was my favourite dive ever, only to say the same thing after the next dive.

We have dived throughout the world & enjoyed this location more than anywhere else! The viz was usually 40 – 60 feet, not the best, but not as important for macro diving, & an indication of the nutrients needed to sustain life. There was current at times, but manageable.

The Dive Operation:

Up to 4 dives a day were offered & included 2 back-to-back morning dives starting at 9 am, an afternoon dive at 2:30 – 3 pm, & a night dive at 6 pm. The largest group we were included 5 divers. My husband & I each completed 24 dives over 7 days. The dive sites were generally within 20 minutes of the resort by bangka, with roll-off entry, & ladder to exit the sites, with the option of removing your BCD in the water for the staff to lift out for you. The staff carried all gear on & off the boat. Divers rinsed & hung up their own neoprene. A spacious camera room was available & kept locked overnight.

The dive masters were eager to please & great at finding those critters we would have easily missed. Before each dive a briefing was given with time given for any questions.

Accommodation:

The resort included 7 guest rooms & was basic, definitely not luxurious, but most importantly clean, with a good mattress on the bed, & quiet. Our shower took a while to figure out & warm up so we found it easier to use the outdoor showers after our last dive of the day.

Restaurant:

Breakfast was included each day & was ordered off the menu & included coffee. Because we dived all day we elected to have our lunches & dinners here as well. The food was delicious & reasonably priced. We were frustrated, however, by the lack of availability of fresh fruit (they ran out constantly), & desserts (they ran out of ice cream early in the week & did not replenish it). We don’t usually eat dessert at home so part of enjoying our vacation time is to indulge ourselves; I know, first world problem!

Service:

The staff provided exemplary service, from the moment of 1st contact by email & throughout our stay. We were always greeted with friendly smiles & asked how we were enjoying the diving. The owner, Jon, was on site most days so he was fully in tune with what was going on, enhancing our experience.

So, would we go back to Anilao & Blue Ribbon Dive Resort again? YES! Absolutely! In fact, I’m working on booking...