We stayed five nights at Charlie’s El Nido. We had fairly high expectations, as this was one of the most expensive hotels we booked during our six month trip through Southeast Asia (around $100 per night). Unfortunately, the experience ended up being quite disappointing.
We booked a standard room and were placed on a basement floor. That wouldn’t have been a big issue, but it was quite a long walk with luggage and there is no elevator. The room itself was extremely small, with barely any space to move around and no room for a chair.
The hotel also seemed to have a sewage issue. Both in the bathroom and around the resort there was a strong sewage smell throughout the day.
In addition, we only had hot water for two of the five nights. We had to walk to reception twice to report it. Our room key card also stopped working twice, which meant additional trips to reception to get it reactivated.
The WiFi barely worked and requires access codes that need to be re entered regularly. Housekeeping was also confusing. At check in we were told cleaning is only done upon request, yet the first morning housekeeping knocked on our door asking if we wanted the room cleaned. The following day no one came, even though we had left the used towels on the floor.
On the positive side, the pool area is nice (although sunbeds were often occupied), the staff are very friendly and helpful, and we were offered a free airport shuttle. Still, we don’t feel it was worth the money.
