Cuna Hotel — Hotel in El Nido

We had a lovely stay and truly appreciated the warm and welcoming service throughout our visit.||From the moment we arrived, Daisy Jane Cabales at the front desk made us feel right at home. She clearly explained everything about our booking and what was included. Since we arrived early, she suggested we check out Scape Skydeck, the restaurant upstairs, which offered a beautiful view and good food—definitely a great way to start our stay.||The hotel offers a breakfast buffet at ₱500 per person, but there’s also an à la carte menu available if you prefer lighter or specific dishes. One evening, we ordered a fish dish that came with mushroom soup. I wasn’t fond of the soup and asked for it to be removed—staff were more than happy to accommodate, and the fish turned out even better than expected. Great food and excellent service!||Our room was simple but had everything we needed. It was spotlessly clean when we arrived, and housekeeping kept it fresh daily. One small issue: the bathroom door couldn’t fully close from the outside, so some privacy was lacking. It wasn’t a major problem, but worth improving.||We also experienced a brief power outage one night, but the generator kicked in right away, so it didn’t affect our stay at all. It’s reassuring to know the hotel is prepared for these situations.||Eric Arieta was fantastic—he helped set up the Wi-Fi when we checked in and later assisted in booking a day tour. The hotel also provides a hot and cold water dispenser, which was very convenient.||Another highlight was Leah’s Kitchenette, a nearby carinderia that serves authentic Filipino food at very reasonable prices. Go early in the morning for hot, freshly cooked dishes! The staff were incredibly welcoming and even adjusted the fan to make us more comfortable—small touches that left a big impression.||A special shout-out to Ryan Alarba at the front desk, who helped us late at night with currency exchange. He even went out to check the exchange rate and eventually assisted us through the hotel’s own resources. That kind of dedication really stands out.||The hotel's location is excellent—just a short walk (a skip and a hop!) to the town square, restaurants, shops, and other points of interest. Everything is easily accessible by foot, which made exploring El Nido very convenient.||Our room was located in a quiet zone, so we had restful, uninterrupted sleep every night.||One final note—not about the hotel, but about El Nido in general: the public washrooms used during island-hopping tours were in very poor condition. Since visitors pay a ₱400 environmental fee, it would be great to see improvements in these facilities. It would also be beneficial for the local government to support training for workers and tour guides, so they can better share the rich culture and history of the islands—something tourists would truly appreciate.||Overall, this was a wonderful stay. The combination of warm hospitality, clean rooms, convenient location, and thoughtful service made our visit memorable. Highly recommended to anyone visiting this...

I am deeply disappointed with our stay at this hotel and the associated shuttle service. Despite booking two weeks in advance, we were charged a cancellation fee due to a double booking on their end. Upon arriving at the airport, my wife called to confirm our reservation, only to find they had no record of us. I quickly rebooked online, but this resulted in two reservations. When we requested to cancel the duplicate, we were met with frustration instead of assistance.

The shuttle ride was another ordeal. Although we landed early, we were crammed in the back of a van with a loud, intoxicated family and another couple. Their noise was unbearable, even overpowering my noise-canceling headphones. My primary concern was our safety around these intoxicated individuals, and attempts to communicate with the driver were futile. He suggested moving one of us to the front seat, which I refused. After a lengthy wait for another van, we felt it was unfair that the intoxicated group was allowed to leave first while we were delayed. When we finally reached our destination, the driver falsely claimed he couldn’t take us into town, despite dropping off another guest at our hotel. We were then forced to take an overpriced tricycle ride, adding to our frustration.

Our experience at the hotel itself was equally disappointing. The staff spent our stay apologizing rather than resolving issues. We found bugs in our room, necessitating bug spray. The AC condensation was so severe that the floor was wet, creating a safety hazard. The water dispenser outside our room leaked into our space, and the shower had broken and sagging fixtures, with low water pressure and a broken shower head. Despite these numerous issues, the hotel never offered to change our room, which would have been standard practice during my time as a hotel manager at Marriott.

In summary, our experience was marred by delays, poor management, and a lack of accountability. I rate the hotel service a 0 out of 5. The shuttle service and Agoda receive a 0 out of 5, and the tricycle ride was equally disappointing. This is our first and last stay with Cuna, and we will certainly not book with Agoda again. They can take my money now, but they will never get it again. Had they been a lot better at handling these issues, we would have stayed longer.

WE DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS HOTEL.

WE DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS HOTEL.

WE DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS HOTEL.

WE DO NOT...

Disappointing

On arrival, the reception staff greeted us with a smile and gave a very warm welcome - a very strong start. We were ushered to the lift and went up to our floor. The first impression I got when I entered the corridor was that it resembled a dormitory.

When we enter the hotel room, it was very basic. There wasn’t much furnishing - not even a nightstand beside my bed, making charging my phone a bit more difficult. The bed was a tad too soft for my liking - just personal preference. However, things only went downhill from here.

Firstly, the WiFi was barely working throughout my stay. While I am unsure if it was due to the location of my room, 80% of the time I had to rely on my own data plan as the WiFi would disconnect intermittently. There was also an instance of power outage in the entire hotel during my stay.

Secondly, when I asked for additional bottled water, I was informed that only the first bottle was free and subsequent ones costs 75php each. Otherwise, I would have to bring my empty bottle to the lift lobby and refill it from the dispenser. In the end, I bought my own bottled water at a convenience store for 26php instead.

Lastly, the breakfast. We were issued 1 breakfast coupons for each night of our stay. There wasn’t any terms and conditions printed on the coupons, and we were not informed of any usage conditions. Thus, we decided to invite 2 friends to our hotel to have breakfast with us.

We handed 4 coupons to the staff, who then ushered us to a table without raising any issues. The buffet spread was abysmal, with very limited variety of food. As we sat down and started to eat, the crew leader confronted us about using 4 coupons when there were only 2 of us in our room booking. We explained that we didn’t see a problem expending our coupons - only then was it explained to us that we had to follow the dates indicated in the coupons strictly. As we didn’t to escalate things in front of our friends, we paid 500 php for each additional pax for the breakfast. This would not have happened if they printed their terms on the coupons properly.

Overall: 3/10. Definitely overpriced for what it has to offer.

Pros: Conveniently located. Generally clean - apart from rooms smelling damp

Cons: Poor amenities Poor service Have to...