Visit Date: October 2009

We're so glad we met Rae at the Singapore expo and came to stay at Atmosphere. We couldn't have asked for a better place to relax, eat great food, make new friends and do some fantastic diving.

The level of diving expertise was second to none. No request was too much effort, we were made to feel welcome, we felt pampered and secluded. Want to dive Apo reef? Choose Atmosphere. The location is perfect, the dive boat and staff are amazing and if you're lucky enough to get Rae along with you - you won't be disappointed. The house reef at night was also worth a repeat dive.

Time stood still for one week and we were able to kick back, indulge and enjoy just being! Only problem is my waist line expanded dramatically due to Jose's amazing cooking :)

Visit Date: March 2009

I spent five days at Atmosphere in the end of March 2009. After five days there I felt so rejuvenated that it felt like I had been away for several weeks! The place is fantastic from all aspects. Rooms are large, clean and modern yet built with a touch of Filipino tradition. The garden is vast and green. Food is absolutely perfect and you can choose to have a four meal course every night, which is meticulously prepared in every detail - taste as well as presentation. You are looked after by very service-minded staff in a personalised manner. Then we come to the diving....Excellent dive staff, a large and comfortable boat with very attentive crew and the diving equipment is brand new and comfortable. Safety and proper procedures are strictly adhered to. Dive sites include pristine coral reefs at Apo Island less than half an hour away from Atmosphere or numerous house reefs where you have a large choice of dive sites - from muck diving to corals/macro to drift dives. Atmosphere does day trips to Apo including three dives and a tasty lunch. Plenty of mandarin fish come out in the afternoon around the reefs just in front of the resort. When I was there we also saw a big flying gurnard! The best part is to come back to the resort after a long day of diving sipping a cocktail at the bar facing the ocean...If you haven't been to Atmosphere yet - it's a must!!!

Visit Date: December 2008

After many years of dive travel, mainly in the Pacific Islands and the Caribbean, I have had to re-evaluate my measure of perfection after just 7 short nights spent at this resort. I stayed during the "soft opening" with my wife and uncle in December 2008. Prior to this trip I considered the Palau Pacific Resort the penultimate match of luxury surroundings and world class diving...no longer. While I have no doubt non divers would thoroughly enjoy any length of stay here, I am speaking to an audience I know a little about.

Our room was spacious and relaxing, with ample room to hide away all our things, a private outdoor shower and soak tub, and a hammock on the veranda to while away the afternoon with a good book. The infinity pool overlooks a beautiful black sand beach, a wonderful place to relax between dives. The pool-side bar is the social hub of the resort, where guests meet to chat about recent dives, critters seen, photos taken, waterfalls explored, all while sipping the cocktail of the day, happily concocted for you by the warm and smiling staff. The dive center is fully equipped with a staff that makes it their goal to prevent you from lifting a finger towards your gear. The restaurant, headed by Chef Jose and his impeccable staff who are eager to please, provides world class cuisine and seems to thrive on special requests. Beef Wellington by the pool...no problem. Local specialty roast pork on the beach just for your family....just mention how nice it would be and it's done. And don't get me started on Joses' desserts. The ratio of staff to guest is nearly 2 to 1 so service is provided in a continuous but unobtrusive manner throughout your stay. This is a small boutique resort that somehow finds a way to be perfect for honeymooning couples and families with kids without either group making the other feel uncomfortable.

The diving available here is a perfect blend of what this area of the coral triangle has to offer. The near shore reefs provide a teeming populace of macro critters while nearby Apo Island provides the electric rush of drift diving over vast panoramas of healthy reef. Our guide Lemmy pointed out creatures of every make and model and after surfacing provided the scientific names for each. He also has a reggae band that plays in town on Thursday nights, check them out. Not a diver but think you might like to try? Rae and her dive staff would love nothing better than introducing you to a whole new world. I can't imagine a better way to learn to dive than in this tropical gem under the tutulage of such caring and enjoyable people.

The resort has been built on the latest sound eco-friendly principles without compromising your comfort. The surrounding area provides many opportunities to get out and experience both the wild and beautiful countryside and the local culture. Enjoy the hike to the waterfalls behind the resort, take a trip into Dauin to experience the local open-air market, or ride a Jeepney into Dumaguete for some awesome shopping.

While the resort is beautiful, the cuisine and diving world class, it is the staff at Atmosphere that make this an experience to remember. Long after arriving back in Reno in the middle of winter, it was the memory of the warm and smiling faces of the staff that made us want to find a way to return. The wonderful owners, Matt and Gabby, truly made this a world class resort by surrounding themselves with world class staff.

If you are thinking about the Philippines, don't go anywhere else. You'll thank me later.