First, I should state up front that my wife and I are dive industry professionals so we see everything; the good, the bad, and the ugly. Thankfully, I only have good things to say about the Atlantis Puerto Galera resort. For those that don’t like to read long reviews, here’s the bottom line: The service at Atlantis Puerto Galera was outstanding. The diving was outstanding. The experience was outstanding.

From the reservations department, to the van drivers and boat captains, to the front desk, to housekeeping, to the masseuses, to the restaurant, bar and the dive operation, the staff always over delivered. We couldn’t possibly be more pleased. And while I’ll name some specific staff here, unfortunately there were some names of staff that we didn’t get. Nonetheless everyone there was professional, attentive, and friendly.

Starting with the booking and reservations process. We worked with Roni. She is simply the best. No question is too trivial and she always replied to me quickly (most of the time nearly instantly). Because we were booking a week at Puerto Galera and an additional week aboard the Azores in Tubbataha (see separate review of the Azores) we also worked closely with Mench, who works on site at the Puerto Galera property. Mench was super professional, always answered my questions quickly and was very helpful with planning ground transfers, extra baggage allowance, domestic airfare, hotel stays in Manila, water taxis, and much more. Mench was invaluable. Her advice was spot on and everything she booked for us went off without even the slightest hitch. We honestly can’t imagine booking this trip without Roni and Mench.

When we arrived in Manila we stayed at the Belmont Hotel near the airport. This was recommended and arranged by Mench. It was a quick $10 (US) taxi ride from the international terminal. It’s a nice place and we wouldn’t hesitate to stay there again.

The next morning, we were picked up by a driver from Atlantis (unfortunately we missed his name). He was not only on time, he was actually early. Side note: This commitment to punctuality was the beginning of a trend that lasted the entire trip. When Atlantis staff tell you something will happen at a specific time, it absolutely happens at that time (or even a bit early if you’re ready). Our driver showed up in a very clean small passenger van. Each seat was a leather bucket seat and was very plush. We had our own air conditioning controls and were quite comfortable for our 2 1/2 hour drive to catch the water taxi. Traffic in Manila is pretty chaotic compared to anywhere we’ve ever traveled, but despite not quite comprehending the rules, it seems to work quite well.

Once we arrived at the marina, we had a small rain storm. Our diver found us a dry place to hang out while we waited only a couple of minutes for the water taxi to arrive. He ensured our luggage was loaded on the water taxi and, after a safety briefing, we made the 30-minute crossing to Puerto Galera. Upon our arrival at the dock, we were met by James from Atlantis. He was very friendly and professional. He escorted us along the boardwalk to the Atlantis Resort while other staff ensured our luggage was taken to our room.

When we got to the resort we were greeted by Enzo, the resort manager, Mench, and numerous other staff in what I can only describe as a welcome fit for royalty (of which we certainly are not). Each of the staff present represented a different aspect of the resort and presented us with all the information we needed to know. During this time, we were given a welcome beverage and a variety of local fruits to enjoy. We even got a neck and shoulder massage. The staff gave us the option to begin diving right away, however we chose to wait after such a long journey. We agreed to meet with them later that afternoon for our dive orientation. In what turned out to be a trend of exceeding our expectations, we discovered that Roni had arranged for an upgrade of our room to the honeymoon suite. Our first (and lasting) impression of the staff was that they were the most professional, most accommodating and hardest working staff we’ve ever encountered. More on this later.

The Atlantis Puerto Galera Resort is on a hillside. The honeymoon suite is at the very top of the hill. It’s 92 to 95 steps to the top depending on which route you take (we counted more than once), but the view and privacy are absolutely worth each step. The architecture is unique (think Flintstones) and the room is very spacious. We had our own large private balcony with a table, chairs and lounge chairs. Inside we had a small refrigerator with a minibar (filled with soda, beer and chocolate) and each day housekeeping brought us two large glass bottles of fresh water. The water is great for showering, but is not potable.

We’ve been around a lot of diving operations, both as customers and as diving professionals. We can say that this is one of the most efficient and well-organized dive operations we’ve ever had the pleasure of diving with. Regardless of our professional ratings, the dive guides and boat captains took nothing for granted when it came to safety. They evaluated our dive ability just like they would any other diver and were always vigilant. Having said that, after evaluating our dive skills, they treated us with the perfect amount of attention based on our experience and specific needs on any given dive. Our dive guides were Rodil, Jeff, Orville and Obet. We also had the pleasure of diving with Wilson, a divemaster candidate. Each of them was professional, safety oriented, and had excellent dive skills. They were all great at pointing out the critters during our dives (especially Wilson - he can find anything). When we had less experienced divers on board, they made sure to group us accordingly so each group got the most of out the dive. In all we did 20 dives during our week. We could have done as many as 31 dives, but we were happy to have a nice relaxed pace.

A couple of other details regarding the dive operation. We took advantage of Atlantis’ unlimited nitrox plan. The way it worked was that we paid for our first three (or less) nitrox cylinders on any given day. We were not charged extra for Nitrox cylinders for dives four and five. While I’m on the topic of cylinders, they had 63cf/9liters, 80cf/11liters and 100cf/13liters aluminum tanks. If you want anything other than the standard 80 you need to advise them ahead of time to ensure availability.

A couple of days into our diving one of our primary computers had a malfunction with its proprietary battery. We asked the dive staff if they knew where we could get a replacement battery. One of the crew (unfortunately we didn’t get his name) walked us to the nearest dive shop that sold our brand of computer and translated for us. We weren’t able to find the battery, but we were able to buy a new SPG. This type of customer service was the rule at Atlantis Puerto Galera not the exception.

During the week I was using my iPhone to capture the dive site coordinates. When diving I simply left my phone in a small dry bag on the boat. At one point I realized I misplaced my phone. The staff quickly mobilized to help me find it. They began checking the surveillance cameras to see if I set it down somewhere. Wilson grabbed a mask and within about five minutes came back with a big smile on his face. I had dropped it when getting off the boat and he found it under the boat. (Like I said, Wilson can find anything!) I can’t even imagine what a pain it would have been if he hadn’t found it, but he saved me a ton of trouble. And it was just another example of how everyone there goes above and beyond.

As for the diving. Well, it’s incredible. There as some muck dive sites where you can find seahorses, flamboyant cuttlefish, giant frogfish, ghost pipefish and a bunch of squid. Most of our dives were on the reef; with incredible structures and tons of life everywhere. We lost count of the number of sea turtles we saw. We also saw pigmy seahorses, sea kraits, lots of nudis, octopuses, electric clams, blue spotted stingrays and much more. One of the most memorable dives was the Sabang Wreck, which is essentially the house reef. There is a small wreck at the bottom. If you kneel in the sand and rub your fingers together you get swarmed by dozens of butterflyfish. It was one of the most unique dive experiences we’ve ever had.

The food was beyond delicious. Marlin (or “Chef” as well called him) runs an incredibly organized kitchen. Every morning we had numerous breakfast options from the menu. For lunch and dinner there were two large chalk boards colorfully decorated with the day’s meal options. For both meals there was a soup or salad option. The main course always had four options. Usually there were choices between pork, chicken, beef, fish and non-meat dishes. There was also always a dessert option. The amount of food was always more than we could actually eat, so most of the time we were too full for dessert.

Our servers, Mia, Gemma, Cha, Dian, Jenessa, and bartenders Hans and Zeus were all amazing. Hans and I had a great time exchanging one liner dad jokes all week. The server we saw the most, Vanna, was beyond wonderful. She was already informed about our meal preferences when we first met her and she gave us great suggestions regarding the meals. She was always a spark of positive energy whenever we saw her.

On our last night there, right after we finished dinner the entire restaurant staff surprised us with an anniversary cake. I had completely forgotten that I mentioned it months earlier when filling out our registration paperwork. And while my wife and I had a great time in each other’s company, that gesture from the staff was simply the perfect way to end our week there.

As dive industry professionals, we have been all over the world. We have led large teams of staff and we understand how physically demanding dive industry jobs are. Like I said earlier, we see everything. We’ve been to some of the top diving destinations in the world with some of the top diving operations there are and the operation at Puerto Galera under the Enzo’s leadership was absolutely the best we’ve encountered. If I were the owner of Atlantis Puerto Galera, I would be beyond proud of the work the staff does each and every day to make it the best overall diving vacation experience possible. Since I’m not the owner, I will simply offer this advice: Be thankful for the team you have, because they are the reason for your success.

The diving was spectacular, our divemaster , Van, was fabulous, showed us everything on our bucket list! The food was great- multiple choices for meals, home baked bread every meal! Camille, Vanna and her staff very incredibly attentive. Ogie’s cappuccino designs were a delight.