We spent several days here at this hotel and have come away with mixed feelings. Now, since I relied on the reviews I read and believe some of them were a bit over-the-top, I will add my own experience here: which is that the hotel might disappoint many. For those not interested in diving, Bunaken island is probably in general not the ideal island anyway. So, here it goes: Location – about 15 mins. on foot from main village, mostly through a sort of jungle road (there’s not much there to find, but there are some basic convenience stores as well as a cafe/restaurant). The road is mostly paved, but there are still some muddy parts which are unpleasant when it rains. After it gets dark (around 6:30-7pm), you walk mostly in the dark – but I don’t think there’s any question of safety. The hotel is partly on the beach (the reception area and the two seaview bungalows and the other part (restaurant and other rooms) on the other side of the narrow road. Beach: The hotel is one of the few on this side of the island that offers a beach. However, the beach is neglected, fringed by litter and discarded items. The sea looks beautiful but when you go in, you discover the sand is murky, the seabed covered by seaweed and the water is shallow. It is true, there is a beautiful coral reef at this beach – the thing is that this coral reef cannot be accessed for many hours. The reason is that during low tide (which during our stay was somewhere between 10 am and 4 pm), the water is so shallow you cannot swim to the reef and that if you walk, you step on star fish and fresh corals (which you obviously don’t want to do). Furthermore, around 3 pm, the sea water starts to be covered with grimy, gray-brownish bubbles apparently coming from the main village and I wonder whether there’s not some sewage collector being released daily. Arrival: the hotel offers transfer from the mainland, but at a high price (400.000 IDR for two people, one way). You can go to the Manado jetty and see if you can share a ride with a boat already transferring people to Bunaken (we found a ride for 200.000 IDR for two). Just make sure to ask whether the boat docks close to Bunaken beach hotel. On the return, you can pop into other hotels and ask if anyone is leaving and willing to share (that way, we found a ride for 300.000 IDR). Check in: went smoothly, but consisted only of taking us to our room, without any further information (for instance, about meal times, diving prices, hotel policies, or the island). Room: we expected basic, but this was more than basic. • No electricity during the day, so also no fan – and the room turns incredibly hot. The AC in the room did not work. • No hot water (ok, and the water is salty). • Most windows had glass and a mosquito net, but the glass was broken at one and the net had holes. • Above one window in the room and in the bathroom, there are openings in the wall and NO glass and NO mosquito nets! I get that these are for better ventilation, but on a tropical island, you do get creepy-crawly visitors marching/crawling/ flying into the room through these openings during the night. • Sink in the bathroom was dripping throughout our stay. We informed staff, but they ignored us. Luckily there was a bucket available and we placed it under the sink. • Drainage in bath was blocked and water kept flooding the bathroom when we took a shower. Again, we informed staff, and nothing was done. • When staff entered the room to clean, they placed the broom they had used to swipe the floor on the fresh sheets. • Internet did usually not work at the designated are & time. • No toiletries provided, only one towel per person (though we did ask for more). Our seaview bungalow was also wall-to-wall with the next door hotel, so there was quite some noise from there. The owner was very sweet, but needs to understand that sweetness alone is not sufficient. The rooms need to be refurbished, the grounds on the side of the beach need to be cleaned. Meals: 3 meals are included. Meal times were 7:30, 12:30 and 6:30, but you could inform them you would be late and they usually set aside food (only one time, when the hotel was full, did we arrive around 7:30 for dinner and find only some pieces of food left). Breakfast was a bit basic (toast with butter and jam, plus pancakes), but overall, the meals were tasty, buffet style with around 4 different dishes offered (vegetarian meals made upon prior request). At lunch, a glass of fresh fruit juice was served. Hot water as well as coffee/tea sachets were available and complimentary throughout the day. Too bad there were no ice cubes though. Bar: the hotel did not have a bar – it just had some beers in the fridge, from what I saw. However, there is a nice bar right next to the hotel, which might serve only warm beer and some basic drinks, but it has a great atmosphere (and keep in mind that dinner ends the latest around 8 and then there’s not much to do – and there’s no TV around!). Dining area: has to be access via stairs. Unfortunately, only one large communal table on the balcony – so often, you need to sit inside where it is stuffy and the lighting is awful. Outside though, there were many bugs in the evening. Staff: Most were friendly, the owner was very sweet, but most also did not speak any English, which made communication difficult. Diving: I didn’t dive, but my partner did and he used the dive school of the hotel. Prices were good and the dive master was also very good. However, it takes some time to find someone in the dive shop – and since we couldn’t find anyone on the first day, my partner went to another dive school on the second day. Overall, Bunaken Beach is basic value for money as the hotel is quite basic and neglected, but also as the island itself is quite isolated and not a party island that can excuse high hotel prices (about 45 E/night). Manado is furthermore not that far away to be a reason for high transportation costs. I really wish I could write a better review, because our time on the island was lovely - but I also believe the hotel needs to realize that it needs to start fixing things when they break and not to just allow the hotel to gradually fall into a state of neglect.…