Smart Divers Resort
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#1 of 1 apartment in Pulau Mabul
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Mabul, Pulau Mabul Malaysia
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Undoubtedly there are several aspects to improve in this structure but overall, if it fits, it is sufficient.
Let me start by saying that the resort is divided into two parts: a new one in which there is the restaurant, the shop, the bar and the spa, and an old one in which there are bungalows and to get there you have to go through the less developed part of the island.
The bungalows are simple and are located about 15 minutes walk from the Resort, they are equipped with everything and quite comfortable.
The cleanliness and the water system need to be reviewed, as we were without water for a day, unable to use the bathroom and shower, which were then partly restored with salt water!
For the rest, sufficient restaurant and good quality spa massages.
Let me start by saying that the resort is divided into two parts: a new one in which there is the restaurant, the shop, the bar and the spa, and an old one in which there are bungalows and to get there you have to go through the less developed part of the island.
The bungalows are simple and are located about 15 minutes walk from the Resort, they are equipped with everything and quite comfortable.
The cleanliness and the water system need to be reviewed, as we were without water for a day, unable to use the bathroom and shower, which were then partly restored with salt water!
For the rest, sufficient restaurant and good quality spa massages.
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Date of stay: August 2023Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Was very excited about this resort but ended up disappointed. I booked a standard bungalow - big mistake - if you are going there then make the effort and book the water bungalow. My room was clean but very basic and very tired. Nowhere to sit out front - very dark adn dingy. The water bungalows looked amazing and I kicked myself for not booking one of those. Food was OK - always cold no matter that it was freshly served. Staff very helpful and the diving operation was very efficient if perhaps a bit too infelxible. Foound myself diving with a different group every day so didn't manage to bond much with the dive crew. Be aware that if you are going to there to dive Sipadan - which is probably why you are - then there is a restriction on permits and your dives there will be limited. Other diving in the area was a bit ordinary.
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Date of stay: June 2011Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Obviously, if you are coming to Mabul Island then you are coming to dive ( Mabul, Sipadan & Kalalai Is).. if not , make sure u bring a few books to read...as there is not much to do..
We stayed in a Chalet, big, clean & comfortable.... be warned it's not a 5 star... make it 2-3 stars..
Food is average.. buffet style.. staff are very friendly ... they genuinely want to help... but be aware they are not formally trained , so dont expect the standards that you may have received elsewhere .. Overall, the resort stay was excellent.
Now.. the dive part... if you stay in the resort then u dive with the resort as it was all packaged in.. Sipidan will be the BEST site to dive .. the other sites ( Mabul Island & Kapalai Island) quite poor as lots of damage to corals (dead).. Also, they take you to the same spots .. quite boring actually.. House reef .. quite interesting.. especially for night dive.. So . I will give it a 70% satisfaction to diving.
Dive Masters... they seriously don't care about your well being.. ( the females are better that the males).. one couple (open ) in my group obviously inexperienced, had their BCD poorly fitted and the tank almost lifted the BC off their back.. another one had the tank came loose..
and I went to his aid and DM just looked on....
Check your hire equipment, bring your own if you can.. all dive equipment are fairly old and lack of maintenance .. Most of the tanks leaks (seals need to be replaced), high pressure hoses should be replaced , our DM had her high pressure hose exploded on her while we were on the boat .. Think about what will happen if under water.
will I go back again??? not for a long long time..
We stayed in a Chalet, big, clean & comfortable.... be warned it's not a 5 star... make it 2-3 stars..
Food is average.. buffet style.. staff are very friendly ... they genuinely want to help... but be aware they are not formally trained , so dont expect the standards that you may have received elsewhere .. Overall, the resort stay was excellent.
Now.. the dive part... if you stay in the resort then u dive with the resort as it was all packaged in.. Sipidan will be the BEST site to dive .. the other sites ( Mabul Island & Kapalai Island) quite poor as lots of damage to corals (dead).. Also, they take you to the same spots .. quite boring actually.. House reef .. quite interesting.. especially for night dive.. So . I will give it a 70% satisfaction to diving.
Dive Masters... they seriously don't care about your well being.. ( the females are better that the males).. one couple (open ) in my group obviously inexperienced, had their BCD poorly fitted and the tank almost lifted the BC off their back.. another one had the tank came loose..
and I went to his aid and DM just looked on....
Check your hire equipment, bring your own if you can.. all dive equipment are fairly old and lack of maintenance .. Most of the tanks leaks (seals need to be replaced), high pressure hoses should be replaced , our DM had her high pressure hose exploded on her while we were on the boat .. Think about what will happen if under water.
will I go back again??? not for a long long time..
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Date of stay: October 2013Trip type: Travelled with friends
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:Â If diving, bring your own BCD and dive regs / computer.. dive with another experienced buddy..
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LOVED the location - we went to Sipadan for the diving, and the dive shop (and restaurant) were at the water bungalow resort, so we regularly took a 5-minute golf cart ride to the bungalows to eat or dive. We had an amazing view out our cabin, which was spacious with great AC. Internet - bad. Get a SIM card on your phone if you need internet, it will not work here. Dive shop DMs are awesome though they did not do a great job of explaining how the diving worked. We got 2 Sipadan dives in 7 days - were supposed to have a 3rd but "internet was down so we couldn't get our permit request in," said the resort. Sad. Sipadan as amazing but among the best in the world? Probably not... Food at the restuarant was mostly CHinese but they had sashimi and a whole baked tuna and crab every night, a different kind of spaghetti for lunch every day. You cannot pay with cash for anything - even bandaids I had to put on my room and pay at check-out. The water bungaows were beautiful, but with all the Chinese tourists (they come in July/August) during the day, our cabin was a better, quieter place to stay. I'd probably go back - but not in July or August.
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Date of stay: July 2024Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:Â Do not come in July or August.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I stayed with Smart Divers for a week in April.
There are three good aspects about this resort--the food at the resort is good, the majority of the rooms are beautiful and they are very close to Sipadan. Hence my diving two stars instead of one. I have been to several dive resorts throughout Southeast Asia and will NEVER return to this resort for the following reasons. I have dove Sipadan before and stayed with a resort on the main island. I would recommend this option over Smart Divers.
1. Bad advertising. They tell you that there is great diving if you are not able to get a permit for Sipadan. However, if you do get a permit for Sipadan for more than one day then it does not mean that you will get to dive different spots. We're lucky enough to have several days of diving at Sipadan but we went to the same sites. We asked about seeing another site but wa told that it was not possible. Furthermore, on the days you do not have permits for Sipadan, you can do "muck diving." However, there is not much to see--partially because the sites are not developed enough and because the groups are so large with several beginner divers mixed with experienced divers. The beginning divers stir up the sand to make the minimal visibility worse.
2. Unsafe diving. Prior to diving, I told the dive master that my ear was bothering me and I might need more time to equalize. During one of the muck dives, we had two dive masters for a group of around 10. The dive master checked on my buddy and I immediately; we were fine. However, after one additional meter my ear started bothering me. I ended up having to short the dive only five minutes into the dive. My dive buddy and I tried to go black down but could not due to my ear. When we aborted, we both blew our whistles put my bright yellow fins above the water to alert the boat. It took 15 minutes for the boat to come over. When it did the boat crew gave us a hard time for coming up early. When the dove group came up, the dove master yelled at me for leaving and not telling him. However, when my ear started bothering me it was impossible to see where he was. He couldn't understand why I did not go down further even though my ear was bothering me and my nose was starting to bleed. I told the manager of the resort and was given one free dive, which was nice but I still feel the need to report the issue.
3. They ran out of food! During the peak season several boats go to Sipadan and the food for the snacks and lunch are shares across all boats. One day we were the last to eat for all meals. Each time there was not enough food for us. For lunch, we were left with one spoonful of soup and rice. I understand that it might have been a mistake for the first snack. However, for it to happen for multiple meals when there were staff that stayed with the food all day is inexcusable. When we mentioned this to the manager, they apologized but were not willing to compensate us.
4. The deck had rusty nails standing up and a medal border around the pool that is loose. It was very un safe, especially for my friend's young son. This might be fixed by now but I am shocked they no one seemed to be worried about the nails or the medal border when we told the staff.
5. I was in a group that had three rooms. Two of the rooms were the standard rooms that are absolutely amazing. However, my friends were placed in the room above the dive shop/air tank filler. Not only was the standard of the room not as nice but it was almost impossible to sleep since the tanks are filled at night. They tried to move to another room after the ford night but had to wait because the resort was full. Given that the room had been reserved months ahead of the other rooms in our group, it is inexcusable that they had such a poor room. They spoke to the manager and were not given any compensation.
Simply put do not stay here!!!
There are three good aspects about this resort--the food at the resort is good, the majority of the rooms are beautiful and they are very close to Sipadan. Hence my diving two stars instead of one. I have been to several dive resorts throughout Southeast Asia and will NEVER return to this resort for the following reasons. I have dove Sipadan before and stayed with a resort on the main island. I would recommend this option over Smart Divers.
1. Bad advertising. They tell you that there is great diving if you are not able to get a permit for Sipadan. However, if you do get a permit for Sipadan for more than one day then it does not mean that you will get to dive different spots. We're lucky enough to have several days of diving at Sipadan but we went to the same sites. We asked about seeing another site but wa told that it was not possible. Furthermore, on the days you do not have permits for Sipadan, you can do "muck diving." However, there is not much to see--partially because the sites are not developed enough and because the groups are so large with several beginner divers mixed with experienced divers. The beginning divers stir up the sand to make the minimal visibility worse.
2. Unsafe diving. Prior to diving, I told the dive master that my ear was bothering me and I might need more time to equalize. During one of the muck dives, we had two dive masters for a group of around 10. The dive master checked on my buddy and I immediately; we were fine. However, after one additional meter my ear started bothering me. I ended up having to short the dive only five minutes into the dive. My dive buddy and I tried to go black down but could not due to my ear. When we aborted, we both blew our whistles put my bright yellow fins above the water to alert the boat. It took 15 minutes for the boat to come over. When it did the boat crew gave us a hard time for coming up early. When the dove group came up, the dove master yelled at me for leaving and not telling him. However, when my ear started bothering me it was impossible to see where he was. He couldn't understand why I did not go down further even though my ear was bothering me and my nose was starting to bleed. I told the manager of the resort and was given one free dive, which was nice but I still feel the need to report the issue.
3. They ran out of food! During the peak season several boats go to Sipadan and the food for the snacks and lunch are shares across all boats. One day we were the last to eat for all meals. Each time there was not enough food for us. For lunch, we were left with one spoonful of soup and rice. I understand that it might have been a mistake for the first snack. However, for it to happen for multiple meals when there were staff that stayed with the food all day is inexcusable. When we mentioned this to the manager, they apologized but were not willing to compensate us.
4. The deck had rusty nails standing up and a medal border around the pool that is loose. It was very un safe, especially for my friend's young son. This might be fixed by now but I am shocked they no one seemed to be worried about the nails or the medal border when we told the staff.
5. I was in a group that had three rooms. Two of the rooms were the standard rooms that are absolutely amazing. However, my friends were placed in the room above the dive shop/air tank filler. Not only was the standard of the room not as nice but it was almost impossible to sleep since the tanks are filled at night. They tried to move to another room after the ford night but had to wait because the resort was full. Given that the room had been reserved months ahead of the other rooms in our group, it is inexcusable that they had such a poor room. They spoke to the manager and were not given any compensation.
Simply put do not stay here!!!
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Date of stay: April 2013Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This is my first time to write a review in TripAdvisor. I used to read lots of comments here and I hope that my humble review will encourage people around the world to come to visit Pulau Mabul, Sabah Malaysia.
My holiday was actually from 30th Aug till 2nd September to Kota Kinabalu Mountain. Due the the earthquake incident we decided to go to Tawau (Semporna) and Pulau Mabul. There are still lots of rumors that this place is not safe and kidnap cases were just happened few months ago. Our journey actually is full of caution and praying that we are able to back to KL (BUT we realized we had think too much). This place is totally safe and beautiful. Our package is ALL-IN non-diver package include transfer from airport to Sipadan Mabul Resort. We are so lucky that we are welcomed by new born turtles from SMART beach!! A green turtle came to lay eggs on 25th July and 31st Aug the eggs hatched!! It is too amazing that all the baby turtles came out from the sand. Such a wonderful MERDEKA day (31st Aug is Malaysia independent day) we had! When we reached SMART, Ryan briefed about the house rules and programs from resort and he is so helpful and taking care of us. We stay in the basic standard chalet. The only negative comment is the beach was not so clean and there are rubbish (bottles, plastic bag, etc) surrounding the island.
As we are non-diver, we did not hope to have the permit to go to Sipadan but guess what? The dive master knocked our door at night and offer us to snorkeling as they have 2 places for us! The trip to Sipadan started from 6am and we are too excited to follow to boat (Opps, only we are snookers,all are professional divers). The journey is so peaceful and I think you guys even can't believe how much luck we had, we spotted a Sperm Whale during the journey to Sipadan. Yes is Sperm Whale that is totally not expected at all! All of us on the boat was so excited and can't believe our eyes. One of the Diver from SMART (Mr Sam if not mistaken) was so excited and wish to jump into the sea but being stopped by Dive Master. Isn't incredible!! Even we are only snorkeling and we saw so many turtles, parrot fish, sharks, etc.. The day we spend in Sipadan was the most unforgettable day in our life :)
The security in this area is good and Mabul Island has own police station. We can see the policeman are patrolling and we feel safe here. We only spend 3 days 2 nights here and never meet any Malaysian visitors. We hopes that more Malaysian can come to visit this place. It is so proud that our country has such a pretty, wonderful and safe island.
My holiday was actually from 30th Aug till 2nd September to Kota Kinabalu Mountain. Due the the earthquake incident we decided to go to Tawau (Semporna) and Pulau Mabul. There are still lots of rumors that this place is not safe and kidnap cases were just happened few months ago. Our journey actually is full of caution and praying that we are able to back to KL (BUT we realized we had think too much). This place is totally safe and beautiful. Our package is ALL-IN non-diver package include transfer from airport to Sipadan Mabul Resort. We are so lucky that we are welcomed by new born turtles from SMART beach!! A green turtle came to lay eggs on 25th July and 31st Aug the eggs hatched!! It is too amazing that all the baby turtles came out from the sand. Such a wonderful MERDEKA day (31st Aug is Malaysia independent day) we had! When we reached SMART, Ryan briefed about the house rules and programs from resort and he is so helpful and taking care of us. We stay in the basic standard chalet. The only negative comment is the beach was not so clean and there are rubbish (bottles, plastic bag, etc) surrounding the island.
As we are non-diver, we did not hope to have the permit to go to Sipadan but guess what? The dive master knocked our door at night and offer us to snorkeling as they have 2 places for us! The trip to Sipadan started from 6am and we are too excited to follow to boat (Opps, only we are snookers,all are professional divers). The journey is so peaceful and I think you guys even can't believe how much luck we had, we spotted a Sperm Whale during the journey to Sipadan. Yes is Sperm Whale that is totally not expected at all! All of us on the boat was so excited and can't believe our eyes. One of the Diver from SMART (Mr Sam if not mistaken) was so excited and wish to jump into the sea but being stopped by Dive Master. Isn't incredible!! Even we are only snorkeling and we saw so many turtles, parrot fish, sharks, etc.. The day we spend in Sipadan was the most unforgettable day in our life :)
The security in this area is good and Mabul Island has own police station. We can see the policeman are patrolling and we feel safe here. We only spend 3 days 2 nights here and never meet any Malaysian visitors. We hopes that more Malaysian can come to visit this place. It is so proud that our country has such a pretty, wonderful and safe island.
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Date of stay: September 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mabul island is on the east coast of Borneo. It takes about 1.5 hours to walk around and has 2000 inhabitants, mostly fishermen and their families. Smart divers isn't the only dive outfit, there are at least three others.
Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur is 11 hours and then KL to Tawau another 2 hours 45.
From Tawau to port of Sempora is 1.5 hours by minibus and then 45 mins by speedboat to Mabul. All in all it will take the best part of 24 hours to get there.
Don't be put off by the weather forecast from the UK. It was appalling for us in early Feb 2013 and we wondered what we had done. It turned out to be sunshine all but for one day out of twelve.
The island is idyllic and if you can see past the less than perfect bathrooms of the chalets it's a fabulous setting. The water bungalows are a far higher standard but if you are here for the diving the chalets are fine. No tea and coffee making facilities in the room but we asked for a kettle and then got tea, coffee and milk from the restaurant. There is a fridge and TV in the room the BBC World on channel 512. No hair drier though. The sockets are UK three pin square.
You won't need any cash except for tips at the end of your stay. Tee shirts and shorts is all you will wear daytime and evening.
The dive centre is very well organised and the hardest thing you will do all week is pull your wet suit on, everything else is done for you. After one dive we knew how everything worked.
Dives around Mabul and Kapalai are two in the morning and one in the afternoon. You will return to the island after each dive, an hours break between the morning dives and 2.5 hours for lunch.
Diving Sipadan Island ( 15 minutes by speedboat) is awesome. The breaks between dives are similar but you spend them on Sipadan Island where the guys will prepare drinks and lunch for you. There are toilets, shade and showers on the island ( no toilet paper though ).
The visibility is less than we are used to in the Red Sea but the amount and variety of things to see means it's not an issue.
We were told that we could expect one trip to Sipadan and anything more would be a bonus. In the event, because the resort was relatively quiet, we dived Sipadan every other day ( 6 times in total). We may have been very fortunate that we were here during Chinese New Year ( 90% of the visitors are Chinese) so there were few divers. It's also a less popular time of year because of the weather. This might explain why we had more Sipadan dives than we expected.
In summary this has been the best diving so far with something new on virtually every dive. Suitable for experienced and novice divers alike. The accommodation and food is good although the Water Bungalows are better. Staff are friendly and helpful. Overall we were very impressed and would recommend it.
Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur is 11 hours and then KL to Tawau another 2 hours 45.
From Tawau to port of Sempora is 1.5 hours by minibus and then 45 mins by speedboat to Mabul. All in all it will take the best part of 24 hours to get there.
Don't be put off by the weather forecast from the UK. It was appalling for us in early Feb 2013 and we wondered what we had done. It turned out to be sunshine all but for one day out of twelve.
The island is idyllic and if you can see past the less than perfect bathrooms of the chalets it's a fabulous setting. The water bungalows are a far higher standard but if you are here for the diving the chalets are fine. No tea and coffee making facilities in the room but we asked for a kettle and then got tea, coffee and milk from the restaurant. There is a fridge and TV in the room the BBC World on channel 512. No hair drier though. The sockets are UK three pin square.
You won't need any cash except for tips at the end of your stay. Tee shirts and shorts is all you will wear daytime and evening.
The dive centre is very well organised and the hardest thing you will do all week is pull your wet suit on, everything else is done for you. After one dive we knew how everything worked.
Dives around Mabul and Kapalai are two in the morning and one in the afternoon. You will return to the island after each dive, an hours break between the morning dives and 2.5 hours for lunch.
Diving Sipadan Island ( 15 minutes by speedboat) is awesome. The breaks between dives are similar but you spend them on Sipadan Island where the guys will prepare drinks and lunch for you. There are toilets, shade and showers on the island ( no toilet paper though ).
The visibility is less than we are used to in the Red Sea but the amount and variety of things to see means it's not an issue.
We were told that we could expect one trip to Sipadan and anything more would be a bonus. In the event, because the resort was relatively quiet, we dived Sipadan every other day ( 6 times in total). We may have been very fortunate that we were here during Chinese New Year ( 90% of the visitors are Chinese) so there were few divers. It's also a less popular time of year because of the weather. This might explain why we had more Sipadan dives than we expected.
In summary this has been the best diving so far with something new on virtually every dive. Suitable for experienced and novice divers alike. The accommodation and food is good although the Water Bungalows are better. Staff are friendly and helpful. Overall we were very impressed and would recommend it.
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Date of stay: February 2013Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:Â Detached chalets are best. Try to get one facing the sea and not on the second row back.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We transferred here from another resort on the island and the staff at Smart could not have been more helpful to help with that move. The rooms are nice, clean, quiet and comfortable. The staff are friendly and very helpful. The SCUBA staff are professional and gave us confidence they had our safety (and theirs) in mind at all times. The food was nice and overall we really enjoyed our stay here. The resort has everything you need for a great family stay, and things to keep the kids happy as well. Make sure you book a permit for Sipadan in advance with them as it is stunning!
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Date of stay: January 2019Trip type: Travelled with family
Location
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We were spend one week in SMART resort, mostly with diving program.
Transfer from/to Tawau airport by car and boat - very good organization.
Resort have very nice localization and amazing sea view. Food is generally very good, if you like mostly chinese food.
Diving was nice and very good organized. Boat were comfortable. Staff very friendly and helpfull.
Problems:
- For 5 days you have only 1 day in Sipadan Island, Kapalai and Mabul Island now are mostly broken, you dive generally in artificial reef built by the resorts.
- 2nd day of diving in Sipadan cost around 120 USD, and in SMART you have only 3 dives daily, for the 4th dive you must pay extra 100 RMR,around next 27 USD,
- Price quite big regarding to other diving resort - Nitrox bottle 12l cost you 38 RMR - around 9 USD.. :-) crazy,
- bottle of beer Tiger cost in the SMART resort bar around 9 USD :-) crazy
Transfer from/to Tawau airport by car and boat - very good organization.
Resort have very nice localization and amazing sea view. Food is generally very good, if you like mostly chinese food.
Diving was nice and very good organized. Boat were comfortable. Staff very friendly and helpfull.
Problems:
- For 5 days you have only 1 day in Sipadan Island, Kapalai and Mabul Island now are mostly broken, you dive generally in artificial reef built by the resorts.
- 2nd day of diving in Sipadan cost around 120 USD, and in SMART you have only 3 dives daily, for the 4th dive you must pay extra 100 RMR,around next 27 USD,
- Price quite big regarding to other diving resort - Nitrox bottle 12l cost you 38 RMR - around 9 USD.. :-) crazy,
- bottle of beer Tiger cost in the SMART resort bar around 9 USD :-) crazy
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Date of stay: June 2018Trip type: Travelled with friends
Value
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip:Â stand alone chalet - very nice option
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Me and my bf have visited to Mabul, Sipadan & Kapalai in the August and we stayed 5days 4 nights at SMART Mabul Divers Resort. We have choose to stay at the standard chalet. The room no doubt is very basic, no TV. But very spacious. 1 Thing i like most is it has a balcony that facing to the beach! There are 3 different types of accommodation available in SMART- Stand alone chalet, Standard Chalet or Water Bungalow. If you don't might to pay a little big higher, then you should go for Water Bungalow!
The food is ok. At least 1 BBQ dinner per week. Free flow of drinks. And we manage to get the permission to go to Sipadan Island on our 2Nd day but we have to pay an Extra RM70 per pax as the management claim that is the charges to buy the pass from another resort.
Besides than diving and snorkeling, the other activities are including kayaking, volleyball, cycling or visit the nearby village. There are 2 souvenir shops in the resort but suggested you to walk to the nearby village to search for the local handmade goods.
Last but not least, thanks to the management & staff for the special beach side dinner arrangement. Both of us like it very much! What to be sure, we will be back again!!
Tips to get for the Sipadan island entry permission: Avoid to go during peak season and school holiday.
The food is ok. At least 1 BBQ dinner per week. Free flow of drinks. And we manage to get the permission to go to Sipadan Island on our 2Nd day but we have to pay an Extra RM70 per pax as the management claim that is the charges to buy the pass from another resort.
Besides than diving and snorkeling, the other activities are including kayaking, volleyball, cycling or visit the nearby village. There are 2 souvenir shops in the resort but suggested you to walk to the nearby village to search for the local handmade goods.
Last but not least, thanks to the management & staff for the special beach side dinner arrangement. Both of us like it very much! What to be sure, we will be back again!!
Tips to get for the Sipadan island entry permission: Avoid to go during peak season and school holiday.
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Date of stay: August 2011Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ALSO KNOWN AS
smart divers hotel pulau mabul
LOCATION
MalaysiaSabahSemporna DistrictPulau Mabul
NUMBER OF ROOMS
45
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Frequently Asked Questions about Smart Divers Resort
What are some of the property amenities at Smart Divers Resort?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include a pool, an on-site restaurant, and a lounge.
What food & drink options are available at Smart Divers Resort?
Guests can enjoy an on-site restaurant and a lounge during their stay.
Are there opportunities to exercise at Smart Divers Resort?
Yes, guests have access to a pool during their stay.
Does Smart Divers Resort have airport transportation?
Yes, Smart Divers Resort offers airport transportation for guests. We recommend calling ahead to confirm details.