Accommodation Review – Ora Beach Resort, El Nido, Palawan, Philippines

Howdy all to yet another ‘Accommodation Review’, and today I am sharing with you my comfortable digs when I visited El Nido, on the island of Palawan, in the Philippines late last year. I stayed in the ‘Ora Beach Resort’, which was not in the centre of El Nido town, rather further down the road in the district/community of Coron Coron.

I certainly found choosing a place to stay in El Nido a bit of a challenge and from memory booked a different place initially before changing my mind and going with the Ora Beach Resort. I was a bit concerned that I was away from the action, but actually that wasn’t really the case with all the tours leaving from 200 metres away down the beach. There were plenty of restaurants nearby and indeed a decent restaurant on site as well next to the swimming pool.

El Nido Town was only 15 minutes away on a tricycle too, so I was able to visit any time I wanted really, although in the end it was just the once.

Pricewise, I paid around $600AUD or $450USD for five nights, around $90USD per night. It was a four star resort – to be fair a small resort, but it represented really good value for money. I was dropped off outside the resort by the mini-bus driver who was reluctant to do so. I had booked the minibus from Puerto Princessa the previous evening and was assured hotel drop off in El Nido was part of the deal, as were most of the other passengers. I knew we were getting close so I reminded the driver who acted shocked. Others overheard the conversation and insisted they too had been told they were getting hotel drop off and he, very reluctantly agreed.

Once I entered the property off the busy main road, I did get that feeling of calm (even though to be fair things weren’t that crazy on the main road). I walked down to the open reception area and received a very warm and friendly welcome from the staff there and, if memory serves me correctly, a welcome drink.

The staff are a real highlight, although I should say that in the Philippines you can expect above and beyond service and real friendliness in 4 star accommodation. It’s something the Philippines does very well. I was able to book my tours around the islands at reception too.

The room was very comfortable, well air conditioned, spacious, large comfortable bed with room service (cleaning) every day and filtered water supplied each day and available at request at no charge as well. A small fridge, a safe, cupboard and smart TV were also amongst the offerings, although the Smart TV was all in Tagalog so I struggled to navigate it properly.

The bathroom was okay, although the water pressure could have been a little better I guess and it took a while running the hot before you got hot water. But it was decent size, included toiletries and a hair dryer. There was a laundry service available too, paid which is typical, but they did a good job.

The pool was a real highlight, lovely to take a dip at the end of the day, or indeed the start of the day. There was a buffet breakfast included in the price with a mixture of things such as rice and Philippine favourites such as abodo. Oh and this pork which looked positively bright pink and translucent. You could eggs, toast and usual too. All in all a decent if not outstanding breakfast. The restaurant was open most of the day too for lunch, dinner and in between with a decent menu, a mixture of different cuisines from Philippine, to Chinese to Western.

Between the restaurant and the beach was a volleyball court (sand) too, which I did not see anyone use. The beach outside was a nice if thin stretch of sand with loads of boats not far away and stunning views of the rocky mountains.