Iris Island Resort — Hotel in Culion

Before I start, I will quantify that I am a Travel Planner that traveled up to 3 months a year in search of the most authentic experience for my clients. I have no problem camping in tents in Bhutan and Nepal, and in fact am a nature lover. Budget is not an issue as long the service provides is of value. I am also pretty fit and do trekking in high altitudes. For instance, I paid USD$250 per night per person to camp in tent in Dagala Lakes in Bhutan in sub zero temperatures with no complaints. In fact, I do not usually leave a review unless they are extremely good in service or the complete opposite.||||I stayed one night in Iris resort and was very excited before my stay, to have a truly eco resort and doing my bit for the nature. However, the excitement was short-lived. ||||Upon disembarkation from the private transfer, we had to climb through many steep steps which were not built to standards. At one point, I had to use both my hands to support myself. At the end of it, I was panting and even the manager mentioned it was a hard walk. Hardly welcoming. Next, I had to walk through an unpaved route full of pebbles and stones. The route was built at the edge of the cliff. I was in the wrong gear, strapped in my sandals. It was similar to a typical trekking route. If I missed a step, I would have fallen off the cliff. ||||For USD$300 a night, they could not even provide a decent walking path. Only the path to the restaurant was paved. This was hardly being ecological friendly, it was plain lazy or trying to pull a fast one. The owners did not take into considerations the safety of the guests at all. What a let down. If you had kneel problem or had problem walking, it would be best to avoid this resort.||||It was interesting to note that most people commented food was good in the restaurant. However, I was terribly disappointed. The dinner was about 3 or 4 dishes and 1 soup. There was fish, but it was overcooked and very tough. Same go for the chicken. Amusingly, there was a dish of sweet corn (not in the whole corn), but sweet corns from canned. And finally the dessert that was a crepe with mango in between. The mango was good, but the crepe tasted like plastic.||||Being a Travel Planner, I knew that food was something my clients bond with the locals and I always had an interest in cooking. The resort was so proud of their solar oven baked bread. The way of cooking was truly admirable. However, the bread was yucky, not beacuse it was solar baked. Even if it was toasted, it would be yucky. It did not look appetising. If the source was bad, no matter how you cook it, miracles would not happen. ||||For the cuisuine served in Irish, I only had the following comment: The cook was dead in his or her job. It was a job and there was no passion in cooking. I could not find any hint of love for cooking at all. Very disappointing.||||For a proud eco resort, it was suprised that there was no sustainable garden nor any plants/fruit/vegetables that were grown fresh from the garden. There was also no animals on the island. Food was all imported from the mainland.||||For the day trip, we paid Php3,750 per pax to visit 3 spots. There were 4 of us. It was another ripped off. There was a boatman and a guide. Unfortunately, the guide could not speak English, so most of the time, the 4 of us had no idea where we were and what we were expecting. Visiting 3 spots and taking 8 hours, we stopped at the lunch place for close to 2 hours chatting because the guide was sleeping, waiting for time to pass. In other reviews, the owner claimed that Coron island hopping was cheaper beacuse there were 15-20 paxes. We paid Php2,700 in total in Coron to hire a boat, that came with a boatman and guide (who could speak good English). You do the math and you would know the profit margin. Food was on own and you could get away with Php1,500 for a good lunch with prawns and fish. Food was bad for island hopping in Irish.||||I had no problem with the eco toilet if it helped to save the earth. However, I nearly fell off the steps on few occasions. It was just not viable for people with bad balancing skills or people with weak knees. If you were also overweight, good luck. || There was definitely not enough space to land on the tiny steps.||||The room was open roof for ventilation, however that also meant all sort of insects would get in at night. The mosquito net was a joke. I could not tuck it in no matter how I tried. Being in Feb, so humid and warm, I had to on the fan. And the mosquito net kept flapping into the night, creating a mini orchestra. Worse, I had to quickly off the lights otherwise, you would have all the bees, and different insects as sleeping companions. I had slept in mosquito net that was well designed and allowance to tuck tightly so that there were no holes. This was clearly not well designed. If I put it blantantly, it was cheapskate.||||It was also not a safe resort. There was no form of communication in the room to the reception, no intercom nor phone line. If you had an emergency, the only alternative was to walk to the reception or to the restaurant. If you were unluckly and had the furthest room, it could mean a 10 to 15 minute walk. Eco friendly aside, basic safety had to be in place. ||||In summary, the only thing that worked out was the reef. However, there were no proper channels to get in or out unlike the Maldives. The lady owner was really nice too, showing us around and very welcoming. However for the price we paid and the service and facilities rendered, it was not good value for money. ||||With USD$300, it was more expensive than a 5 stars hotel. Totally not value for money. Give it a miss and...

Booked this place for three night for middle of our travels around Philippines to get away from crowds and get proper relax. We got everything we asked for and way more.

The eco resort put smiles on our faces immediately after the boat got closer to island and they stayed during the whole stay and even after. We got very warm welcome from smiling staff who was available to help during the while stay and made our stay very pleasant.

The villas are very nice, with comfy bed and balcony with spectacular view. It offers privacy and make you feel you the only villa on the island. The sustainable concept of this place made my heart skip. This is very nice example of how other places should be and where we should head to.

There is a full board included in price which is breakfast, lunch and dinner buffet. All of them offer very good selection of food including good selection for vegetarians. The food, cooked in solar oven, was really delicious and we enjoyed everything we got.

Down from villa we had nice small beach with benches and hammocks to relax on. We took all opportunity to do so 😀. There are other places to relax on the island we tried. We also took kayak and did a see tour around island and bit further. The see was quiet and so clean that we could watch see live from kayak. You can also do snorkeling there.

I took 75 minutes relaxing massage in Shanti spa and was the one of the best massages I had. Very relaxing treatment, music and place.

Iris Island Eco resort went beyond our expectations and became the highlight of our Philippine travel. Never felt so relaxed like this before and all of it with minimum foot print on...

If you're looking for a beautiful place to unwind, chill and spend time in nature, then this is definitely it. Not only is the island gorgeous (just snorkel right off the dock and you'll feel like The Little Mermaid with all of the fish), but it's also a very grounding place. The owners lead a guided meditation practice every night, there's an option to take morning yoga right after the sunrise and, plus the food cooked in the solar oven is healthy and delicious.

We loved hanging out in the hammocks, swimming around the island and chilling on the porch of our hut, overlooking the sea. The eco-friendly aspect of the resort is pretty seamless- I barely even thought about the compostable toilets, we always had hot water for showers and there was a nice breeze on our balcony during the day.

Now, let me tell you who I think this resort is not for...

-Folks with mobility issues. We didn't mind the dirt paths and all of the stairs, felt like it kept us active during our stay here. But if you have a hard time with normal stairs, you might be a little uncomfortable here.

-Party seekers. This would not be the place I'd come to party with my girlfriends. I came with my hubs and we loved how chill it was. But if you're looking for something lively, this is not it.

-Anyone expecting all the "conveniences" of a regular resort. If you love your plastic water bottles, air conditioning , TV etc., you're going to have a hard time here. It did get a little warm at night, even running a fan, but during the day we didn't miss the AC at all.

Overall, it's definitely a gem...