An extreme close-up of a hand-woven abaca seat panel filling the frame, warm raking light across the golden fibre weave, shallow focus falloff at the edges.

El Nido, Palawan

Four classes, one property

Forty-two keys in four classes: 18 Garden Suites set back under the frangipani, 12 Lagoon Villas on the rise above the beach, 8 Beachfront Casitas standing directly on the sand, and 4 Hiraya Pool Residences at the far northern end, each on its own parcel with a private pool and cove. Forty-two is where the property stopped, because forty-three would have meant clearing another line of trees.

Distance from the water, mostly. A Garden Suite is the quiet middle of the property, walled garden, two minutes to the sand, and the best value here by a distance. A Lagoon Villa buys you the view and the deck tub, up on the rise. A Beachfront Casita puts you on the sand itself with room for four. A Hiraya Pool Residence is a two-bedroom house with its own pool, its own cove and its own gate, and it is the only class that takes children under twelve. If you tell us who is coming and what you want to wake up to, we will tell you which one is right rather than which one is dearest.

Lime-plaster walls in soft sage, capiz-shell panelled doors open onto a walled tropical garden, a teak writing desk and chair with folded towels, a ceiling fan above, karst and turquoise water beyond.

A weathered teak deck with two rattan planter's chairs facing the sea, a low table on a woven mat, linen throws, palms and timber posts framing a karst headland, warm dappled light.

Garden Suite

The quiet middle of the property, under old frangipani.

Eighteen suites set back from the water in two low rows, each opening through a wide capiz-shell door onto its own square of walled garden. Lime plaster holds the cool through the afternoon, and a slow ceiling fan does most of the work — the aircon is there for the nights the habagat turns sticky. There is an outdoor rain shower walled in coral stone, a writing desk that faces the trees rather than a television, and a hammock that has been re-strung more times than anyone has counted. Two minutes barefoot to the sand.

Sleeps: 2
Floor: 46 m²
Bedding: One king, or two singles on request
Looks at: Frangipani garden, with the limestone ridge behind it

Nightly rate

Nightly rate by season
Season	Rate per night
LowJune – October	₱9,800–₱12,400
ShoulderMay & November	₱11,600–₱14,800
HighDecember – April	₱13,800–₱17,600

What comes with it

Private walled garden
Outdoor rain shower in coral stone
Capiz-shell doors onto the garden
Ceiling fan and split aircon
Nespresso and a Palawan single-origin press
Mini bar restocked daily
Starlink Wi-Fi
Safe, and same-day pressing

A low timber bed with turned-down white linen under a gathered mosquito net, timber louvred doors folded open to white sand and a turquoise lagoon, a rattan chair, wide-plank teak floor, morning light.

A thatched-roof timber villa raised on low stilts on white sand, shuttered doors folded open onto a warm interior with armchairs, coconut palms leaning over the roof, karst headland and turquoise sea behind, late golden light.

Lagoon Villa

Wake to the lagoon changing colour four times before breakfast.

Twelve free-standing villas on the low rise above the beach, angled so that no villa looks into another. The west wall folds fully away onto a hardwood deck with two loungers and a soaking tub deep enough to sit in properly, and the view runs out between Pinagbuyutan and the smaller islet the crew still calls Ate. Inside: a four-poster under mosquito netting nobody needs but everybody keeps, abaca floor mats, and a bathroom with a window you can leave open all night. First light arrives at about twenty to six, and it is worth being awake for.

Sleeps: 3
Floor: 62 m²
Bedding: One king, plus a daybed that sleeps one
Looks at: Bacuit Bay, framed between two karst islets

Nightly rate

Nightly rate by season
Season	Rate per night
LowJune – October	₱12,600–₱15,800
ShoulderMay & November	₱14,900–₱18,600
HighDecember – April	₱17,800–₱22,400

What comes with it

Hardwood deck with two loungers
Deck soaking tub
Folding west wall onto the bay
Four-poster king under netting
Nespresso and a Palawan single-origin press
Mini bar restocked daily
Starlink Wi-Fi
Turndown with a cold towel and calamansi water

A thatched-eaved terrace with a woven hammock strung between timber posts, two timber loungers with linen cushions, a shell-inlaid plaster parapet, white sand and a karst-framed cove a step beyond.

A bare weathered timber bangka outrigger with bamboo arms drawn up on white sand, turquoise shallows and karst cliffs behind, a timber lounger and rattan lantern at left, warm morning light.

Beachfront Casita

Ten steps of raked sand between your door and the water.

Eight casitas standing directly on the beach, each with a deep shaded lanai, an outdoor daybed cut from a single slab of salvaged narra, and a stretch of sand that Noel or somebody on his shift rakes before six every morning. Behind the main room an alcove sleeps two more on twins, which is why the families in the Pool Residences keep asking to borrow one. High season takes these first, usually eleven months out, usually from people who have stayed in one before and asked for the same number.

Sleeps: 4
Floor: 88 m²
Bedding: One king, and a twin alcove for two
Looks at: Sand, then water. Nothing in between.

Nightly rate

Nightly rate by season
Season	Rate per night
LowJune – October	₱15,400–₱19,200
ShoulderMay & November	₱18,200–₱22,600
HighDecember – April	₱21,600–₱26,800

What comes with it

Direct beach access, raked daily
Shaded lanai with a narra daybed
Twin alcove for two more
Outdoor shower and freshwater foot rinse
Nespresso and a Palawan single-origin press
Mini bar restocked daily
Starlink Wi-Fi
Kayak and paddleboard at the door

A private plunge pool with lime-plaster coping, two loungers on a timber deck, a thatched residence with open timber doors and a capiz-shell window, heliconia planting, karst and bay beyond, late afternoon.

A stone-edged pool at dusk reflecting a peach-gold sky, rattan loungers with linen cushions, two canvas umbrellas, lit hurricane lanterns on the deck, palms and karst stacks on the horizon. Warm throughout, no blue cast.

Hiraya Pool Residence

A two-bedroom house with its own pool, its own cove and its own gate.

Four residences at the far northern end, each on its own parcel behind a coral-stone wall, each with a twelve-metre lap pool, an outdoor kitchen and a covered sala that seats eight for dinner. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a bunk room for children or a nanny, and a path down to a cove that only these four houses use. A butler is assigned from arrival; most guests use theirs mainly to make the boat happen and to stop the ice running out.

Sleeps: 6
Floor: 140 m²
Bedding: Two bedrooms — one king, one twin — plus a two-berth bunk room
Looks at: A private cove, facing west into the sunset

Nightly rate

Nightly rate by season
Season	Rate per night
LowJune – October	₱19,800–₱24,000
ShoulderMay & November	₱23,000–₱27,400
HighDecember – April	₱26,500–₱32,000

What comes with it

Twelve-metre private lap pool
Private cove and beach path
Outdoor kitchen and covered sala for eight
Assigned butler from arrival
Two bedrooms, two baths, plus a bunk room
Nespresso, press, and a stocked pantry
Starlink Wi-Fi
Included round-trip Lio transfer

What every rate includes

Breakfast at Alon for everyone in the room, the mini bar restocked daily, Starlink Wi-Fi throughout, kayaks and paddleboards, the pool, the Aklatan reading sala, the Open Gym, and the yoga sessions on the Sunrise Deck on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Rates are quoted in Philippine pesos and already include the 12% VAT and the 10% service charge, so the figure you are quoted is the figure you pay. Beachfront Casitas and Pool Residences also include the round-trip Lio transfer.

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