We've stayed at The Manta Ray bay Hotel several times over the years & it just keeps getting better & better! It was an awesome experience back in 1998 when we 1st stayed & now with the addition of the Mnuw, swimming pool & Micro Brewery it just became our favourite place in the whole world.
The hotel & staff are fabulous, the dive operation & sites world class. I have over 5000 logged dives, all over Asia pacific (& then some) & to this day my best ever dive has been in Miil channel! Drifting in on the incoming tide, surrounded by mantas, sharks, schooling fish & then settling at the cleaning staion to watch the mantas close up....PRICELESS!!!
just do yourself a favour & go, Yap offers one of the best travel experiences on earth teamed with some of the best diving in the world with superb accomodations & easy access to the dive sites. (a typical 2 tank dive day sees you back to the hotel by noon to early afternoon) The people & culture of yap are incredible & you have to see stone money to believe it.

We stayed at the Mantra Ray Bay Resort for 4 days after a week of diving in Palau. Our room was large and reasonably clean. I think the pillows were quite old and my allergies acted up sleeping on them. The beds were moderately comfortable, but the a/c worked well! They had tv's, but they were just for watching dvds, which was just fine as we didn't spend too much time in the room.

We did 3 days of diving plus one Mandarin Fish dive. I love Mandarin fish and saw plenty, although Rainbow "reef" is more like a murky lagoon. Our boat captain, Henry and dive guide, Tim were very friendly. The dive shop was nice with lockers and lighted dunk tanks. We weren't there at the best time of year for Mantas, but we did see them on about half of the dives. There were so few fish when we were waiting for the mantas to show that we got bored. We dove Lionfish Wall and the Magic Kingdom where the visibility was great and there was a lot more sealife.

The staff at Mantra Ray Bay was as friendly as anywhere I have been. They all learned our names and nobody ever passed us without a friendly greeting. The Cultural Tour and Island Tour were very interesting, it's a facinating island. The food was good, lots of fresh Wahoo and the banana bread at breakfast on our surface intervals was fabulous!

Yap is probably not for everyone, it's certainly not luxury. It seems that the entire island is slightly buzzed on Betel Nut and the constant spitting as well as the unattractive effect it has on everyone's teeth can be a bit off-putting.

We heard about the Manta Ray Bay Hotel through other divers, who couldn't stop talking about their experience on Yap. After 35 hours flying (and sitting at the airport in Palau), we arrived on Yap at 0245, where we were met by hotel staff, who drove us to the hotel, showed us around a bit, took us to our room and told us we could do the necessary paperwork in the morning. The BED -- I thought I'd died and gone to heaven; I never expected such a comfortable bed; it was wonderful. Staff at Manta Ray Bay are special too -- after your first meeting, they call you by your first name the rest of your stay, and they'll do just about anything to ensure your stay is special. I celebrated a birthday while at Manta Ray Bay, and the staff all wished me "Happy Birthday" and arranged breakfast flowers and a very special dinner for me. Another MRBH plus is its in-house brewery, "The Stone Money Brewing Company." We'll happily go back to MRBH in a heartbeat. Oh, yes: the diving, which had brought us to Yap in the first place, was super too.

This was the second trip to the hotel, previous visit being 2004 just after the hotel had been damaged by the hurricane. The stay in 2004 was great. Despite the difficulties caused by the hurricane, the food and accommodation were excellent, the diving unbelievable and the staff made the holiday really memorable.

The hotel has been refurbished and extended (swimming pool, brewery, new dive complex and extra rooms) since the hurricane so the visit this year was even better. The hotel accommodation is first class and with the Mnuw (dhow used as restaurant and bar) back in business, the food was really good value with plenty of variety.

Yap is a diver's dream - it is not a centre for anyone without an interest in diving, snorkling or fishing. Once again the diving was superb - Manta Rays, Sharks, Turtles, Mandarin fish to name just a few.

The hotel and dive staff once again made the holiday. With their friendliness and attitude - nothing is too much trouble - you are encouraged to have a great time.

Cultural trips are available and I would recommend them if you want to understand Yapese culture etc.

Evenings spent in the Mnuw drinking the local brew and talking about the days diving are a great way to pass the time.