Wiggsy
Contributor
Best dive resort I have ever seen - and I've seen a lot of them.
Pure and simple - this is an amazing location and a superb dive resort. I was lucky enough to take a large group to Atmosphere, and by midday on the first day I had secretly decided that this was my new favourite place in the world - and I've dived the Maldives; Solomon Islands; Sipadan; Palau; Vanuatu; Fiji; Tahiti and the Cook Islands (many of them several times). By the time I'd had lunch at the superb open air beachside restaurant and done my first dive, I'd decided that this place was a sure bet and would be the venue for next year's trip back to back (normally we go somewhere different each year).This is like a Dive Resort built from the ground up for divers, by a team of consultants - they have thought of every possible feature to improve your comfort and safety. And it is all done with such style. There are no compromises - it is rare to be at a resort where everything just simply works so well. The rooms are superb (we were in a 200 sq. metre penthouse that was well lit and beautifully appointed. Always plenty of hot water - lots of power points...brilliantly lit, tastefully decorated - modern but stylish.Neat as a pin. And with a view over manicured gardens that are beautifully landscaped and slope gently down to the very chilled pool/bar area and the beach. The pool is big and at 3 metres deep is designed for SCUBA training, but also perfect for a leisurely dip. The pool bar is the hub of social activity and offers great coffee (the iced coffees are just about a major food group in themselves); fruit smoothies; cheapish cocktails and cold San Mig beers.
OK - the beach is ordinary, but Atmosphere don't hide that - it is greyish sand with a lot of pebbles (take beach shoes or dive bootees to board the boats) but it is still rather attractive and presents gorgeous views across to magical Apo Island. And just off the beach is some of the best House Reef diving I have ever seen. Only metres from shore we saw turtles in the shallows; young solitary Great Barracuda; Banded Sea Kraits; healthy corals and schools of Butterfly and Angelfish. There were even Frogfish one day in the shallows visible from the dive boat. 200 metres to the left there are guaranteed Mandarin Fish at the Bahura House reef (as in hundreds of them).
The dive operaration is professional and extremely well organised. They even have an air-conditioned camera room set up with work benches'/charging station with air blower nozzles and a camera pro in residence (who proved extremely useful when I had some strobe synch. issues! ..... Well done Steve!) Divers each have a storage cubicle in the drying room and all you need do is look after your wetsuit; booties and camera. Everything else is washed; stored and handled for you. WARNING: do not come here unless you like to be spoilt rotten. If you have some weird fixation about washing your own gear, then, you certainly can if you must. But you will find no fewer then 3 deck hands fussing around you supporting tanks and putting your fins on for you. The most common comment I heard from my group was "These guys cannot do enough for you". They even anticipate your needs and do stuff before you've even asked. It is full on luxury diving - complete with hot moist cologne face towels after the dive and loads and fruit; cookies and hot coffee/tea.
The restaurant is brilliant - crisp linens; polished glasses and an impressive menu that includes local dishes; lots of seafood and amazing desserts. The Penna Cotta and "BTS" {Better Than Sex} Chocolate cake were my favourites. Presentation is equal to a top restaurant here in Melbourne. And 500 bottles of French Wine in the cellar!? And yet this was not an expensive package at all relative to Pacific destinations such as Fiji and Vanuatu.We loved the place and the general opinion was that we could not beat (yet alone equal) what we had at Atmosphere. Can't wait until we return in 2012.
Pure and simple - this is an amazing location and a superb dive resort. I was lucky enough to take a large group to Atmosphere, and by midday on the first day I had secretly decided that this was my new favourite place in the world - and I've dived the Maldives; Solomon Islands; Sipadan; Palau; Vanuatu; Fiji; Tahiti and the Cook Islands (many of them several times). By the time I'd had lunch at the superb open air beachside restaurant and done my first dive, I'd decided that this place was a sure bet and would be the venue for next year's trip back to back (normally we go somewhere different each year).This is like a Dive Resort built from the ground up for divers, by a team of consultants - they have thought of every possible feature to improve your comfort and safety. And it is all done with such style. There are no compromises - it is rare to be at a resort where everything just simply works so well. The rooms are superb (we were in a 200 sq. metre penthouse that was well lit and beautifully appointed. Always plenty of hot water - lots of power points...brilliantly lit, tastefully decorated - modern but stylish.Neat as a pin. And with a view over manicured gardens that are beautifully landscaped and slope gently down to the very chilled pool/bar area and the beach. The pool is big and at 3 metres deep is designed for SCUBA training, but also perfect for a leisurely dip. The pool bar is the hub of social activity and offers great coffee (the iced coffees are just about a major food group in themselves); fruit smoothies; cheapish cocktails and cold San Mig beers.
OK - the beach is ordinary, but Atmosphere don't hide that - it is greyish sand with a lot of pebbles (take beach shoes or dive bootees to board the boats) but it is still rather attractive and presents gorgeous views across to magical Apo Island. And just off the beach is some of the best House Reef diving I have ever seen. Only metres from shore we saw turtles in the shallows; young solitary Great Barracuda; Banded Sea Kraits; healthy corals and schools of Butterfly and Angelfish. There were even Frogfish one day in the shallows visible from the dive boat. 200 metres to the left there are guaranteed Mandarin Fish at the Bahura House reef (as in hundreds of them).
The dive operaration is professional and extremely well organised. They even have an air-conditioned camera room set up with work benches'/charging station with air blower nozzles and a camera pro in residence (who proved extremely useful when I had some strobe synch. issues! ..... Well done Steve!) Divers each have a storage cubicle in the drying room and all you need do is look after your wetsuit; booties and camera. Everything else is washed; stored and handled for you. WARNING: do not come here unless you like to be spoilt rotten. If you have some weird fixation about washing your own gear, then, you certainly can if you must. But you will find no fewer then 3 deck hands fussing around you supporting tanks and putting your fins on for you. The most common comment I heard from my group was "These guys cannot do enough for you". They even anticipate your needs and do stuff before you've even asked. It is full on luxury diving - complete with hot moist cologne face towels after the dive and loads and fruit; cookies and hot coffee/tea.
The restaurant is brilliant - crisp linens; polished glasses and an impressive menu that includes local dishes; lots of seafood and amazing desserts. The Penna Cotta and "BTS" {Better Than Sex} Chocolate cake were my favourites. Presentation is equal to a top restaurant here in Melbourne. And 500 bottles of French Wine in the cellar!? And yet this was not an expensive package at all relative to Pacific destinations such as Fiji and Vanuatu.We loved the place and the general opinion was that we could not beat (yet alone equal) what we had at Atmosphere. Can't wait until we return in 2012.
I hear the current on the house reef can turn it into a drift dive, is it very tide sensitive and will they let you dive it any time of day or night without a dive master? Just grab a tank and go?
