Borneo Divers & Sea Sports - Sabah

★ 4 · Sean H. · 2010-02-20

On Mabul, there is a choice of resorts that dive Sipadan.  Kapali, which is a floating resort and Semporna, but it is a long boat ride to Sipadan.  The months of January and February are the quiet periods.  The quantity of divers that can visit Sipadan in any one day is about 50, so as the resort gets an allocation of 12 per day, there is a very good chance of getting a permit to dive.  My own view is that, one day at Sipadan is sufficient as the local island I rated as highly as Sipadan, where the diving is all very similar. At the resort, the rooms are adequate, but the bathrooms are way past their sell by date, although clean, with the exception of the bar area.  The food is very much a hit or miss affair and is often cold.  The meals do not match up with the food you experience on red Sea liveaboards.  Go to Google Maps and you can view the island and the chalets are clearly visible. Biggest disappointment was the communication of dive schedules (with only one group diving it should be simple) and the running of dives at Sipadan. it's a 7:30 depart, 3x45 min dives and back by 1:30 in time for lunch. Very minimal surface intervals, set up for short visits, not several days diving in a row. Dive guides were also not interested in making the dives interesting. I don't care if they are bored, I'm paying them to guide me and enthuse me. Free internet works some days, and is dog slow. Maybe it was only because it was quiet season, but the resort generator was only run in the early mornings and evening, so the late checkout time meant sat about with nothing to do. Biggest warning sign must be when I asked for nitrox. First the cost ($50?) but also a failure to deliver on 2 consecutive days. Since the profiles at Sipadan take you to within a couple of metres of deco on the 3rd dive this could be quite worrying to some.   .

★ 3 · John R. · 2009-10-18

This is going to be a bit of a mixed review so I will split it into sections Accommodation: the bedrooms are simple and adequate for 2 persons. The beds are comfy and clean. The bathrooms are a disgrace. Small with dirty, cracked or missing tiles. Toilets are unstable with poorly fitted seats. No hot tap for the sink. The power shower is not and the water that comes out smells. The drain from the shower drops out under the floor and is not properly plumbed in. The air conditioning does not cover the bathroom and at midday cannot cope with cooling the bedroom. The doors don’t fit properly and this does not help with dealing with the insects that bite at night. Food: not good. Poorly made and very limited. I lost weight whilst at the resort. The bread is so sweet that it is barely edible. The food improved dramatically once a party of Americans and representatives from National Geographic arrived suggesting that improvements were possible. Beer, on the expensive side and you need to shop around to get a cold one. Staff: the staff on site really do their best with the limited recourses they have. Problems that can be solved are and those that need investment are not. Everybody is pleasant, happy and determined to look after the guests if they can. Amin who runs the dive centre is a diamond. Luggage and kit is moved around by the staff and they want to help you have a nice time. Diving: very different from all other centres I have been to. The style is very laid back. The divemasters look after guests by assembling equipment and leading them on dives and they know their sites very well. Briefings are very short and less than cursory. If you are a competent diver who knows their stuff this laid back approach will suit you and if you need your hand holding you are going to be less happy. All dives have a current element to them and this increases the amount of large animals you see. Maldives divers will love it and those who don’t like current diving wont. Diving on Sipadan is outstanding and is one long firework display. Diving on Mabul is rubbish with poor vis and little to photograph. Sleep with who you have to but get to Sipadan but the system is a lottery and luck matters. I was lucky others were not. Nitrox was extremely expensive £8 per fill and often came with a low oxygen percentage and a low Bar filling.

★ 1 · Fede C. · 2009-04-26

Disappointed, very disappointed at the whole experience! DIVING: despite having booked, as said, months in advance, we were only sent to Sipadan ONE DAY. The dive staff, from the 'head' (Steve) to the boat captains are unfriendly, attitude prone unprofessional people. Nobody looked at our dive cards, logbook or insurance. They are there to chuck you in and chuck you out, with no interest in the customer, the diving and more scarily, the marine environment. The dive operation is messy, disorganized; boats are overcrowded. No rinse tanks for camera gear are present on the boats; We've never dived with such a complacent and unprofessional lot. Sipadan diving is done, we can only guess, on personal preference or maybe tipping as we were not sent again after the first day! Other groups/couples had as many as 10 dives there!!! Really poor, never again