Frangipani El Nido

Avevamo pianificato di trascorrere poco meno di una settimana in questo posto, in occasione della nostra luna di miele. Abbiamo deciso di lasciare questa struttura dopo solo una notte poiché la camera versava in condizioni pietose. Alcune delle cose più gravi che abbiamo trovato: lenzuola macchiate, copri materasso sporco di liquidi giallastri e capelli, ragnatele sulle pareti del bagno.. Dopo aver mostrato la camera allo staff dell’hotel e disgustati dalle condizioni di sporcizia in cui era abbiamo manifestato la richiesta di rimborso e check out anticipato. Lo staff è stato molto scortese e ci ha negato il rimborso. La cosa ancora più grave è che abbiamo bloccato l’hotel con Booking, che allo stesso modo nega ogni responsabilità e non si fa carico dei rimborsi, nonostante lo stesso hotel sulla pagina Booking ha una descrizione delle camere che non corrisponde alla realtà. Saremo costretti a procedere legalmente. Sconsiglio in maniera più assoluta questo posto che nonostante tutto chiede una cifra per notte abbastanza alta (se paragonato ad altre strutture in zona). State alla larga da questo “hotel”!!!!

The service at this hotel was excellent from the start. They reached out to arrange a (free) airport transfer a month in advance and were friendly about it. As soon as I was greeted at the airport they made me feel extremely welcome, it wasn’t just the polite service you normally get at the 5* hotels, the staff was just genuinely friendly and caring. I had an ocean view room (all rooms face the water) and it had a lovely view from the balcony. The 2 pool view rooms also had direct access to the pool which wasn’t ever used very much, so I can imagine that would be nice to almost have a private pool. The pool was small but decent sizes and deep considering you’ll probably be alone in it. The room was spacious and clean enough, and they cleaned it daily. Had some problems with the balcony door locking, but they fixed it right away both times. The shower head also had some issues, but I didn’t want to complain about everything. Breakfast was amazing, included in the room and cooked to order! Plus as a benefit, they would bring breakfast to your room if you wanted which was nice so you could eat it in the AC. On the downside, the room had a diffuser in it that they must be using to cover up a bad small, but it was extremely overwhelming - I turned it off as soon as I got in the room, but I could still smell it 4 days later. Not great for people sensitive to strong smells. The room could also have used some outlets that weee more accessible from the bed and/or USB outlets. Easy to get into town, about 10 minutes and 100php - but it was nice to be away from the town at night. On the downside, the road was pretty loud from my room and the curtains didn’t give you a full blackout. 24/7 security at the front desk. Week Wi-Fi, that didn’t do much. No cell service in the lobby, but I didn’t manage to get 2 bars in my room. The hotel seemed a bit more expensive than others in the region, but the service was good. I would return here if I came back to El Nido.

If it were not for the very steep High season pricing we would have given this cute "bed and breakfast" a higher rating. It is a charming place with very lovely views especially the Panoramic Suite, large and comfortable, with outdoor seating and a spectacular view of the sunsets every night. It is unfortunate that the living room window was unwashed, in fact streaked with dirt, completely unacceptable when preparing for the high season or any season really. The positives first...Zenobia and Emm at the front desk are two real gems who work very hard to make things run smoothly and do their best to accommodate guests. The other staff are mostly young and eager but inexperienced and some spoke rather limited English. Everyone was sweet and meant well. That is fine if you are charging 2 or 3 star prices but at rates that are higher than a Club Floor Suite at the Peninsula Hotel in Manila, get your act together. I do not fault the staff, the place is poorly managed. There is virtually no housekeeping other than making the bed, (even that was forgotten one day), confused and inconsistent service at the in house restaurant, staff are not empowered to make decisions on the spot, always need "to check" with their supervisor or manager for requests, etc. Additionally, the relationship with El Nido Yacht Club seems to be primarily to sell private tours...a request for group tour resulted in my having to organize my own group. To be fair they do provide a much higher level of service than the other tours but don't expect much help putting together a group tour with them. El Nido itself is lovely but deserves only a few days at most. There are the island hopping tours which quickly feel repetitive and 3 vey nice beaches on the mainland. For us 6 days was one or two days too much. In summary we liked El Nido and the team at the Frangiapani for their sweetness and friendliness but felt that for the prices they are charging they need to deliver a much better and more professional product with service that justifies the price.