Just thought I’d post some new and updated pictures of the resort. More to follow!
MAD about US, on its 4th year, is the first and only running underwater photo competition in the Philippines. Acacia Resort joins the MAD organizers in promoting ecological awareness in the seas that we all know and love.
This year’s categories are as follows:
Macro
Wide
Black and White
With prizes for first, second and third place.
There will be 3 classes where participants may join:
Special Beginner: Point and shoot camera without any external source of lighting (in-
camera flash only
Intermediate: Point and shoot camera with external source of lighting (Strobes and torches
considered to be external light sources.)
Open Class: No restrictions on equipment used.
Special Notes:
1. Photographers with works that have been printed in any publication are automatically
placed in the Open Class.
2. Photographers with experience of 2 years or more are automatically placed in the
Intermediate class.
To participate, the MAKDiver 5 Star IDC will be open for registration on the dates of the
competition. Participants are requested to register at the said diveshop before proceeding
to their respected dive operators. MakDiver is located at Unit 4, Marimar Building along P Niogan St. in Mabini, Batangas. It is on the way to Anilao.
Registration will be open on the competition dates at MAKDiver. from 7 in the morning
until 5 in the afternoon on March 20, 6 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon on March
21 and 22, and from 7 in the morning until 12 noon on March 23.
Pictures are to be submitted again at MAKDiver no later than 7PM of March 23, in JPEG
format. Processing will be allowed with the following restrictions:
1. Cropping – no more than 20% of the original image size
2. Processing – Only global effects will be allowed (brightness, contrast, sharpness)
3. Any form of spot editing will NOT be allowed.
4. Addition of watermarks on submitted images will not be allowed
Images are to submitted in JPEG format. No other format will be accepted (RAW, PSD, TIFF
etc). Participants are highly encouraged to submit images at the highest possible
resolution.
Participants are allowed to submit a total of three (3) pictures, one for each category.
Should participants wish to put in more entries, images in excess of 3 may be submitted
for a fee of P500.00.
Image printing will be taken care of by MAD about US and will be on display on the
awarding night at the Ayala Museum on April 2, 2009, at 7PM.
Judges for this year include:
Marissa Floirendo
Kai Huang
Scott Gutsy Tuason
Prizes this year include:
Doxa watch worth P150,000
Halcyon BC’s
Henderson Wetsuits
Overnight Accomodations in various resorts in Anilao, Cebu, Bohol, Davao and other
destinations in the Philippines.
And much more!
MAD about US would like to thank the following for participation in this year’s
competition:
Globe Telecom
STI Colleges
Dive Solana
Acacia Resort
Halcyon
Henderson
Doxa
One time offer only! On December 19-21, Acacia will be having Open Water Certification by PADI. Instructor is Dong Vergara.
For PhP17,000, you get:
3d2n Accomodation at Acacia Resort (Room sharing)
Full board meals
PADI Open Water Course (Book, License, etc)
Gear Rental
Tank Rentals
Boat Fare (Checkout dives)
Divepass
Again, this is a one-time only offer from Acacia Resort. Email oliver@acaciadive.com or call +639178271780 for details and reservations.
Forgive me for not having updated the blog for some time now, it has been really busy the past couple of months in preparation for operation.
With that said, we’re very happy to announce that Acacia Resort and Dive Center is now open! Last October 18, 2008, Acacia hosted a simple dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony, with Department of Tourism Undersecretary Cynthia Carreon cutting the ribbon and Stefan Suarez leading the dedication. Unfortunately, I myself wasn’t able to take pictures of my own during the ceremony. I’ll try to copy some pictures off of people who were able to take pictures during the ceremony and post them here.
For now however, overdue pics of the completed grounds.
Our new buffet table, designed by Stephen David.
Will post a more detailed update soon 
For now, pictures first.
The past couple of weeks have been pretty busy for the resort’s construction and completion. Since the last update, the kitchen’s arrived and been installed, just waiting for the gas lines, the landscaping’s been started, the viewdeck on the lower level’s also been started, heaters, exhaust fans and other room amenities have been installed, and so on.
Pictures taken from last week:
The landscapers arrived also last week, bringing with them the plants and some of the materials like wood and stones to be used throughout the resort.
The kitchen, fabricated by Gomeco, finally arrived last week and was installed throughout the week. At the moment we’re just waiting for the gas lines to be installed and the kitchen will be ready for use.
And on to the pictures from yesterday:
In about 3 – 4 weeks time, we’ll be opening. We’ve actually started accepting guests with pre-opening rates as a sort of soft-operation to smooth out the details. We’ll be posting our pre-opening rates later tonight, so for those interested, please check again here later for that.
Most of the resort’s already in place, just waiting for the kitchen to arrive on Monday, along with some last deliveries for heaters, towels, utensils etc. This weekend, we’re actually closing down due to the heavy preparations we’ll be needing for next week. The landscaping will also start on Monday. Anyway, as usual, pictures offer a better idea of how things are currently going.
First off, the compressor arrived a couple of weeks back. We’ve been filling our own tanks since then, providing Oxygen compatible air as the minimum baseline.
Filtration system built by Matt Cadwell.
Second, the common shower area is almost complete, just waiting for the granite sinks and benches to come in. The acrylic enclosures are already in place and can already be used.
Frosted arcylic for partitions
Plate type shower heads even in the common locker area.
The railings for the entire resort have also been completed 2 weeks ago.
Some of the tables have also already arrived for the dining area. The tops are made of granite called ‘Salt and Pepper’. Still looking for nice chairs to go with these though. Any suggestions are very welcome.
Wooden veranda for the lower floor rooms facing the dining area completed last week.
Diver’s area, dive shop and wash area. Note that the covered wash area is exclusively for photo and video equipment use.
Acacia.
So, for a very VERY overdue update… We’ve started having guests over at the resort last weekend. Currently, there’s no kitchen yet so we have food prepared off-site and then just brought down to the dining area. So far so good. Anyway, the rooms are nearing completion, we’ve only got the bathroom doors to wait for, they’re taking so long because they’re glass and have to be tempered.
Wooden blinds. The room looks a little bare due to its size, we’ll have to fix that with some more bits of furniture and decor.
Wooden deck outside the the upper floor rooms nearing completion.
The glass-enclosed bathroom.
Completed building A, except for the wood decking on the lower floor rooms and some landscaping.
Using the dining area.
Extension dining being decked with wood.
Just a quick update. I’ve had the wash bins for the SCUBA equipment laid down a couple of days back, and I need an excuse to post the night shot of the pool so… LOL.
and…
The pool at night. It glows 
Sorry for the delayed update, have been spending a lot of time at the resort and the internet connection there just won’t allow me to do any uploading. Anyway, what’s new:
Photographer’s area. We’ve set a separate wash area for cameras and other photographic equipment. Underwater photo equipment is one of the biggest investments a diver can make so we think it just right to make a photographer friendly area for washing/cleaning/drying.
We’ve got glass! Finally, the aluminum and glass came in. Well, not completely, but the glass walls/doors are all in, we’re expecting the bathroom enclosures within the week.
The pool’s filled and working! I’ll try to get a night shot of this next time (it glows at night owing to the overkill of lights that I had installed).
This will house the compressor and the tanks that will be used for diving. Still have some modifications to do on the building to properly ventilate it to make sure operating temperatures for the compressor remain optimal.
The washbins for all the other equipment being contructed.
This is what the divers’ area is looking like so far.
