Borneo Divers Mabul Resort

The resort is good, and the planning is excellent. Their jetty area is nice, but around the island we mostly saw dead coral and very few fish. At two of the spots they took us to, there wasn't much to see. The guides seemed a bit showy and weren't very good at pointing out fish and coral. They could identify only a few fish. While we were snorkelling, we spotted a big turtle. The guide dived down to show off and disturbed it, so it swam away, leaving me floating with my camera. 😥 We also went to Kaplai, which was much better for snorkelling. Maybe it's a better place to go than Mabul. We noticed that most of the stray cats on the island looked sick, with some kind of eye or nose infection or disease.

We’re still shocked by what happened to a turtle. Borneo Divers had two boats out diving, and on the way back their captains began racing and going extremely fast. A turtle was at the surface, well ahead of the other boat, and we watched one boat hit it and run straight over it. It very likely killed the turtle. Then the boats kept speeding into the resort’s reef, where many guests were snorkelling and scuba diving. Someone could have been killed. I told the dive master, who didn’t seem to care, and emailed management but never got a reply. I hope they get their driving under control before more marine life or guests are hurt. There were other worrying incidents. During a massive storm, they insisted we go to Sipadan instead of waiting an hour for it to clear. The current was strong and visibility was zero on that dive, while our dive master kept swimming away from the group and never checked our air or turned back. On another dive the next day, while changing my tank after I’d checked my gear, the dive master gave me someone else’s regulator. I caught the other guest’s cold. If this were only a hotel, I’d give it five stars, though it wasn’t worth the price. The rooms and facilities were lovely, the hotel staff were very friendly, and the food was pretty good. I rarely leave bad reviews, but I can’t shake this experience. If you want to scuba dive in Mabul, choose a different resort.

We did the 6D/5N package, with two divers and one snorkeller. There’s free tank diving from the jetty, and the diving gets five stars. I led a few night dives as a DM since those are unaccompanied. The boat crew check and sort everything for you. The villas are really nice and still a high standard, though maybe a little tired. Snorkelling was well led, and my wife, who can’t swim, made it through. Food was good, although the meat and fish were a little overdone unless you ordered special paid fish or lobster. There are two Muslim villages on the island, so expect loudspeaker chanting at 4:40 am. Wi-Fi is only in the dining hall and a bit patchy, but you came here to dive, five dives a day.

The Wi-Fi only worked in the dining hall, and it wasn't fast enough for video playback or uploads. That didn't bother us much since we spent most of our time diving and relaxing, and the break from screens was nice. We had an amazing 5D4N stay diving with Borneo Divers. The dives were well organised, and we'd never seen so many turtles on one dive. Our room was spacious and clean. The food was generally above average, though it could get repetitive.