Chindonan Dive and Beach Resort

This review should not reflect poorly on the staff or diving instruction, which was excellent. This a review on the management. Despite making our checkout time, and being ready by the time told to us by the hotel, we missed our flight due to a 30 minute delay caused by the resort not having their wire details ready. First, there should be more than a 30 minute buffer between guest arrival to the airport and last call to boarding. Secondly, if you aren't going to give that buffer, the management should take responsibility for the missed flight. Insultingly, they offered us a 15% discount on our next stay as compensation. Why would I want to stay at a remote resort that I can't count on to get me to my flight on time? I would be happy to amend this review if this is resolved, because otherwise I had a great experience. However, this interaction with management has soured it.

Chindonan is located in a remote place and I had no problem getting there after being picked up at the port from the ferry - 45 minute speedboat ride. I came here for the diving and it did not disappoint. The food at the restaurant was tasty and offered a variety, including for vegetarians. All units require many steps to get there so it’s not for those who don’t want or cannot walk distances and stairs.

If you are looking for a dive resort for divers, owned/managed by divers, with excellent knowledge of the WWII wrecks, then this is the place for you. The resort is located ~30 min boat ride from Coron, on a beautiful isolated bay on north Chindonan Island. You are made feel welcome from the minute you set foot on the jetty, and part of the family atmosphere surrounded by chill vibe. We took a 10 day 14 dive package, which is excellent value for money (breakfast/dinner included), so that we could relax after a morning dive (or two) and catch the cool afternoon breeze on our balcony. The views and seclusion of the resort, friendliness of the staff, plus excellent (safe) wreck diving, is 5-star quality.

Since I heard of some folks complaining, let me first tell you what Chindonan isn't... it's not a high-end luxury resort. Don't expect amenities such as hot showers, 24-hour electricity, a full-service spa, high-speed internet, and all that. The rooms are spacious but spartan, the aircon struggles to keep you cool. Chindonan is an eco-outpost on a remote island, made for divers and the more adventurous seeking quiet and tranquility amidst natural beauty. If just reviewing the rooms, facilties, and amenities though, I'd rate it a "3". But Chindonan is very much the people. Per P, the dreamer/owner/builder who brought us this place is truly delighted that you chose to come and cares that you have the best stay possible. Matt HM is the dive instructor/dive shop manager who can take you where you never thought you'd go, build your confidence, doing it all with safety foremost in his mind. Chindonan is in a prime location on Coron Bay and it's famous WWII shipwreck diving; the local reefs are worth a visit too. I wish I could remember the names of all the rest of the staff but you are always greeted with a smile, anything they can do for you they will. Again, always with that genuine warm smile. On a scale of 0 to 5, the people rate a "7". My thanks also to the chef(s). Your visit includes a made-to-order breakfast and buffet dinner. The dinner buffet wasn't lavish but always tasty and healthy, typically two entrees, vegetables, salad, soup and dessert. For most of our stay there were only four guests, including us, so any more than this would be wasteful. Averaging a "3" and a "7" we get "5", and that's my rating for Chindonan. Thank you Per, Matt, and the rest of the staff for a wonderful adventure. We're glad you survived the pandemic and we hope to be back soon!

Perfect location, beautiful view. Really spacious and well-maintained bungalows with modern amenities. Professional, knowledgeable dive instructors and a friendly kitchen crew who can whip up western and Filipino dishes. Highly recommended!

No Electric From 7:00 am to 4:30pm NO Hot water.

Wonderful dive resort with excellent staff, but has some important changes to make. We visited this resort in February 2023. We had a great stay with the staff and the accommodation and the diving. The resident, in-house dive instructor is incredibly helpful and has a knowledge about the wrecks and the resort, that is very rare to find. Their Divemaster was also really good. The kitchen staff prepare the best food. A great team. The Danish owner, Per, is also a great guy... If you catch him before 10 in the morning. After that, he starts drinking a strong local beer called 'Red Horse' and his mood quickly changes to paranoid and aggressive. He lets everyone know that he 'doesn't trust anyone'. Even his own family 😢 But the next morning, he forgets everything he has said and expects everyone else to! We noticed that most of his staff disappear between lunchtime and the evening, probably to avoid his increasing paranoia and bad mood. When he is drunk, he has absolutely ZERO management skills and instead shouts at his most loyal staff. He screams at them, in front of guests, calls them 'stupid ******' and it's unbelievable that anyone stays with him. We even saw him throw a dive mask at the dive instructor because the strap was broken! We would love to go back to Chindonan Dive Resort if he either isn't there or he changes his behavior. All of the guests there at the same time as us, talked about his bad attitude. Everyone said they will not go back if he is there. He will eventually destroy his business if he continues drinking all day and bullying his staff. The best people that work for him, will certainly leave him one day if he doesn't change. But even when that happens, he will probably not understand why and still blame everyone except himself. It's a great resort but it has a questionable future with an owner who tells anyone who will listen, that he is 'the boss'. He openly tells his staff 'you are here to serve me''. The staff there seem so afraid of making a mistake that they do nothing, because he lets everyone know that 'I do everything alone'. 'I have no support ' and 'I am alone'. He gets upset when staff do not do what he wants them to do but when they do anything at all, he complains that it isn't good enough! He doesn't know how to manage people except for shouting at them. Very sad to see. A beautiful resort, wonderful people but an owner that is risking everything by behaving so badly.