Dive Review of Crystal Blue Resort in
Philippines/Anilao

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Crystal Blue Resort: "A Different Perspective Than Most", Apr, 2019, by Rose Mueller , TX, US ( Sr. Contributor 27 reports with 13 Helpful votes). Report 10910 has 3 Helpful votes.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This is our 7th trip to the Philippines, but our first to Anilao. We chose this hotel as it was recommended by our guide in Puerto Galera. This review doesn't include our feelings for the Filipino people that took care of us while there. They were ALL gracious and kind and caring. I polled many guests as to why they chose this resort and ALL replied, "it's cheap!" That it is, but is it worth it? The room was so small there was no where to put anything. In fact I could barely move in it. There is mold, especially in the shower. The stairs aren't for the faint of heart. The food is buffet style and again on the cheap. For a mature clientelle the use of curry is too much. The food is cold as it's buffet style and the burners don't work. They made sure I at least had salad and mango at every meal as there was little I could eat. On one occasion, we arrived at 12:07 pm with lunch to begin at 12:00 and there was hardly any food left. They did try to replenish if this happened, but on this occasion they didn't. The facility for diving and the camera room is very good. Our guide, Pong, was exceptional. Yes, we paid for a guide because of the photography, although another couple had one guide and didn't pay. The biggest problem came with the manager/photographer, Mike. Unless one chose to pay for his services, one was personal non grata. Unfortunately for us, he was on our dive boat as he was hussling another guest to use some of his services. Mike smoked on the boat with no regard for our feelings about the subject. It was unacceptable to say the least. He and the other man on the boat wore gloves on the dives. That has been a NO No for longer than I can remember. I feel there are serious problems in terms of the treatment of the reefs with the use of the 105 mm lens. I watched on several occasions the diver laying on the reef for stabilizing the camera for photos. The book in the room states there is absolutely NO solo diving yet the other diver did it with Mike's approval. This little foray managed to lengthen our stay on the boat unnecessarily. No, we weren't asked if it mattered to us. Mike also left us waiting for over 35 minutes on one dive while he continued his personal quest for a photo. I was most offended when he accused me of jeapordising the health of his dive masters. We were into our 2nd day and we'd waited 50 minutes after the first dive. I asked if we could go in for the second dive. He told me we could do so, but he'd never allow his divers to do this. The dives were under 60' and lasted 50 minutes. The norm where we've gone is 1/2 hour wait. I'd NEVER risk danger for anyone. In fact, we were instrumental in bringing NITROX to Splash in Palau. Also, it was with our insistance and paying that Scuba Du in Cozumel began giving NITROX to the dive masters. To make it worse, he immediately turned around and told his guide to accompany the other diver for his return attempt to capture the jawfish with eggs without waiting an hour, the magic number. On a happier note, the macro life is remarkable and beyond what we saw in Puerto Galera. There is little we didn't see. I have mantis shrimp, zebra shrimp and jawfish with eggs. I have the ambon scorpionfish, the purple oscillated octopus, the wunderpus, the mimic and more frogfish than I can count. The only thing I didn't see was the blue ringed octopus and it wasn't for not trying. We are returning with our family in July, but it won't be at Crystal Blue!
Websites	Crystal Blue Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Most places it's warm
Closest Airport	Manila	Getting There	As UA clients we flew Tokyo/Manila
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	80-82°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	20-50 Ft/ 6-15 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	Their book specifies NO SOLO DIVING BUT IT HAPPENED
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	There is a separate camera room which is excellent. There is a soak well for just cameras.

Report currently has 3 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of Crystal Blue Resort in Philippines/Anilao

Crystal Blue Resort: "A Different Perspective Than Most", Apr, 2019,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Crystal Blue Resort in
Philippines/Anilao