Raz Reches
Google
Worst value for money I have ever seen in the last 6 months of my trip in East Asia. So many things were wrong in our stay.
Instead of paying on booking.com, you have to pay at the property, which is understandable, however, they have you pay them a deposit payment a few days before check-in. I was sent an email with the property's bank information. I did everything right and used the correct information of the property.
On arrival, they accidentally billed me the full price without excluding the deposit payment for it did not arrive yet. After doing so, we cancelled the payment, and I was told that I would need to pay instead on check-out; either the full price including the amount I sent for deposit or lesser price, not including the amount I sent as a deposit - all depending on whether if my deposit goes through or not.
A day later, I was sent a message from my bank that my deposit payment was transferred successfully into the hotel's bank and I saw that my account was charged for it.
Not thinking of it, I continued with my stay, although having many problems with the property (see below in the rest of the paragraph), but also really enjoying my time in El Nido whenever I was out of Amakan.
On the day of check-out, I was told by the reception that my deposit payment has not arrived in their bank account. I was a bit shocked, knowing that I already saw that the payment went through successfully. When I asked them why did it happen they informed me that "their bank is picky with international payments"
The staff informed me that I had to pay the full price even though I showed them that my bank account was billed.
Though I demanded that I should be compensated for it, the staff refused and told me I wouldn't be able to leave the island unless I pay the full price. While they were arguing with me, they showed me the hotel's transactions in the last week, and they pointed out the fact that no deposit was entered in the last days, even though my account was billed. While seeing their transactions I saw that not one deposit payment went through into their accounts; having wondering if the account that I payed the deposit for is even the same account they showed me. Later I was even told by someone that it happened to him also.
Having to deal with trying to refund the deposit payment through my bank (if I'm even going to get it back) is a huge waste of time for me because the only way I can contact them is through their phoneline and I won't be able to do it if I don't sit idly near a wifi spot because if not, I would be charged for calls and I won't be back home in at least a month and half.
Speaking of WiFi. There's no WiFi in the rooms. There's only WiFi in public areas of the hotel which barely and you have to deal their with an unbearable amount of mosquitoes. It is generally better just going to a coffee shop that has internet. Not having wifi in the room was annoying because the cell reception wasn't really good there also. When I asked why there was no WiFi in the rooms, I was told that it was because the town provides free WiFi, which is true, but only if you're 150 meters from the beach, and the hotel is not.
Other facilities that are very much lacking include, but are not limited to: the fact that the warm water wasn't working properly in a way that you either had boiling hot water or just cold water, the shower head was also broken, I know that the water systems in El Nido aren't very good, but the plumbing work makes it so that the bathroom was smelling like sewage. Apparently there was supposed to be breakfast in the hotel, but their kitchen is not working right now. Instead they only have a coffee station which only has warm water and warm ginger tea, not even coffee not sugar; which is a bit odd.
El Nido is a pretty pricy town, but with the amount I payed for my room, I was better off staying almost anywhere else in El Nido, getting more for far less. Alternatively if you're seeking a more high end property; you could pay just a bit more than the price for Amakan and have a really comfortable experience.