Eco Divers News

Cary Yanny takes over management of Eco Divers Resort Lembeh

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:31:03 +0600

As Gary and Louise come to the end of their year's management contract at Eco Divers Resort Lembeh (formerly Lembeh Cottages) this month, they leave us in great shape. Under their management, Eco Divers Resort Lembeh developed from a collection of humble cottages into a top quality dive resort.

Whilst our customers have enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and smooth, consistent personalised service, we know that this has been achieved by many hours of hard work, a constant focus and huge commitment by Gary and Lou as well as their senior staff, Rustam and Berty, and the excellence of the entire team.

Gary and Lou have been the finest of ambassadors for Eco Divers, setting a very high standard of service, which has taken Eco Divers Resort Lembeh to new heights. The vast majority of guests who have dived with them have told us how extremely satisfied they were - a level of satisfaction that has been reflected consistently with a high ranking on TripAdvisor. We are extremely grateful to Gary and Lou and wish the very best for their future. We know that they will continue to be model professionals and will be successful and happy. Goodbye and thanks!

And so it's a warm welcome to someone you have known over the years and who has been a major player in the success of Eco Divers generally. The next phase of management for Eco Divers Resort Lembeh will be in the highly experienced hands of...Cary Yanny! From September, Cary will run our Resort and dive operation and, if you've dived with her before, you'll know this means that our great service will continue and grow. It also means that there'll be much fun to be had as Cary brings her own, unique personality to the Resort. Now is the time to come and dive with her and enjoy Cary's immense knowledge of the area's dive sites and marine life, as well as her underwater photography skills.

Eco Divers, Lembeh Cottages; voted No 1 in all of Sulawesi!

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:14:51 +0600

Having enjoyed a top spot on TripAdvisor as No 1 Hotel in Bitung, Lembeh Cottages has now confidently moved to top notch spot as best Hotel in all of Sulawesi.

What an achievement for the Eco Divers' team, having worked so proudly to give guests a first-class service with the diving, the cuisine and the accommodation. And it's paid off.

Just read the feedback from recent clients who have enjoyed the attention to detail, the seam-free diving and the top-notch cuisine (sourced locally on a daily basis with custom orders being taken each and every morning!).

Sounds like it's time you experienced it for yourself.

Contact us today or visit our website Lembeh pages to find out more.

Meet our new managers at Eco Divers, Manado

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 20:31:42 +0600

A warm welcome to Saaya Sorrells-Weatherford and Karl ter Vehn Lexell as they join us at Eco Divers, Manado in Kima Bajo Resort.

Saaya & Karl are both PADI MSDT Instructors and Emergency First Response Instructors. They also teach PADI specialties including Nitrox, Night, Deep and Digital Underwater Photography. Saaya and Karl previously managed a dive operation in Thailand.

Get to know them better...

Saaya, although an American citizen, was born and raised in Tokyo and speaks fluent Japanese. She is an Emergency First Response Instructor and Care for Children with AED Instructor. After graduating from the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts with a bachelor's degree in Film Production, she spent a year back in Japan before rediscovering her passion for diving. She decided to drop everything and move to Palau to work on her Divemaster and kept going from there, completing her IDC in Phuket and then moving to Thailand.

Karl worked as a Construction & Product Manager at the Swedish exhibition centre in Gothenburg before starting his diving career. He also worked as a teacher at the University of Central America, in Nicaragua. In his first season as an instructor he worked in Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras before moving on to work in Nicaragua for two years as a dive centre manager/instructor. Karl then moved on to the Perenthian Islands, Malaysia, and on to Thailand before joining us here in North Sulawesi.

We wish them both an enjoyable and fulfilling time working with Eco Divers and they look forward to meeting you just as soon as you can make it.

Photo of the week winner

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:33:00 +0600

This great picture of not one but TWO Pigmy Seahorses take the 'Photo of the week winner' this week.

Well done Debbie Moffit for taking such a great picture, go on be honest did you even see the second one? :o)

Update on Mount Lokon activity

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 20:34:11 +0600

Having closely monitored the situation here over the past days, we can tell you that travelling to and diving with Eco Divers is safe and the diving and resorts have not been affected in any way whatsoever.

Our dive centre at Lembeh is almost 40 kilometres from the volcano and our centre at Kima Bajo, Manado, is about 30 kilometres away.

The airport at Manado is open and neither of our dive centres have had any problems at all. In fact our Managers at Lembeh Cottages, Gary and Lou, only found out about it via the UK press!

Mount Lokon is still growling but mainly with ash and smoke and, as this is a mountainous region, any lava flows cannot affect our centres.

As you can see from this photo by Christian Loader, The Digital Centre Manager, Mount Lokon is well away in the distance with Bunaken Island and Manado Tua on the right.

Eco Divers Lembeh Cottages Resort & Spa wins TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 14:57:43 +0600

Thanks to the popularity and high levels of service and diving at Eco Divers Lembeh Cottages, the team has consistently been awarded excellent ratings on the popular travel website, TripAdvisor. This has resulted in TripAdvisor recognising the Resort and awarding a Certificate of Excellence, 2011.

"We regularly receive 4.5 out of 5 and it's rewarding to know that so many guests have such a great time staying and diving here," explains Gary Ball, who managers Lembeh Cottages Resort & Spa along with Louise Kraechter. "The fact that we are the only dive centre in Indonesia to offer a unique experience of diving from a liveaboard by day followed by eating, relaxing and sleeping in a resort each night is where we really score well."

Lembeh Cottages is a boutique resort and spa offering personalised dive services, immaculate accommodation and exceptional cuisine. With a price of just US$90 per person per night, including all meals, tax & service, free wireless internet and airport transfers, Lembeh Cottages is also the best value for money in Lembeh.

All 12 rooms are en-suite, air-conditioned and comfortably furnished. There is an outside restaurant, bar and lounge, indoor 'quiet' lounges, professional Indonesian spa, full photo and video centre and camera rooms.

Visit Lembeh Cottages for the full picture on diving the warm waters of the Lembeh Strait or Bunaken Marine Park or email info@eco-divers.com

Eco Divers is 10 years old!

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:39:14 +0600

April 2011 is a great date in our calendar as it marks exactly 10 years since we opened our doors to welcome divers to North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

The first thing we want to do on our birthday is to thank every single one of you who has dived with us over those ten wonderful years. We trust we gave you some great holiday memories and hope you'll be back to help us see in the next 10 years.

Your Eco Divers' Team

Dive centres band together for excellent customer service & discount diving

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 14:19:33 +0600

The global world of scuba diving has a huge choice of dive centres; either for dive courses, day diving or liveaboard safaris. So disparate is the choice that a group of like-minded companies, Eco Divers being one of them, have banded together to offer a service that stands out above the crowd and offers a consistent standard of teaching, guiding, equipment and customer fulfilment.

Global Dive Network (GDN) was formed on the back of the frustrations that not all dive businesses are the same. Some appeal to a mass tourism, some appeal to a 'qualify me quick and don't mind how you do it' customer and others appeal to those who want to feel valued, have a high quality experience and be sure their chosen dive centre is well-respected and accredited.

GDN links a number of businesses with no other connection except a strong reputation for training excellence, value for money and delivering consistent customer service.

There are seven members of GDN (see below), the majority of which are PADI Career Development Centres with world class reputations, headed by PADI Course Directors. Their shared business practices set strict regulations that allow membership of GDN. All members are in agreement on the level of service required and anyone failing to meet this will have their membership revoked.

Diving guests also benefit from a discount reward scheme run throughout all the member centres. This rewards guests if they've dived with any of the GDN centres as well as giving peace of mind that when they choose a GDN centre anywhere in the world, they know it operates to dependable high standards.

GDN's mission is "to provide excellent customer service by putting the client first, ensuring safety, and providing education and experiences that go beyond their expectations."

www.globaldivenetwork.com

GDN members are:
Blue Season Bali, Indonesia
Buddha View Resort, Thailand
Eco Divers, Indonesia
Emperor Divers, Red Sea
Poseidon Divers, Red Sea
Prodive Cairns, Australia
Utila Dive Center, Honduras

For more information, please contact info@eco-divers.com

Andrea Bensi joins Eco Divers' management team

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:09:44 +0600

With over ten years of experience in managing a dive centre and resort business in North Sulawesi, a pure passion for diving and a myriad of marketing experience, it is with delight that Jim and Cary Yanny, owners of Eco Divers, announce the appointment of Andrea Bensi to their management team as co-owner and Managing Director.

Eco Divers is renowned for its popular diving services in Bunaken and Lembeh, Manado, North Sulawesi. With Andrea on board, the company will be taking the diving services at Eco Divers Manado and Eco Divers Resort Lembeh to an even higher level.

These include Eco Divers' 'green credentials'; a focus very much at the heart of the company's ethos, which addresses environmentally responsible tourism and sustained livelihoods to improve the lives of staff and their families.

Jim and Cary explained, "We are delighted to be partners with Andrea. Having been friends for several years we have always had great respect for him on both a personal and professional level. We have one of the most admired people in North Sulawesi as part of our Eco Divers' team and are looking forward to sharing his extensive knowledge and to seeing our staff and customers benefit from his management skills. This is a new era for us and we believe that we make one of the strongest management teams to be found anywhere in Indonesia, not just North Sulawesi. The benefit to our guests will be an even higher level of customer service and satisfaction than before. And that's saying something as we receive such positive reviews, as endorsed on TripAdvisor."

"I am thrilled to be part of Eco Divers' family," said Andreas, "as this is one of the leading dive businesses in Indonesia. I have always prized the high level of service offered to its guests and I believe that, together, we'll achieve even higher results in terms of customer satisfaction, which is our first goal."

Andrea was previously a partner in Celebes Divers and, until recently, Sales & Marketing Manager for Liveaboard Ocean Rover and knows what to offer the discerning diver and guest. He speaks several languages and is an avid diver and underwater photographer.

Eco Divers will be at the ADEX show in Singapore on 22 - 24 April; an ideal opportunity to meet the team and find out about exciting new plans for diving in Manado.

If you would like more information on the show, email info@eco-divers.com

The drinks are on us at Eco-Divers Lembeh Cottages!

Thu, 23 Dec 2010 20:53:14 +0600

Well they were for this night anyway... the bar welcomed its first guest. As the first guest into the new bar it's a big thanks to Christian for drinking our beer, watching satellite TV and relaxing on a comfy sofa.

How to build a bar and go grey in just 6 weeks!

Thu, 23 Dec 2010 20:29:33 +0600

After just 6 weeks of very hard work by a small team of builders, some of our staff, cottages assistant manager and even Lou and I we are all finished with the building of our amazing new lounge and in time for Christmas! As you can see from these pictures taken once every week we have really shown what can be done with the Eco Divers team spirit. So for all the guests that visited during the construction and said we would never make it for Christmas ... see I told you so! Phew !!

Lembeh Cottages: Happiness is....a new spa, outdoor lounge, bar & dining area

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 17:02:30 +0600

Happiness abounds as we've started work on the next big development at Lembeh Cottages. A new outdoor lounge bar and dining area is being added and work is progressing fast - we're due to open in December in time for the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

The design is elegant yet welcoming, featuring comfortable sofas, soft lighting and overhead fans. It will be the perfect place to relax after a great days diving. The bar will have TV screens for those wishing to view their slides or videos, or maybe to watch a live sport event. Breakfast will be served in the restaurant. Dinner will continue to be the 'private dining experience' in the air-conditioned Cottage Dining Rooms, with a personal chef for each six guests, as this service has proved to be extremely popular. However, the restaurant will be available to dive club groups who wish to dine together outdoors and we'll also be offering regular barbeques when the weather allows.

Did you know that we've recently opened a new spa at Lembeh Cottages where we're offering a professional Indonesian massage service.

Three more Guest Rooms have recently been opened at Lembeh Cottages, taking our capacity up to 18 beds.

Lembeh Cottages is already the #1 hotel in Bitung on respected travel website Trip Advisor but these new developments will take your holiday experience to the next level.

Find out more - email us directly at info@eco-divers.com

First Aid and Fun !

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 17:14:27 +0600

Remember, remember the 5th of November... safety first! Well ... no fireworks in Lembeh but safety is always on our calendar and this 5th of November we had another staff first-aid refresher day. Even the staff on days off came along to Nautica for a day of training and fun during which we went over subjects like Basic First Aid, O2 Admin, CPR, DCS and much much more.

A big well done to all from Lou and I and thanks for a great day, the singing alone was worth it...

After the hard work of the latest First Aid Refresher our team had time to relax together and spend some time having fun in the amazing Lembeh Straits. Some decided after all these years of listening to guests telling them about the things they had seen it was time to do it for themselves so Lou took each of these 'Next Generation Guides' for a unforgettable intro dive one to one. All had a great time but it looks like we will need a new accountant, chef and some hostesses as they all want to become guides! Oh well better looking than the current ones...

Eco Divers appoints Scubazoo to manage the ONLY Digital Photo Centre in North Sulawesi

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 18:07:44 +0600

Eco Divers' is delighted to announce the appointment of Scubazoo to manage The Digital Centre, the only dedicated photo and video centre in North Sulawesi at Kima Bajo Resort & Spa and Lembeh Cottages, from 1 October 2010.

As South East Asia's leading underwater filming and photography company, Scubazoo has strong credentials in this speciality having been involved in underwater filming for the BBC, National Geographic, Discovery, Animal Planet, CNN, and ITV. The team has been running resort-based film studios since they were founded in 1996 and their service and video quality is second to none. Having videographers in the water with High Definition cameras means the best possible DVDs are on offer to diving guests.

The Digital Centre will be managed by Christian Loader (pic left), a very talented underwater photographer who has been with Scubazoo for more than four years. Christian's growing passion for underwater photography has seen him score several online awards as well as the cover of Asian Diver magazine.

Jim Yanny, Managing Director of Eco Divers, explains, "Working with Scubazoo will add a whole new dimension to the services that Eco Divers will be able to offer its guests, instantly setting us apart as the centre in North Sulawesi most able to offer support to photographers and videographers.

Scubazoo has earned their worldwide reputation as being one of the very best in the business for making underwater still and moving images. Having their knowledge and experience in-house means we'll can attract more people who want to learn from true professionals. We'll be looking at increasing the number of seminars and workshops we offer and having lots more fun with underwater photography from 2011 onwards. In preparation we are building new photo centres at Kima Bajo Resort and at Lembeh Cottages."

The Centres are fully equipped with state-of-the-art hardware and software, providing an enormous range of photo, video, editing & printing services including:

Guest filming and DVDs
Daily diving & North Sulawesi 'hilites' - DVD with 20-30 minutes of edited video of your best moments diving plus 20 minutes of the best footage of Bunaken/Lembeh all edited to music
North Sulawesi 'hilites' - DVD with 20 minutes of the best footage of Bunaken/Lembeh all edited to music
Personal filming such as private dive films, weddings, snorkelling etc
Guest diver photography
Underwater videography & photography courses
Underwater camera rental - D200 in Nexus housing with strobes
Download your digital images to CD or DVD-R

For more information, visit www.digitalcentreindonesia.com or email info@eco-divers.com

2010 student trainees with Eco Divers

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 09:38:25 +0600

This Year too we are very happy to have with us 4 young boys and girls from the nearby high school. Ema, Jenita, Analfi and Fahmi will stay with us for few months learning how it is like working in the diving industry.

This is the 3rd year in a row that Eco Divers is joining this program with School. We have been always very happy about the attitude and sweetness shown by the trainees and have to say that they have been always hard working and fun.

Eco Divers fully support this program as it is very good for the local community and for the local diving industry.

You can see the fun they are having jumping from our Jetty, our philosophy is that diving is work but also is fun :) .