Isla - The Isla Experience — Hotel in El Nido

If you’re craving a serene and immersive retreat that reconnects you with nature, The Isla Experience on Daracota Island is a must-visit. Nestled in a picturesque and untouched corner of paradise, this eco-friendly getaway offers a unique balance of simplicity, relaxation, and adventure.

Exceptional Service

The Isla Experience sets the bar high when it comes to hospitality. The staff’s warm and attentive service ensures every moment of your stay is memorable. From the friendly team that welcomes you to the talented chefs preparing meals, everyone goes above and beyond to make you feel at home.

Communal Dining and Delicious Food

Dining at The Isla is a communal affair, and it’s one of the highlights of the experience. Breakfast and dinner are served buffet-style, allowing guests to gather and enjoy a variety of flavourful dishes together, creating a wonderful sense of connection. For lunch, guests can choose from an à la carte menu, with fresh and satisfying options that cater to all tastes.

Unique Island Features

The Isla embraces its natural surroundings, and some of its most charming features include the friendly pigs and ducks that roam the island freely. Watching them adds a touch of whimsy to the laid-back atmosphere.

One standout feature is the treehouse, a peaceful lookout spot offering stunning views of the island and its surroundings. It’s a fantastic place to unwind, enjoy the scenery, or simply embrace the calm. For those seeking ultimate relaxation, the yoga and massage hut provides the perfect setting to stretch, meditate, or indulge in a soothing massage with the sound of waves in the background.

Back to Basics: Simple and Comfortable Accommodations

The accommodations are intentionally minimalist, encouraging guests to focus on the beauty of nature and the present moment. Mosquito nets cover the beds, ensuring a comfortable night’s sleep, while fans in the rooms help keep things cool. Though there’s no air conditioning, the natural breezes and serene environment make the adjustment easy and rewarding.

Clean Shared Facilities

The island features shared toilets and showers, which are impressively clean and well-maintained. The facilities align perfectly with the eco-conscious philosophy of the retreat, providing everything you need without unnecessary frills.

Activities and Exploration

The Isla Experience offers plenty to do if you’re feeling adventurous. Snorkeling over a nearby shipwreck is a must-do activity, offering a glimpse of underwater history and marine life. Guests can also rent kayaks to explore the waters surrounding the island or take a leisurely 10-minute walk to the nearby village, where you can immerse yourself in local culture and traditions.

Relaxation Spaces

When you’re ready to unwind, the island provides numerous cosy spots to relax. Beanbags, hammocks, and shaded seating areas are scattered throughout, perfect for lounging with a book or simply soaking in the tranquil vibe. The communal spaces also include books and games, offering simple pleasures that enhance the laid-back atmosphere.

A Return to Earth

What sets The Isla Experience apart is its ability to bring you back down to earth. Without modern distractions like air conditioning or high-tech amenities, the retreat encourages you to slow down, savor the moment, and reconnect with yourself and your surroundings. It’s a grounding experience that leaves you feeling rejuvenated and centered.

Final Thoughts

The Isla Experience on Daracota Island is a true escape—a place where simplicity, nature, and community come together in perfect harmony. With its incredible service, delicious meals, charming treehouse lookout, and thoughtful amenities, it’s ideal for travelers looking to unplug and recharge.

Whether you’re seeking adventure, relaxation, or simply a chance to reconnect with the essentials, this rustic island retreat will leave you with unforgettable memories. Highly recommended for nature lovers and anyone seeking a meaningful,...

With its incredible looking socials and promise of glamping style accommodation, for the price point we really wanted to like Isla experience more. This is more of a base camp feel rather than a relaxing couples escape. Socialising is encouraged, communal dinner etc. Whilst for some this may be attractive for others this may feel too much. We really wanted a couples rest and relax escape before heading back to the UK but found it difficult to find solitude.

Pros The location is fantastic with a great beach. It is also sheltered from sometimes strong easterly winds. The staff were great, they live on a compound within the grounds so are always available if you need them. The couples massage by two locals ladies from the village was perhaps the best we’ve ever had. It’s was local Hilot style. We took the massage in our room overlooking the beach. Ask for Gedalyn and Emma.

Cons After paying PHP2600 for a return van transfer for two from El Nido it felt unacceptable to have to wait nearly an hour at the port for the boat to arrive to take us across to the island on the outward journey. It should’ve been a seamless process for that price. Consider adjusting the pick up time from El Nido? Food and drinks are expensive, as in ‘Boracay’ expensive. An example was a happy hour mixer of local rum and coke (2 for 1) for PHP300. Around the corner in the village sari sari store the same bottle of rum was available for PHP 200 for a LITRE! Whilst I understand tourist markups this price is ridiculous and simply greedy. It is worth pointing out that most resorts on the island have followed suit with their food and drink pricing much to the disbelief of the locals. A big one for us…the showers are salt water. This wasn’t mentioned anywhere on the Hotels.com listing. You will remain sticky for the entire duration of your stay. There literally is no point in showering after being in the sea. Other resorts offer fresh water from ground source. There is a constant subtle smell in the air (and you need that air flow to cool your room). We couldn’t pinpoint what the smell was, possibly drains, possibly seaweed, possibly a nearly piggery, who knows. Whatever it was it just hung there the entire time. The cleanliness of the shared toilets and showers varied. The toilets do not allow you to flush toilet tissue, it should be placed in a bin as is common in many countries. Just be aware of that if it’s not your thing. Staff also use these showers and toilets which I found was not a good optic for the price you pay. There is a generator that runs in the evening. Although necessary I’m sure, it’s LOUD. Ensure you don’t have a room allocated near here otherwise you will not be able to rest in your room between 7 and 10.30pm… Dinner does not offer an A La Carte option. It’s a small buffet. Whilst the food on offer is traditional Filipino it is pretty standard fayre and nothing too special. At PHP 480 per head we felt this was too pricey. PHP 1000 will buy you a lot more plus drinks for your money, and something of your choosing further up the beach. They assume you will take dinner and will add it to your bill unless you expressly tell them you won’t be taking dinner. VERY IMPORTANT: It’s cash only. We booked through Hotels.com and no where did it mention cash only. We were lucky we had enough cash with us. Other resorts seemed to offer card or PayPal payments. Make sure you visit an ATM in el nido before you travel as there isn’t one on the island, take more cash than you think you’ll need for all the extras.

The local people of Darocotan island are the thing that made our stay special, they are so friendly and helpful. I encourage you to venture up the beach to experience real Philippines life especially past the village and the rocky outcrop.

We’ll be back to Darocotan and through exploring the island have already found our next accommodation promising peace, tranquility, less people and importantly, a private bathroom with fresh water (see...

Peace and tranquility like I have never experienced before. I came from El Nido where it was hot and humid, and approaching the island this seemed to just drift away, you could finally feel a breeze and it was incredibly refreshing. The sea here is completely clear, you can see everything around you which makes it so enticing. The boat staff are helpful and friendly, they will carry your bags and help you on/off the boat, which is only a short 10 minute ride to the island. As soon as you step foot onto the island, you are welcomed by the staff with a fresh fruit drink and a local gift, it really makes you feel special. You are then sat down and given a brief on the island facilities, food times, and the agenda for the day. The rooms are basic but comfortable, with mosquito nets and a fan. The best bit by a mile is the view you wake up to, and the sound of the lapping waves as you sleep. It’s quite special. Side note: On your final night stay, staff will come and find you and help you arrange transfers for your onward travel which is really helpful. My first meal was from the a La carte lunch menu, I decided on the Katsu chicken; and while it wasn’t katsu sauce it was fresh panko breadcrumb chicken which was crispy and tasty along with rice and some cabbage. The dinner is a big buffet which includes all the guests, big shout out to Chef Mikey who introduced him and his sidekick every night and explained what they had cooked. It was usually a fresh bbq’d fish (which was always perfectly cooked) along with a chicken and beef dish, a veggie item and then a salad and fresh fruit. Oh, and how could I forget the Filipino power - tasty rice!!! Finally on the bar menu. The drinks are priced pretty much the same as everywhere in El Nido and the surrounding area beers are pilsen/san mig lite/red horse and then happy hour cocktails are buy one get one free.

Throughout the day there are various things you can do. There is a daily agenda on the bar of what is happening. You can: take the kayaks out, snorkel around the island including the nearby shipwreck, or swim to the floating pontoon and sunbathe, or jump off to keep cool. There is a daily cooking lessons where the staff will cook a local treat for you, we had banana fritters which were a nice sweet treat for everyone. I left my phone to charge on the bar everyday at the international charging station and it seemed like everyone else did the same; the island felt very safe and secure.

Closing remarks, myself and my partner really enjoyed our time here, it was the tranquil retreat that we needed to dissociate from the ongoing stress in the world. The staff are so friendly and helpful and will try to do anything to make your stay more comfortable. The huts are basic without aircon, but of course you are on a remote island where everything has to be shipped across on small boats, so you need to be realistic! The fans provided do enough to keep you cool, and I would highly recommend a quick cold shower before bed to sort you out. It does get incredibly hot in the Philippines, and here is no exception. Please bring your factor 50 and apply liberally, the staff will tell you the same thing (but most don’t listen), there were plenty of red people...