Kapalai is one of the most beautiful places on earth and I feel so lucky to have spent time there.

It has all been said by previous reviewers , the over water bungalows are beautifully appointed and designed. The bathrooms hav viewing platforms so cleaning your teeth watching ( or being watched by) sting rays is pretty amazing.
Turtles were frquent visitors to the resort at night.

I don't dive (yet) but had an amazing time snorkelling .There were scores of turtles and reef sharks all incredibly relaxed with people.

Some previous reviewers commented about the food and felt that it was not so good. I really disagree and feel that it could not have been bettered ! The very best use was made of fab local ingredients , fresh veggies lightly steamed or stir fried , a couple of salad dishes and a couple of great fish dishes for lunch or dinner.

Kapalai is unmissable. I skipped going back to a resort in KK and flew straight back to London from here. Was so pleased to have done so .

Chances are you will have travelled far to reach here and will be staying a few days - it's worth it.

1. The Diving at Sipadan is incredible - quite fantastic
2. The Kapalai resort is the closest to the island.

Good things about the resort:

1. Well organised
2. Airport pick up was seamless and relaxed
3. Staff very friendly and are always smiling
4. Diving "full service" i.e. all BCD's and tanks done by boat crew
5. Dive scheduling very well run
6. Best divemaster I've ever gone with (Eiko Yoshida)
7. Nice sociable areas and places to read quietly/relax
8. Relaxed atmosphere
9. Great rooms with outdoor deck areas to watch sunsets etc.

Things which need to be improved:

1. The food. It ranged from pretty tasty on occasions to motorway service station terrible on a daily basis. Diving makes you hungry, so most people were shovelling done huge quantities without complaint. I did start to wander what it would be like if the resort was owned by The French or Italians? The Malayasian food was also average. They did have nice yellow watermelon, which was very good.
2. They need to put personal safes in the rooms. For $180 per day, you think they could afford a better system that putting things in envelopes and handing them in at reception.
3. The boatboys stole my flip-flops on two occasions - cheeky and arguably harmless, it was still very frustrating as the decking gets very hot during thje mid-day sun.
4. Not enough sun-loungers when resort is full (or sunny)

The diving was awesome, and it's the nicest and closest pleace to Sipadan - so overall a very good stay!

We just returned from an 8 day stay on Kapalai with my wife and 14 year old twin daughters. All of us dive and all of us had a good time. One of my daughters is talking about saving her money to come back. The bungalows are beautiful and well maintained the setting us as we imagined.
This resort revolves around diving, although a non-diver who likes the sun and snorkeling would have a great trip. A bonus was a week of no TV and none of us was bored.
The staff went out of their way to make sure everything was taken care of. The only complaint would we that the food was just OK.
Overall I would highly recommend this resort.

I stayed at Kapalai 14 - 18 March 2008. 5 days is not enough and the resort is fantastic. It's a diver's paradise! One is spoilt rotten. Everything is taken care of - all you need to do is show up for your dives.

There are 3 boat dives a day and unlimited pier dives at the resort. Everything is very well organised.The dive masters are GREAT. I was a bit unsure on my first day since I haven't dived for a few years - I got one-on-one sessions with the dive masters and couldn't get enough of diving by the 2nd/3rd day. I loved it and wished i stayed longer. Meet a guy who stayed there for 3 weeks and wanted to further extend his stay! Many who were there wished they had more time there to

Kapalai resort is the only eco friendly resort at Sipadan. They invest a lot in their water treatment and are serious about conservation. Rubbish is taken back to the mainland for disposal unlike many who just throw it back into the sea. They do a lot to conserve the marine life. For more info on the resort besides their website see www.downbelow.co.uk

The staff can't do enough to help and make my stay comfortable. Very friendly! Food's good. I travelled on my own and had a blast! The resort will pair you up with another traveller (same gender) if you don't want to pay for a single supplement.

I would definitely return!