2-Star Hotels in El Nido

Staying at Happiness Hostel was a wonderful experience. The atmosphere is lively and welcoming, with a social vibe that makes it easy to meet fellow travelers. The staff are incredibly friendly and go out of their way to make guests feel at home, offering helpful tips about El Nido and arranging tours with ease. The rooms are clean and comfortable, with a simple but cozy design. The common areas are well-maintained, and the on-site restaurant serves delicious food at fair prices. Location is another big plus—right in the heart of town, close to the beach, shops, and nightlife, yet still relaxed enough to enjoy downtime. What really sets this hostel apart is the sense of community. It feels more like staying with friends than just booking a bed. For budget-conscious travelers who want both comfort and connection, Happiness Hostel is a perfect choice.

From the minute we arrived quite late at night we were welcomed by Nanni the owner. This is a gem of a place. Lakwa has a cool vibe. Great little burger bar, delicious breakfasts and a great bar to hang at night for a drink. Room was very clean, quiet and modern. Nanni and his team offer off road dirt bike tours where you can see places others just don’t get to see. They also provide you with a scooter so you can get around and self explore El Nido. It’s also located 500 metres from the beautiful Lio Beach. Nanni, Alex and the team are a wealth of knowledge on areas to visit and assisted us with booking a tour. The motel room also has an information guide too which was very helpful. We give this motel and staff an 11/10. Can’t speak highly enough on how we appreciated their hospitality.

Great party hostel with lots of events and very good well trained staff. The location is ten minutes by tuk-tuk to town so isn’t the best but in return you do get to chill right on the beach. The food and drinks at the bar are amazing but they are a little more expensive than downtown el nido. The beds and the bathroom facilities are clean and well looked after with plenty of bum guns to sort you out after eating a bad meal in town. The entrance and exit could do with improving especially at night as you have to get in from the beach which isn’t ideal at night when there is a high tide and/ or loads of rabid dogs barking and running toward you.

The hotel has a decent location, and everything about it is actually quite good, except for the management. We booked a deluxe room with a large bed and a balcony. We arrived late and were checked into a very basic economy room on the first floor of an annex building (Room B – more like a tiny closet than a room). All the receptionists, one after another, kept assuring us that this was indeed the room category we booked, claiming it had a sea view and they simply hadn't updated the photos, and that the balcony had been removed after a typhoon. They also said they couldn't reach the manager, and without the manager, they couldn't move us. We decided to leave for a Tour A, gathered all our belongings, and moved them to the luggage room, hoping they would be transferred to a different room later. However, upon our return, we were again given the key to the same economy room. After an hour of 'trying' to resolve the issue at reception, we were finally given a room on the second floor of the annex building (Room D) – it had no balcony, but it was bigger and cozier than the previous one (it had a safe, kettle, and a table with chairs – none of which were in Room B). This situation ruined our first impression, even though the hotel is otherwise not bad. It's in the heart of the action and convenient for those who came for sightseeing. The lingering feeling is unclear. We had little time for this place and really didn't want to spend it on arguments, room changes, and listening to people smilingly lie to your face. The photo shows Room D, the one we were moved to.

The location is perfect, right in the centre of El Nido city. Just a few hundred meters to the beach. It’s a very simple hotel but everyone working there is lovely and helps you with anything if you just ask them. There’s a shared kitchen on the top floor. We didn’t get the room cleaned during our stay of 4 nights but got fresh towels when we asked for it. Beautiful view outside of the windows!

Nice Hotel with friendly Personal. We have a seaview room, the view is very nice… but many steps to climb. Rooms were big and clean, but you can hear the neighbor well. Breakfast was good but not many extensiv. For us the Hotel was good.

First off, the man running the place is AMAZING. He was so friendly throughout the stay, carried our bags up, helped whenever we needed. We even left items there and he kept them for us. If the review was purely about the service we received, it would be a 10/10. The accommodation is actually in a really cool spot, it’s on the beach so at high tide you need to walk through a bit of water to come in. But very scenic and nice. The accommodation itself is fine. A little dated and could do with a few small fixes. Water pressure isn’t the best. But overall it added to a rustic feel.

Small rooms, next to a party street. The size, service and even the location are not worth the money, to be honest. But at that moment there were no options, no choice. All the ports were closed, and the hotels were sold out and there was nowhere to go. We took it for one night.

It was a truly pleasant stay with a variety of choices of breakfast each day, with a stunning view of the sea and hills. Lemuel is a star server, who never missed a step in service in any way. He was professional, warm, helpful, and goes the extra mile to check in that we are fine whenever he can. He looked out for all guests no matter how busy it got, and helped with taking photos for the crowds too. While some other staff may have been blur, his presence and service made everything exceptional. He even shared with us that the sunset view from the hotel should not be missed, and it was good we were back in time one of the days to enjoy the view from the hotel. Great stay.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ We had an excellent stay and could not be happier. The staff were absolutely amazing – extremely friendly, attentive, and always willing to help with anything we needed. The service was outstanding from start to finish and made us feel very welcome. Everything was very clean and well maintained, from the rooms to the common areas. The overall atmosphere was calm and comfortable, perfect for relaxing after a day of exploring. Highly recommended – we would definitely stay here again!