I staid a few days in Gangga Island resort, which was recommended by friends (who, just like me, are not divers). Our experience was very different, and it seems the explanation is that during my stay (there were very few clients) the owners were out of the country, the manager was out of the island, and the whole team was left to itself.
I may also say here that I probably have a personal sensitivity to noise (the water dropping next door that would annoy just one person: that would be me).

So first things first. The place is supposed to be worth 4 to 5 stars, I believe it is too outdated now to have such ambitions and charge 200 bucks a night. The bungalows are dark and poorly lit, the furniture is cheap, I remember I had one of those small screen TVs in 1990, my sheets smell a bit of humidity.
The food is OK by indonesian standards, nothing the least inventive but it's decent. There I may add that calling the clients at 9 in the morning on a sunday to ask them whether they'll have breakfast, which is served until 10, is way over the line. I had the same for dinner, as my nap (after a long trip) was interrupted because someone was in a hurry to shut down the kitchen an hour in advance.
I tried the spa. I first enquired whether I could have a booking at short notice. The spa is supposedly opened from about 10 am to 8pm, but I was told I should come the next day at 4pm, and at no other time. Fair enough, but then my coming the next day at 4 could have been anticipated. I had a decent massage after a long hour of swimming, a bit too energetic by my taste but that's a matter for debate. Then I showered, with the bathroom door barely closing, the tiles in the shower reminding me of a modest country house in the 1960s, and the shower gel and shampoo bottles being empty. I was finished (and slightly embarrassed because the door couldn't be shut) when the therapist came back with shower gel and shampoo.
The site is beautiful, it's not the resort's responsibility if so much debris and plastic stays in the water and lands on the beach; but the fact that only one guy is in charge of cleaning it (and obviously not managing it, whatever the reasons) has to be raised.

Then is my main issue with this stay: noise. I certainly find it nice that people are happy and singing. I certainly am a bit oversensitive here, but I do believe that too much is too much:
- people calling each other loud instead of walking to each other
- employees singing (and nothing but cheap indonesian pop) every time they move from one place to the other
- employees deciding that clients reading in the lounge would appreciate the sound of pop music plus the sound of them watching TV
- works being done (ie hammer and nails) at 8.30 am on a sunday morning just next door -I may point out that the bungalows walls are made of plain wooden planks with no isolation, you can actually see through
- someone cleaning with a broom the outside of the bungalow at 6.30 am (see above and figure the sound of a natural fiber broom on a wooden prank 1 m away from your head). I had a hard time having the employee actually understand that I was trying to sleep and that I couldn't because of the noise -not a language issue here, my indonesian is good enough, but obviously noone in the management told them that noise can be a pollution.
- I understand the need for a generator, but I'm not quite sure why it should be so close that you can usually hear it, and often smell the exhausts.

Gangga’s a great resort with lovely well-kept bungalows and a great pool area. It's well run with attention to detail that shows they’ve really thought of everything to make your stay as relaxing and comfortable as possible. A gift of home-made jams on Christmas morning was a nice touch. Great spa, good food with wide choices, and very helpful staff throughout. Oh, and the ping pong table was fun on a couple of (very) rainy days!
The only downside would be that the bungalows are semi-detached and sound does travel if the neighbours turn up the volume.
We went out on the snorkelling boat every day and on the whole were disappointed with the quality of the coral – at one site there was no live coral, few fish and lots of jellyfish so it seemed a strange place to take snorkellers – the coral and fish accessible by snorkelling in the local area really aren’t a patch on the reefs in Bunaken National Park. There is still some ok snorkelling in the vicinity though.
Through no fault of the resort, some rubbish does wash up onto the beaches with the tides. The staff do their best to clear the litter but it’s a shame to see and can also make swimming off the beach unfavourable.
All in all Gangga is a great resort with a lovely atmosphere in which to relax - and afternoon tea by the lovely infinity pool is a fun daily event!

Gangga Island Spa and diving center is probably the best managed resort that we have ever visited. Our family stayed 10 days at the resort and we we enjoyed outstanding service together with a superb diving education. The varm, professional and personal attitude of the staff and management together with the beautifull surroundings on Gangga Island made this holiday very special for us all. Thank you Gangga

Beautifull accomodation in 14 bungalows.Ours were right on the beach(others are only marginally set back).Beach is great although much debris is thrown up on each tide-not just stiks and logs but any item of plastic you can imagine.Half hearted attemps were made to clear iton Xmas day & boxing day but much was not collected although raked into piles opnly to be spread out again by the next tide. After that beach clean up improved leaving pristine white sand.
Food was generally superb with mixture of western ond local dishes but sevice was sometimes slow.Beer $6'95 for620ml Bintang but wine ,as in rest of Indonesia, pricey at between$50 &$55 a bottle. G & T $12.
Most customers went diving (not us)so the poor weather at this time of year was not a problem.Only 2 sunny days in 6 but accomodation so good able to chill out.
Bit disappointed at the 500,000 IDR charge per person for transfers considering the room cost.
For interest take a walk through the islands 2 villages - one Christian and one Muslim.