If you are backpacking Palawan, specifically ElNIdo, or just looking for a room for a getaway, please don’t overlook Spin Hostel in ElNido. The experience there has created a permanent smile on my face. The location is ideal, located right off the main highway and a 3 minute walk to literally everything ElNido has to offer. Now I have been traveling around the Philippines for several months now and I have to say the stay at Spin Hostel is one of the highlights of my journey. First, the staff is amazing. How does everyone from the General Manager, Sir Don to the front desk supervisor Melqui (Mel-Key) maintain a smile on their face 24/7? I don’t know. Maybe its something in the water there. You decide, but I’ll warn you it is contagious. The day starts with the included made-to-order Omelettes, hot pancakes, fresh fruit juices and pineapple that you will swear was picked an hour earlier. This compliments the wonderful freshly brewed coffee, a rarity in the Philippines, while watching CNN on the sixty-inch in the open air cafeteria. In fact the setting is like sitting in a rain-forest with a bit of highway noise in the background calling you to the day’s activities. The amazing staff will coordinate your island hopping tours at no charge simply as a convenience for that turn-key worry-free vacation. And you will get the good tours, with the most entertaining operators if you book with them. You will feel in good hands here. After winding down from a day on the water you have a full kitchen attached to a full bar on the lower level ready to satisfy your appetite with amazing Filipino dishes at budget-friendly prices. But the hidden gem amongst the natural setting of the eating and gaming area is Enzo the bartender. He moved to ‘147’, the name of the Spin restaurant-bar, from one of the most exclusive resorts in Palawan, where most of the staff migrated from and I’ll tell you he is magic to watch and his cocktails are the best you may experience anywhere you travel. My drink of choice is the Long-Island-Ice-Tea, a US classic. I have never had a better one in my travels. You might want to schedule around the Margarita night as well as they rival the best found in the US. The 147 sound and lighting system is the best in El Nido for those of you tired of ear-raping music that most places seem to flood their establishments with downtown. Hostel rooms/beds at adventurerer prices, full service accommodating staff with love that is palpable, a unique and fun setting in a quaint eclectic tourist town offering all female or co-ed accommodations and Spin will leave you wanting to return as soon as possible. Please don’t miss it. Captain Russ Miley