Review of Deep Forest Garden Hotel 3*

There's a minivan shuttle from the airport, 60p per person. It's available even late evening. Maybe best to arrange it with the hotel beforehand though. It's a long way and not in the centre, in Bancao-bancao, a long journey in the dark if you arrive after 6pm. A tricycle from the centre costs 60 or 80 in evening. The place is beautiful and has a very attractive swimming pool. The rooms are decorative with wood carvings. Some rooms look into the swimming pool, others are upstairs. Smart signal is almost non existent here, even for calls. But most rooms have a good Wi-Fi, but not all. If you have one without Wi-Fi, you will have to go to pool or reception. Our room had problems with toilet, flush inside and also a blockage. Water pressure is also an issue in dry season. Palawan has frequent "brown outs", but there is a generator. The bed is comfortable, you will have a good sleep. The floor is slippy tiles in bedroom and small stones in the bathroom. There is a mini bar which is expensive for Philippines. There is no free water, you must buy it for 60p at the on site sari-sari store. This around double the normal price. There are no coffee making facilities, as design no doubt. You get soap and shampoo. Aircon is strong and our thermostat worked fine. The food is expensive but high quality. Our stay included a breakfast. It was peak season and there was only 1 waitress, it took 15 minutes to get a coffee, and then after asking her twice. It needs more staff at breakfast in peak season. I think we paid 300p extra for 2 breakfasts and some of the more exotic breakfasts on the menu cost 250p plus. Filipinos think if toasted bread is brown it is "sunog" — burnt. So the home made delicious bread was white and the egg and bacon mixture was a bit weird but ok, not good. There are tricycles waiting outside that charge 60p to the city centre. It will be difficult to reduce the price around Bancao-bancao, especially if you are a foreigner. The drivers waiting on the main road charge the same, but passing trikes, may give a small discount. The business model seems to be to charge quite a low price for the good quality hotel because it's remote, but due it's remoteness, they can charge very high prices for everything else. Food, drinks, games.