Aiyanar Beach and Dive Resort

We booked Aiyanar resort as they were the most responsive in email correspondence. Joyce, the manager, responded to all our emails right away and clarified and arranged everything perfectly before the trip. Arrangement for transportation was very easy. It takes 2~2.5 hours depending on the traffic from the airport to the resort, and they make sure you arrive back at the airport in plenty of time, since check in and immigration can take over an hour. The rooms are equipped with all kinds of amenities (hair dryer, kettle, reading lamps, safe, etc.) and are very comfortable both for working and relaxing in. The bathroom was very spacious and clean, with good hot water that does not run out -- which is important when coming back from dives. There is also a very nice desk to work on computer, and it is amply equipped with electrical outlets on both ends (flat 2 pin style, as is often used in the Philippines; the camera room has many universal outlets that you can also use). Joyce always asks all the guests whether they need anything. All the staff was a great team. The resort is big and very quiet, with no noise or loud music coming in from elsewhere, as it does at many Anilao resorts. It is also fun to watch their resident giant tortoise, Birdie! The dining here is excellent! Great quality food and amazing variety of dishes, all excellent! The restaurant staff were all super friendly and accommodating, and especially Randy, who oversees it, is so professional! The style of serving (buffet, family style shared plate, individual plate) changes depending on the number of the guests. But even for a small occupancy of 1 or 2 people, the variety was never less, and the portions were always more than generous, and come with a soup and salad, 3-4 main dishes, and a homemade dessert at both lunch and dinner. Vanessa's homemade ice creams were delicious! This is easily one of the best kitchens in any dive resorts we have stayed, and by far the best in the Philippines! And most important to us (and to many): The diving experience was FANTASTIC, as our dive master Dadz is so kind, fun, competent and professional with great eyes for spotting macro life. The boatmen were also kind and helpful, and the dive instructor Joe fixed my dive watch! The temperature was rather cool (water temperature 25~26 celcius), but the boatmen gave us hot towels and coffee when we came up for our surface intervals. They also offer black water photography, which we did not try, but can assume was done as carefully and professionally as everything else there. They have also open-water licence class, and we will recommend all our friends who are interested in getting a diving license to go to Aiyanar, as it has nice classroom, kind instructor, and deep pool. If you want to just relax, they have a beautiful infinity pool and can also arrange massage service. The masseuses all seem to be professionally trained. (One tip: Nearest ATM is far, so bring enough cash to tip the masseuses,

The resort has a great design, the staff was extremely pleasant and helpful, the room was adequate, and the house reef provided for a pleasant dive. There's variety in the meals served at the restaurant, and the quality was mostly very good. However, considering the high price point of the resort, it's disappointing that their "high speed internet" was 20% slow and 80% non-existent. And it's surprising that despite paying rates equal to those of top premium resorts in the country, we spent an entire day of our vacation without any electricity. I'd have expected them to have a backup generator available for such power interruptions. There are other vacation options that provide better value at the same price point in the area.