Such a shame to have ended 17 days in the Philippines here. Having had other hotels to compare to on Palawan, Bohol and Cebu it is clear that the Microtel in Puerto Princesa is well past it’s sell by date and in dire need of a top to bottom revamp.
We arrived after a 6 hour bus journey from El Nido (Lio Beach) to check in and were greeted by the front desk staff with a frown rather than a smile. As we transferred in a group we weren’t allowed to get room keys until all passports had been copied which took some time given the rough transfer and road conditions and time it took some people to recover.
The rooms are basic, we had a ‘lagoon’ view (swamp at front of hotel) with two double beds, towels etc. The bed sheets were clean but stained, towels look about 15 years old and pillows so hard it’s impossible to imagine what they’re stuffed with. There is a TV in the room but the picture makes it unwatchable. The AC unit is incredibly loud even on its quiet setting meaning you choose to boil while sleeping, or lie awake but be comfortable. The rooms are extremely noisy with the sound travelling throughout the hotel. A lot of the more local guests are very loud and no consideration to others. If you have managed to get off to sleep you’ll be woken at 7:30am by housekeeping wanting to clean your room!
The pool area is ok - all of the sun beds are broken, rusty screws retrying to keep them together. There is zero shade, there are no parasols and given the south view you’re in the sun all day with no respite. The palm trees are so old and tall they give no shade. You get some shade at the back of the hotel later in the afternoon. Sand mites are a real problem too, I wasn’t bitten at all in el nido but here I was covered in bites on the first day. The beach towels are as bad as the room towels, threadbare with some holes and frayed edges. The pool is dirty, dead bugs, leaves, hair, murky water. Didn’t see it being cleaned in the 3 days I was here. Paint is peeling from the pool, needs to be drained and refurbished.
The beach is more like a mud flat - the tide is way out and the steps to the sand are dangerous so try and pick the right ones to use! The sea is shallow, no swimming opportunity. It feels like reclaimed swamp / marshland.
The food is average at best, overpriced for what you get compared to previous places. A service charge is also added despite always having to go and find someone to serve rather than be offered. The glass covers for the tables are chipped with one in particular being very sharp and dangerous. Pointed out to staff but nothing done. Food on first night was a BBQ grill because the general managers daughter had her birthday party so we had chance for seafood and sausage from the grill. The next day was back to usual menu which isn’t very exciting. Managers preference I guess? No fresh fish or prawns or lobsters. You can go to the market and buy your own to be cooked but this should be in the menu.
Breakfast was very poor. Unless you like garlic rice, sprats, fish and pork then you’re limited to bread and eggs. Fruit was melon but not replenished enough, if you’re lucky you’ll get pineapple too but need to ask when things run low. Coffee in breakfast is weak. The ‘coffee on tap’ is 5 peso for a tiny cup but tasted a bit better.
Water is available upstairs and downstairs but only downstairs seemed to be chilled.
There is no AC in the lobby, just a fan. No late check out option so had to sweat it out in the lobby waiting for airport transfer.
Wi-fi is pretty much non existent. You get a code on arrival but need one code per device. The connection is in ‘low data’ mode so anything other than email will be tricky. You need to reconnect to Wi-fi each time you unlock your device and enter login code each time, what a chore!
All in all a really disappointing way to end our holiday. There are so many better options available. I have no idea how they have such high trip advisor ratings, maybe my standards are a bit higher but given the other places I’m comparing to on this trip I was shocked how poor it was. I really want to give more than a 1 star rating but I really feel it’s all it deserves. Look around and go elsewhere. I would rather have stayed in el nido for the rest of our trip.
Sorry to say that the place needs to be closed down and overhauled top to bottom if they want to keep up with the competition. These aren’t problems that the management can try and spot fix, it needs serious investment. Try and fix the road on the approach at the same time.
