Alor Tanapi is brand new and the owners are always on-site. Isabelle has exquisite taste in furnishings and meals. As usual in Indonesia, the service is top notch. The rooms were some of the most modern I've ever stayed in, with cords to fit every electrical device and outlets to match. Isabelle told me she hates to travel and experience a shortage of outlets so she made sure nobody was in need of an outlet.
A/C was crazy good. Meals were excellent and varied between Asian and Western. The only thing people need to be aware of with the lodging is the rooms are all below the restaurant a couple of floors so you need to walk to the top of the resort for all meals. It keeps your thighs in shape to do 3 dives a day.
The dive operation does not have a jetty so you wade out to the boat, but that's no big deal. Just bring your dive booties or water shoes to wade out to the boat. I used flip flops, because I only have fully enclosed fins and don't use booties. They were a little slippery, but the dive crew made sure I never slipped. They hope to have Nitrox by next year.
The conditions are different from other places I have dived in Indonesia. The water can be much cooler and a 5 ml wetsuit is recommended. I borrowed someone's insulated vest to go under my 3 ml wetsuit or I would have been really cold. I did 3 dives a day and made 41 dives in my 2 1/2 week stay in Alor with that setup. One gal even had a 7 ml she wore the whole time.
The currents are something to be aware of. During a full moon, the currents can be very unpredictable and the water can get very cold. Deep water comes from below and it brings water in the low 70"s F, but can also bring hammerhead sharks and sometimes mola-mola. Unfortunately, I did not see either during my stay. What I did see was one of the craziest events I've ever seen diving. While we were boating from dive 1 to dive 2, we passed through a narrow channel that was known for very cold water from down deep for about an hour a day. When we arrived at that spot, the water became very churned up with huge waves because of the crashing warm/cold waters meeting. I put my hand in the water and it was icy cold. We were there to experience that unusual event as the fishermen arrive in their local boats with nets and just scoop up the stunned fish that are too cold to swim properly and pop out of the water to escape predation. Dolphins stand by really close to eat as the fish get stunned. One of my boat crew just reached down and scooped up a stunned fish with his hands! Quite extraordinary.
I love muck diving and the bay offers quite a few muck diving sites. It's not as good as Lembeh Strait, but I did see the usual suspects: pipefish, seahorses, one Rhinopia, clown fish, sea snakes, ribbon eels, frogfish, etc. Take your sandstick.
The corals were brilliant and abundant and as healthy as they come. It reminded me of Papua New Guinea corals 10 years ago. As long as the diver is aware of the crazy currents and colder water, he/she should have an enjoyable time diving with Alor Tanapi. I wouldn't call Alor a place for newbies, however.
Owners Isabelle and Ken cannot possibly do any more to make you a happy diver. <((((<