SLAM'S Garden Dive Resort

This is a small dive resort for a stay built around the island rather than a formal hotel routine. You have a garden, an outdoor pool, private terraces and a restaurant on site, with enough useful comfort to make the hours between dives straightforward.

The feel is relaxed and uncomplicated. You can sit down for a meal, order room service, take a drink at the small bar or leave the resort for nearby dining options. Couples, families and small groups all have room choices suited to them, while the integrated dive centre keeps the main reason for coming very much in view.

Free WiFi is available throughout the resort, and the public areas have free internet access. Useful, rather than thrilling; after a full day in the water, that is usually the correct standard.

The resort is on Malapascua Island, in Cebu, Philippines, in a seaside setting close to Logon Beach. The sand is roughly 50 metres away, while Bounty Beach is about 150 metres away, or around half a mile according to the resort description. You are near the island's beach life without being placed directly on Bounty Beach itself.

Several places to eat are close enough to reach without arranging transport: Aroi Mak and Amihan Restaurant are each around 100 metres away, with Ristorante Angelina at a similar distance. Devozen Caf is also about 100 metres away, while My Tablea Cafe is roughly 1.1 miles from the resort.

The Lighthouse is about 1.6 miles away. For a wider island outing, Guimbitayan Beach, Bool Beach and Langub Beach are between roughly 1 and 1.2 miles away. Malapascua is not a mainland drop-in destination: reaching the resort involves a drive from Mactan Cebu International Airport followed by a boat crossing.

The room choice matters here because the layouts are aimed at different kinds of stay. Travelling as a couple, you can choose a room with two large beds or a twin arrangement, depending on whether you prefer extra bed width or separate sleeping space. For three or four guests, the Deluxe Triple and Deluxe Family rooms give you the most useful arrangement, with the family option using two large beds.

Every room has a private terrace, a wardrobe and a safety deposit box. Some also have a fridge, which is the detail you will appreciate when you return hot, thirsty and not yet ready for dinner. The resort also offers rooms with a pool view, while the fan rooms keep the specification deliberately simple.

Bathrooms are private, and some layouts separate the toilet from the shower. Room categories differ in their bathroom arrangements, so check the individual room card before booking rather than assuming that every layout follows the same plan. Upper floors are reached by stairs only.

Bon Appetit handles the main meals, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner in a casual island setting. The restaurant is designed for easy meals and unhurried conversation rather than formal dining, which suits a day organised around boats, surface intervals and the occasional debate about whether you are hungry enough for dessert.

The resort description also gives you international and Filipino cooking at the Slam's Garden bar and pub. There is one small bar on site for drinks, and room service is available when your legs have voted against another walk. Nearby restaurants give you alternatives within a few minutes of the property.

Breakfast is included for Superior and Deluxe rooms. The restaurant also works for coffee breaks and a quiet meal between island activities, while packed lunches are available as a practical option for days spent away from the table.

The outdoor pool gives you somewhere to cool off without making another trip to the beach, and sun loungers provide the obvious place to dry out afterwards. There is a garden around the resort, with terraces and pool views adding outdoor space to the room itself.

Massage treatments can be arranged at the resort, a sensible choice when the shoulders have had enough of carrying the day. If you are travelling with a non-diver, island exploration, boat excursions and snorkelling offer ways to spend time outside the dive schedule without turning the whole holiday into an organised programme.

For something distinctly low-tech, there are darts. It is the sort of detail that can save an evening when you want a little activity, but not another expedition.

Malapascua Kairos Diver, the hotel's own dive centre, affiliated with SSI. English, French, Spanish and Filipino are spoken at the dive centre, so you can expect briefings and day-to-day conversations in a useful range of languages.

With the operation inside the resort, you can move from breakfast towards the day's diving without arranging a separate transfer. Nitrox, trimix and night diving are available, giving experienced divers more flexibility in how they plan the week.

The centre runs trips to Monad Shoal, Kimud Shoal and Gato Island. The resort's dive operation is Ocean Passion Malapascua; its own page is the place for the full operational detail.

The usual route is a drive of around three hours from Mactan Cebu International Airport, followed by a 30-minute boat ride to Malapascua Island. An airport shuttle and shuttle service are available to arrange with the resort, in private or shared form depending on the service offered for your journey. Luggage storage is available if your travel plans do not line up neatly with the room.

Check-in runs from 14:00 to 22:00, and check-out is by 12:00. Express check-in and check-out are available, which can be useful after a late boat arrival or before a travel day. Cash is an accepted payment method.

Children of any age are welcome, and family rooms are available. Pets are allowed without an extra charge. Daily housekeeping, room service, a safety deposit box and free WiFi cover the useful basics, while the resort's upper floors are accessible by stairs only.