Blue Lagoon Dive Resort

If your idea of a good holiday involves breakfast, a short walk and a boat rather than a timetable full of transfers, this resort fits the pattern. Blue Lagoon Dive Resort sits directly on Small La Laguna Beach and combines a small-scale resort atmosphere with a dive centre on site, so your diving day starts close to your bed rather than somewhere down the road.

The hotel has 24 rooms and keeps its style distinctly local, with Philippine decoration, bamboo details and Mangyan art in the accommodation. English and French are spoken by the hotel team, while the management is French-speaking. That makes practical conversations about your stay straightforward, particularly when your brain is still equal parts nitrogen and hunger after a day in the water.

You can spend the evening between the sea-facing lounge, the tropical garden and the poolside lounge, then retreat to air-conditioned accommodation with soundproof rooms. It is a resort for divers who want the diving to be easy to reach, but who still expect a proper place to eat, sit down and recover afterwards.

The resort is in Sabang, Philippines, on the island of Mindoro, directly beside the sea. Small La Laguna Beach is at the property itself, while Sabang Beach is only a short walk away. Big La Laguna Beach is about 1,300 feet away, which is roughly a quarter of a mile on foot, and Coco Beach is about 1.2 miles away by foot.

Sabang centre is around five minutes away, close enough for a change of scenery but far enough to step away from the town centre when the evening gets lively. Nearby options include Hemingways Bistrot, Le Dan Seafood Restaurant and The Verandah Restaurant, with Gecko Bar and Sabang Disco also within the surrounding area.

The setting gives you two very different post-dive choices. You can stay by the water and let the day taper off slowly, or head towards Sabang for a little more movement. Inland, the surroundings become tropical and jungled, with waterfalls and hiking routes available for days when your fins stay in the room.

The accommodation ranges from garden-view bungalows to sea-view rooms, suites and apartments. For a couple, the Deluxe Double or Twin Room with Sea View is the obvious choice if waking up to the water matters more than having the largest room. For a family or a group carrying more than the usual amount of luggage, the garden-view bungalow or suite gives you more breathing space than the compact double rooms.

Rooms have air conditioning, balconies and private bathrooms with walk-in showers. That air conditioning earns its keep when you return warm, salty and ready to become horizontal; the balcony gives you somewhere to sit without turning the bed into a drying rack for every item of clothing you own. Daily housekeeping and room service are available, which is useful when the afternoon dive has removed any ambition to dress up for dinner.

Some accommodation is adapted for wheelchair users, with raised toilets, grab rails and wheelchair access. Children of any age are welcome, and cots or extra beds can be requested depending on the accommodation chosen. The resort also has non-smoking rooms, while soundproof rooms offer a more controlled night when Sabang is still finding its volume.

Full board is the main arrangement, with drinks handled separately. The on-site restaurant works across international and French cooking, alongside Chinese, American and Asian dishes. That gives you a menu broad enough for a mixed group, while the kitchen puts particular attention on fresh ingredients rather than treating every meal as an afterthought between dives.

Bread, cakes, fresh pasta and preserves are made on site, including mango, coconut and pineapple versions. French wines are available, and breakfast comes in continental, Asian, buffet and à la carte forms. If your first thought after a morning dive is food rather than conversation, breakfast can also be brought to your room.

There is a bar, a snack bar and an on-site coffee house, so you have more than one way to deal with the gap between returning from the water and sitting down to a full meal. Wine and champagne are available, special-diet menus can be requested, and children’s meals are catered for. The resort also runs themed dinner nights and a happy hour, while evening entertainment keeps the day from ending at the moment the sun disappears.

The outdoor swimming pool, sun terrace and beach access cover the essentials for a non-diving afternoon. Sun loungers, beach chairs and umbrellas let you choose between the sand and the pool, while the garden and picnic area provide a change of surface when lying flat has become a serious personal policy.

The spa is more practical than theatrical: massages, body treatments, facials, manicures and pedicures are available, with an open-air bath, public bath, foot bath and relaxation area. For a couple, that gives you an easy way to spend an afternoon together without signing up for an expedition or pretending that a vigorous activity is what your legs currently need.

When you do want to move, canoeing, snorkelling, fishing and other water-sport activities are available on site. Away from the water, you can join walking tours, local-culture activities, cooking classes, jungle hikes and excursions towards waterfalls. There is also a zipline, and the resort organises a sunset aperitif on San Antonio Island, facing the setting sun. Board games and evening entertainment are there for the simpler option: remain seated and call it a plan.

Blue Lagoon Dive Resort, the hotel's own dive centre, affiliated with FFESSM, SDI, TDI, PADI, CMAS, FSGT, English-speaking team. The centre’s position changes the whole shape of the day: you can leave breakfast and reach the boat without arranging a transfer, with local dive sites reached in roughly one to eight minutes by boat. Three departures a day and groups of around four divers keep the rhythm workable for divers who prefer time in the water without turning the schedule into military logistics.

The team speaks French, English, German and Spanish, and the centre offers nitrox, rebreather and trimix diving, as well as night dives. The hotel’s diving programme includes sites such as Fantasea, Ernest Point, Verde Island and Canyon, with small-group diving and personalised teaching at its core.

Transfers from Manila’s Ninoy Aquino Airport terminals 1, 2 or 3 can be arranged by the resort, using a private van followed by a public or private boat. The journey from Manila takes around three hours, so this is not a quick airport-to-room hop; it is a proper crossing to Mindoro and worth building into your travel plan.

Check-in is available from 15:00 to 22:30. Check-out is available at any time, which is handy when your onward journey refuses to respect hotel conventions. Private and express check-in and check-out, luggage storage, lockers, currency exchange and a tour desk are available, and WiFi is accessible throughout the property.

Cash is accepted, and payment arrangements for a reservation can involve a deposit before arrival by bank transfer or PayPal. Airport transfers are available as a hotel service and should be arranged directly with the resort. Pets are not allowed, while children of any age are welcome; cots and extra beds depend on the accommodation selected.

The resort sells mineral sunscreens designed to respect coral reefs, a small but useful detail when your holiday is built around time in the water. Diving practice also focuses on neutral buoyancy, helping you avoid contact with marine life and the reef while you are underwater.

The resort also maintains salary levels above the average practised in the country. There is a practical community element to excursions as well: guests can bring old T-shirts and children’s clothes for residents of the jungle during visits inland.