Villa Markisa Dive Resort Review by bryandchu

Villa Markisa is one of the best dive resorts in Bali. I would not be surprised if it were the best, because it is the nicest place I have ever stayed. The grounds are beautiful, the staff are super friendly and attentive and learn your personal preferences during your stay, and the food is phenomenal (vegetarian and non-vegetarian). They make their own delicious bread, and if you are so inclined, you can have fresh fruit with every meal of the day - both small things, but things that make the stay that much more special.

The rooms are spacious and comfortable, with air conditioning, big beds and nice mosquito nets. They provide you with a metal reusable waterbottle for your stay, and have water dispensers around the grounds, so you never have to use any plastic water bottles. There is a pool for relaxing, and sunbeds laid out in different parts of the grounds, which are covered in greenery and flowers.

The diving is awesome, with great muck dives right off shore (Seraya Secrets) and also available by 5-10 minute boat ride. The USS Liberty, a bucket-list dive site, is less than 10 minutes by boat, and they run 6 am sunrise trips to beat the crowds. There are also some great wall and reef sites for nice wide angle photos. So you really can get a bit of everything. The water is nice and warm, usually quite calm, and strong currents are few and far between.

All of the dive staff are very friendly and competent, from the boat drivers to the boat hands to the dive guides. A typical muck dive had us following a continuous trail of cool critters found by our guide. And when I asked "where can we find X", they usually had a good idea, and we saw some great high value subjects: a mototi octo, harlequin shrimp, a mantis shrimp with eggs, a pygmy seahorse, lady bug amphipods, and lots of cool nudibranchs.

Topside, there are not a ton of activities available on the resort, but the grounds are fantastic and the spa is nice. They can arrange day trips to explore Bali, and there are lots of cool things to see on the island, including terraced rice paddies and Balinese temples.

The bottom line is, you can't go wrong with Villa Markisa, in my opinion it is worth every cent.