Name: Great experience
Item: Matinloc Resort
Rating: 5
Author: marc a

11 - 16 of 293 reviews

O4685HNdonnak

Wake Forest, North Carolina

Reviewed May 8, 2023

Not worth your money

** NO ALCOHOL AT THIS "Resort"** We found this out as we got into the van at the airport. After informing us of this fact they offered to take us to a store to buy some. The store they took us to must have been someone's family store. No selection but when I asked for some Absolute Vodka they said they could pick some up at a different store. One I had to give the driver my money because they wouldn't drive us to the other store- he would have to get it on his own. (very weird as he was back 3 minutes later- clearly he walked to a different store). From there we see the room. It's spacious but dated with stains on the rug and the chaise lounge. Not small stains, either. The bathroom was also very dated. The furniture on the deck was uncomfortable plastic chairs and a plastic table. This hotel considers itself a luxury resort- it is not. The staff was very friendly and the food was delicious but.... I would not recommend this resort to anyone. Luckily the next resort we went to which was across the bay was the same price and absolutely gorgeous!!!! If I had reversed the hotel stays- I wouldn't have stayed all three days at this resort after seeing how much better other resorts are. Consider yourself warned.

Room tip: I paid $700 a night in February. It was such a rip off. The next place we stayed was the same price and worth every penny!!!

Date of stay: February 2023

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Climber31394840017

Bucharest, Romania

Reviewed April 12, 2023 via mobile

A good place to enjoy El Nido area

The hotel is very nicely positioned very close to the main El Nido attractions. It is also built in between tbe impressive El Nido island rocks.
We had a room up in the hill/rock, the view from up there is awesome. But be aware you have to take more than 100 stairs till up there. We took this as a welcomed workout and enjoyed it evey time.
The hotel has also rooms at the sea level.
The hotel is not so big so they’ve had troubles to include us in hotel organized shared tours but the management agreed us to take tours from an agency from the mainland.
The room is big, spacious, with a large bathroom and with a nice terrase to enjoy the view from the clif.
I must point out the staff which was very nice and friendly. Many thanks once again for your service!
One last important point: the hotel is isolated and does not serve any alcoholic drinks (healthy life…). But they allow to bring with you alcohol from the mainland. Moreover, the waiters can buy you some alcohol from the mainland (available in the next day by the evening).

Do not miss:
1. Big lagoon (rent the crystal cayak there)
2. Small lagoon (rent the crystal cayak there)
3. The Passndigan Cove
4. The Paradise Beach
We took the private tours from the Gea travel agency (local, El Nido) - great service, recommended.
We intend to come back in few years to enjoy more other attractions in the El Nido area.

Room tip: Bring with you alcoholic drinks :)

Date of stay: April 2023

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AkterC

London, United Kingdom

Reviewed March 30, 2023 via mobile

5 star service

5 star service, the staff went the extra mile. I would have to give a shout out to Jed who made our stay extra special, but Ian, Jason, Vin, David and the others were also great.
The food for me was exceptional, they had a wide variety of cuisines and I was there for 5 nights and didn't have a bad meal while I was there. Breakfast is included but you have to pay for lunch and dinner, it is more expensive than you would pay on mainland El Nido but we felt the food price was very reasonable given the location,service and quality of food. On average meals for 2 people came to around 3,500 to 4,000 peso per day.
We had the beachfront rooms and it was the best place we have ever stayed. Rooms were HUGH, you can watch the sunrise in the morning from your bed.
We really wanted to relax on holiday as we had done a lot of activity before we got there. The resort offers kayaking and snorkelling which is all complimentary, you can pay for additional excursions. There is a bit of a mark up on the excursions from the hotel Vs if you booked them on the mainland, we ended up booking the sunset cruise where you take a speed boat the the other side of the island and watch the sunset, again this experience exceeded my expectations we were accompanied by David who had exceptional knowledge on the area and the history and watching the sunset it to the vast sea was a very moving experience and I would highly recommend.
The reason I had to give a 4 star and not a 5 star is that it looks like some of the facilities were damaged (I believe the resort was hit hard by the typhoon having only just come out of Covid) so it's understandable but once management are able to fix these issues such as, caution tape on one of the pool ladders, uneven floorboards next to the pool, windows a bit grubby. Once these slight issues are fixed this resort will absolutely be 5 stars in my eyes.
Tips:
*Buy alcohol before you get to the island as they do not sell alcohol but if you bring it yourself they will serve it for you. The staff will actually offer to take you to a shop before they take you to the island
*Enjoy the free activities, snorkeling and kayaking
*Resort provided unlimited bottled water so no need to take your own
*Try the chicken adobo!!

Room tip: This resort is for travellers who are looking for a slow pace and switch off, if you are looking to do a lot of activities and entertainment then this might not be for you

Date of stay: March 2023

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robinangelica

Reviewed March 20, 2023

Severely disappointed, travelers beware

I wish I had read the negative reviews for this resort more thoroughly. I would advise others not to book here as you will significantly overpay and not get good value. When looking at other reviews in hindsight more closely, I saw that there were other recent guests who similarly checked out early as well.

- Booked this resort through Agoda and when I called to scheduled airport pick up/boat transfer they could not find the booking number despite Agoda confirming it on their end. It was 2hrs prior to our arrival that they were finally able to see it in their system and confirm the transfer.

- There is no alcohol on the resort (not a dealbreaker) but we stopped by a convenience store on the way to pick up snacks and drinks.

- Speedboat transfer to the island is ~20-25 mins each way. To clarify, there is no regularly scheduled boat transfer to El Nido town. It is only based on when guests check in/out of the resort that you can leave for P500/person. Theoretically, if no one is checking in/out the next day, then there is no way to leave the island unless you schedule a private boat transfer for round trip P13,000 (US236). You have to ask the front desk the night prior as they will confirm what time guests are checking out for boats to El Nido town and what time guests are checking in for the boats back to Matinloc. This was very inconvenient and misleading as the boat "schedule" was quite irregular and you were otherwise stuck on this resort.

- Front desk is not available 24/7. After 10pm, you would need to find the security guard on the pier for issues like lizards or other problems in your room.

- After checking in, we tried to schedule an island hopping group tour with the resort which was 3x (P3700-3900) the regular cost in El Nido town (P1200-1400). We were told that none of the tours were available at the group rate so we would be forced to do the P20,000 (USD363) private tour for the lagoon tour (tour A) that we wanted to do. Since there was no guest checking out early enough the next day (earliest 1:30pm) to go to El Nido town and be able to do the group tour from there, after speaking to the front desk manager the best they could do was allow us to find our own tour company in town that would then be allowed to dock nearby to pick us up the next morning. As we are not from the area, we asked if they had any travel company partnerships to which they replied they did not and we were left to figure this out on our own. That was the best compromise they could come up with.

- For an island resort where you cannot go into El Nido town after 5pm unless you hire a private boat transfer, they do not provide any entertainment for guests in the evenings. After sunset and dinner, there really is nothing else to do here.

- The quality of the facilities was abysmal for the prices we were paying. The room in the fridge did not keep drinks cold. The resort is not for families with small children or elderly with mobility issues as there are no elevators, loose floorboards with nails around the swimming pool area, one of the swimming pool ladders even had yellow caution tape where it was broken and in need of repair. Bedroom curtains had holes and clear stains. Wifi was spotty at best and you had to try the 3 different public ones in the lobby before finding one with good enough signal to even use whatsapp. At dinner, we tried to order the catch of the day and were told there would be no fresh fish for the next 1-2 weeks as the area was overfished so we ordered a pizza which was mediocre and took over 40mins to get made. Not surprisingly in town there were lots of options for fresh fish and seafood that were not available at this resort.

- The management did not care about customer service or hospitality. They did not accommodate or help with our concerns. No apologies.

Hopefully this review can help others so they are not misled like we were. We were originally planning to stay for 3 nights here, but we were significantly disappointed by our stay here and checked out first thing the next morning. Recommend doing yourselves a favor and booking some place else.

Date of stay: March 2023

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emieritab

Reviewed March 9, 2023

Dream vacation, nature at it’s best!

This was our first time in Palawan and we are happy that we chose this amazing hotel resort. The view is amazing, it’s like the one that you see on the postcards, we stayed at the tree villa, we have to go up the stairs 88 steps to be exact but it was worth it with the view and elegant bedroom. The pillows are the so fluffy, and room entire room was pristine clean and smelled great. If you prefer privacy and tranquil ambience, this is where you want to go. The staff are amazing, very attentive to our needs and went an extra mile to help us when my hubby got sea sick. They helped us to carry our luggage to our room. They always say “have a great stay, please let us know if you need anything”. Just some tips to remember make sure to check your email reservation and provide your name and flight and arrival for the hotel to make arrangements for your transfer to the resort. We were picked up in the airport, rode a van for about 15 minutes and then speed boat ride for about 20 minutes to the resort. The resort does not have any alcohol so they will pass by a convenient store and will go with you if you want to buy some alcohol. They don’t ask for a deposit like other resorts do, you will just settle any bills incurred during your stay at check out time. They accept cash, visa and Mastercard only.

Date of stay: March 2023