DIVE LOG AUSTRALASIA FEB 2025 ISSUE 410

Wakatobi Resort; a beacon for the future

W akatobi is situated two hours and forty minute flight ENE of Bali at the southern tip of Sulawesi. It’s very remote! The resort has such exceptional service, a fascinating history and a very progressive philosophy that I would like to tell you more about it. Sunset view right in front of your cabin text and photos by Mike Scotland

The service The owners, Lorenz and Valentin are Swiss. They are focused on service. They started with a long-term plan to make a serious difference in both the health of the coral ecosystem, the quality of lives for the local peoples, the resort and better quality diving experience for the guests. They even envision a plan to drive environmentalism by making a model resort, hopefully to be emulated.. There are so many features about the resort that are special, unique and next level.

The service is equal to a five-star hotel. All of the staff are very friendly, genuine and love to chat and get to know you. You are always greeted by your name with a big friendly smile. I always challenge myself to learn a few words of the language of each country that I visit. Sometimes this does get you into a bit of a spot when you pronounce something incorrectly and you do not have the skills to explain yourself. Most of the time it is extremely well received. The faces of the staff light up when you greet them with a ‘Selamat Pagi’ (Good morning). They really appreciate the small effort that you might make to learn about the language and their culture. The resort employs about five hundred people. Most of them come from neighboring islands. This way, a lot of money filters down into the local communities supporting so many families. In addition, these staff are trained and develop professional skills. They also donate equipment to local schools as part of their community outreach. The staff are eager to know where you are from and to learn about your family. The waiters in the restaurant anticipate your orders and even go that extra step. One example of this is the ice cream. There are quite a few flavours of ice cream on offer. I am not sure exactly how they do it in such a remote location, but the ice cream is absolutely wonderful; creamy, yummy and moreish. Bearing in mind that the nearest dairy farm is thousands of kilometres away. I ordered one scoop of chocolate and one of mango. My waiter suggested the hazelnut and brought out three scoops

Arms of a Brittle star on a fan coral

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DIVE LOG Australasia #410 - February ‘25

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