Atlantis Dive Resort Dumaguete

Good for experienced divers but not for new divers, solo travellers, relaxing beach time or a deluxe experience even though it was £200+ a night so I did not think it was good value. For me it was just the wrong choice and I didn't do enough research. The main disappointment comes down to me basing my expectations on the price instead of the 3 star rating. I haven't paid that much for a hotel before and usually go for 4 or 5 star places so I just don't understand the pricing, maybe that's just how it is in the Philippines. The staff and service are good, breakfast and the room are ok, spa and diving are the good amenities so it might be the diving location which warrants the price. Lunch and dinner are good. I recommend the honey yoghurt muesli with mango and the chicken salad (with a dressing) for breakfast. Everything I had on the lunch/dinner menu was great - the tom kha gai soup, Dorado, burger, curry etc all good. Small range of beers and cocktails available but cocktails were good too. The room and bathroom are fine for 3 star standards. There is termite stuff falling from the wood beams and dead moths or similar insects on shelves which did not get cleaned away. The Swedish massage was good, I recommend Gail. The shiatsu was painful and pinched my skin so she switched to Swedish. The pool is murky and not enticing to swim in, lots of mozzies around it too. I much preferred the beach and water conditions further down at Dauin. I like to relax on a nice beach and swim etc. that's where the great snorkeling is too. But the water at Atlantis is too rough and windy and the beach too narrow. Although the dive masters are great for leading dives and probably for the other diving skills, I wouldn't recommend getting your open water certificate here especially if you're at all nervous about it. There were some differences with the SSI videos like being able to practise boat entry in the pool first and using a snorkel that I would have preferred what with the condition of the water there. The beach, water and entry conditions are so much better 20-30min down the beach at Dauin, Bongo Bongo beach. I managed to earn my open water and it was the reason for this trip but it wasn't a pleasant experience and I watched the divers enter at Dauin quite jealously. Considering you can do 4-5 dives a day here plus a day for Apo island, I think 3-4 days here would be perfect. The hotel tour prices were a bit more expensive than others I found and they do not arrange joiner tours so as a solo traveller, their tours were prohibitively expensive. For some reason there were no joiner tours available outside the hotel either, I don't know if that's because of the season (jan-feb) or that's usual for the Philippines but it's the first time I've experienced that in my travels. The tour to Apo Island is good and well arranged. The only thing is as a snorkeler you have to wait until after lunch to get to the shallow turtle area but it was great and a benefit of going with the hotel is you leave on their boat right from the hotel, no need to drive to the ferry.

Best trip of my life! Spent 5 days at Dumaguete resort and 7 days aboard the Atlantis Azores. Top level service, staff was incredible! Highly recommend doing both and getting the full experience. Spotted so many new species that I had never seen before, Blue Ring Octopus, Cuttlefish, saw my first Tiger Shark!

Atlantis did not disappoint. 5 start food and service. Welcoming professional Staff. Very Friendly. Manager hands on willing to accommodate any request possible. Dive team Very experienced. Dive Master Harold was top notch. Dive sites were fabulous.