For those of you who follow us on social media, you will probably know this already, but for those who don’t, at the beginning of November, Siladen Resort & Spa was voted as the number one dive resort worldwide in the Travel Awards from UK based DIVE magazine. This is the first time DIVE has held this award, which is voted for by the public, along with two further categories; Location (which was won by Indonesia) and Liveabaord.

The votes originally opened earlier in the year, and we were already amazing to find our name on the list, which was also chosen via nominations by the public. As the months rolled by, we were astounded to see that we were either on top, or in the top three. It is an amazing feeling to learn how much we are supported, and for every single person who took part in this, either by nomination or votes, we cannot thank you enough.

After the results were in, we expected a little bit of publicity. Maybe to get our names featured on a page in DIVE magazine and their website. What we didn’t expect was for us to appear all over national press and television! Multiple Indonesian news outlets picked up on the story and covered it. They were especially proud as Indonesia had also won the best location category. Out of all the various places we have popped up as a result of this award, the most special was probably CNN, who did a several minute story about the award and about us.

You can view the CNN footage here.

DIVE magazine were also looking for guest writers towrite articles about their favourite resort or dive location. If you have stayed with us before, there is a good chance you have met John & Tia, who visit us multiple times each year. We were delighted to find out that they had written an article about us, which you can read here.  An enormous thank you goes to both John and Tia for always supporting us, and of course, for the extremely kind words you wrote about us.

Finally, the biggest thank you of all goes towards the staff, who’s hard work and dedication not only allows us to operate, but to thrive. Each member has played a hugely important role here, and this award gives them the acknowledgment they deserve. Many of them have been with us since day one, so it was great to see the pride on their faces when we announced that we had claimed the top spot.

Now the next challenge is to further improve, and hopefully we can win again next year!