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22-01-2010Welcome to our Guest book.
Feel free to mail your comments about the Bunaken SeaGarden resort. Your opinion is important, words of guests say more than a nice website and a few pictures. So we would like to invite you to give your opinion, let others know what your experiences are.
It is not possible to write directly in our guestbook, sorry for that. If we allow that then the guestbook will be filled up with a lot of spam, advertisements and links to other websites. Please send your comment to the e-mail adres above and we will add it to the guestbook.
Thanks for your understanding. Sonya.
September/October 2011We stayed for 10 days in Seagarden Resort beginning October and we really enjoyed our stay there ! The place is quiet and relaxed, with a magnificent view, friendly people, a beautiful garden and lovely food prepared in the traditional way by Sonya's mother !
It is probably not suited for spoiled and demanding tourists, but if you want to live comfortable without putting too much a burden on the ecological system then Seagarden is the place for you.
No air conditioning, no hot water (who needs hot water in a place where the average temperature is 30^C ! ) and only electricity between 5 PM and about 8 AM, but probably because of this it is a perfect place to relax after diving on the magnificent spots around Bunaken !
Diner is served on one large table for all guests, so you eat with the other guests, which is a very nice way to meet other people, chat with them about their country, job or hobbies want and to exchange your experiences on Bunaken. Often we continued chatting on the table with a nice Bintang beer for hours after having finished our diner !
Also many compliments to Kus-Kus diving : they have a very friendly and helpful staff and we did some marvellous dives there ! However, it is probably not recommended for beginning divers : they provide in the first place diveguides, not dive instructors or masters. The guides are mainly busy searching for interesting sealife to show their guests and not so much in watching them constantly and see if they might have trouble. So, if you are not reasonably experienced you'd better go to a Padi diveschool and them come back to Kus Kus if you feel more comfortable :)
We really want to come back as soon as time and money permits !
Ryan & Kees, Netherlands.
September 2010Bunaken SeaGarden is a very good Dive Resort with a good facility with a good price. The place was lovely and peaceful, the resort was roomy with a terrace, clean and they have a modern bathroom. The Indonesian food was very good, special thanks to Sonya and the staff in the kitchen. This is a great place to be for a short or longer period of time. The place is a good location for snorkeling and the diving activity for my husband was amazing. The owners and their staff are extremely kind, professional and well organized. We had a great time at Sea Garden and we would definately recommend this resort. We will come back the next time!
Marla and Rene, Holland
28-08-2010Hi All. I promised Sonya I would send a guestbook entry, so here goes.
What a fantastic, chilled out and friendly place! Sonya and her staff were so helpful and welcoming. The food was great, the atmosphere relaxing, the house reef absolutely world class, the bungalows were very clean and perfectly adequate and Manis the cat lived up to his name (a real sweetie!). I would recommend Bunaken Seagarden Resort to anyone.
Jos Hirst. UK
August 2010Sophie from Leiden, Holland
Hello everyone, GO TO THIS PLACE!!! is the only thing I can say. My boyfriend and I did a lot of traveling on Sulawesi, we saw a lot of hostels, cottages, hotels, resorts, and this was defenitely the best we experienced! It has the basics (bed, own bathroom, veranda, musquitonet), but, more important: the small little (practical and comfortable) details that missed in all the other Indonesian places we've seen (in the same price range of course). Sonya is a great manager and makes sure everything is exactly as you like: neat, comfortable, practical, clean, etc.
And that is even without talking about the 'more than basics'! Because this place is far more than basic! There's the wonderful surrounding: the lawn around which the cottages are built, the space (this is the most spaceous resort in the row, again, in the same price category), the home-access to the sea and beautiful snorkeling area, the good And copious food, and the more than friendly service and smiles of all the staff.
I could go on for a while, but the bottom line is: you will not regret coming here. Trust me! This is extremely good value for money.
Have fun.
Sophie from Leiden, Holland
June 2010Clay Deb & Erin Sketchley.
Canada
I'll start by saying I've been all over Bunaken looking at all the resorts and stayed at some, Sea Garden is the BEST!!
It was recommended to us by a Dive Instructor who worked on Bunaken for 3 years Sonya and her staff are very friendly and very helpful. The food is FANTASTIC!! Sonya loves to cook and it shows with her varied menu and attention to detail (flowers and candles on the tables even for breakfast). The rooms are well appointed and spotless, cleaned every day! The meticulously maintained grounds are open and breezy which keeps away the mozzies. Some places on the island it is hard to relax in the evening unless you are covered in deet.
The location is perfect for snorkeling at all tides,with thousands of fish and coral.I watched a Banded Sea Snake for 20 min right in front of the resort but then lost him because I was distracted by a Turtle, AMAZING!! If you tire of snorkeling and diving, there is badminton set up on the grounds, not an option at most places! All this within a backpackers budget, I'm serious it's the best deal on the Island. It truly is Champagne lifestyle on a Beer budget, CHECK IT OUT!!!
Thank you Sonya and staff for making us feel special!!!!
April 2010B & S
Dear Sonya and Harrie, How are you?
As for some comments for Bunaken SeaGarden Resort, here you are:
Bunaken Island is a special place. It is a place where you can spend hours without any interruption immersing yourself in the Nature - be it watching ants, shooting pictures of flora, counting stars at night, or snorkeling with literally thousands of fish and coral species, and a place where you will find romance (of course, it helps only if you're travelling with a beautiful woman). I am well travelled but I can tell you this is among the very few places where you will be closest to the Mother Nature.
On the Island where you stay is important, and I recommend Bunaken SeaGarden Resort. At the Cottage you will find, above all, prodigious hospitality. Ask Harrie to show his amazing underwater shots, ask him to show you how he designs his 2nd world Cottages, and builds them in the real world, and if you're lucky, you will be invited to sample the (in)famous local Rum! I am glad that Sonya and Harrie, had the foresight to come to Bunaken before many others else. And the bottom line is we enjoyed our stay, and ourselves, very much.
Happy Travelling!