The Club Ten beach resort is one of the very few budget hotels in Boracay’s station 2 that we endorse. Usually, when people ask us to help them save money on accommodation in Boracay we recommend staying at station 3, if you are keen being in White Beach. Station 2 is typically better for 4 or 5 star resorts, which are of course priced accordingly. Most cheap hotels you find there are real dumps – bleak, dark and outdated, with no hot water, AC or WiFi in any of the rooms.
That is why we were skeptical at first when visiting Club 10 for the first time. The last thing we wanted was to set up innocent tourists to having an horrible experience. However, we immediately realized this is one of the best hidden gems in all of Boracay. Sure, the hotel is simple and basic, but it provides excellent value for money while making sure all your needs are met. On top of that, the super-friendly staff manages to maintain a unique and attractive look to the whole place, helping it stand out as a great cheap option at the heart of Boracay’s White Beach.
One thing has to be mentioned straight away though – the name they chose is misleading and this is by no means a beach resort. It’s located in an alley right after D’mall, and 150 meters away from the actual beach. You’ll have to walk roughly 3 minutes to get there. Apart from that, Club Ten will really exceed all of your expectations and make you feel like you made a great choice in staying there.
The staff are extremely friendly and helpful, and will do their best to help you feel at home. After no more than a day there, everybody will already recognize you and know your name.
The buildings are colorful and well designed, and along with the nice clean garden area really great a feeling of coziness. That said, rooms on ground floor are right next to the garden, and so there are likely to be ants and small insects inside occasionally.
The rooms are all very clean and nicely designed. The beds are comfortable, and the shower is good. WiFi signal inside the room isn't very stable though. There's also a small TV, AC and a fan, mini-bar and a safety box – so overall the room is well furnished.
There's no pool at the property, and as mentioned the beach isn't really right at your doorstep. So, for us this is the resort's main weakness.
Great location right at the center of station 2. you'll be close to everything – from the beach itself to the many restaurants, bars and nightclubs. D'mall, the main shopping area, is also just a few minutes away. Still, being in an alley means it's relatively quiet at night.
The best possible choice for people who are looking for cheap lodging in station 2. You get a lot for a relatively low price, and will surely not feel disappointed.
There are only 20 rooms overall, and they are usually fully booked. This means it’s much better if you book your stay at Club Ten at least a month in advance during high season, and 2 weeks in the low season. As mentioned, all rooms are fully stocked with the basic amenities such as TV, mini-bar, AC, safety box and shower toiletries. For the latter though, it might be better if you bring your own or drop by D’mall to buy some, since we find the ones provided by the hotel to be below par.
There are 3 room types in Club 10, but they are actually all pretty much the same. At 30m2 they are all equally sized, and are all furnished similarly. What sets them apart is just the bed set up, and how many people they are meant to accommodate. Still, for an additional 10$ or so, you can add an extra person to whichever room you decide to book.
When we first got to Club Ten our expectations were very low, so it was very easy to leave us pleasantly surprised. We knew straight away this is much better than the typical budget resort in the Philippines, so we decided to give them a chance and send people there. Clients we sent there were also always very happy with the recommendation, but that is in large part due to the fact we spent a long time describing the hotel's strong and weak points. We feel it's important you'll know exactly what you are going to get, and make an independent and informed decision. Not only will it significantly reduce the chance of disppointment, it will also help make you a more active partner in determining how your vacation will look like. Sadly, Club Ten's staff aren't great at marketing, they just focus on making their guests happy. Like many other small resorts they fail to understand that a big part of guest satisfaction is properly managing expectations. The reason we say all this is because we went over guest feedback across all popular online booking sites, and feel that it should be taken with a grain of salt. First, many people come with unrealistic expectations and complain about small problems as if this was a luxury hotel. Secondly, budget hotels typically attract more local tourists, and they have a completely different taste and set of expectations than those of a foreigner. That said, we still feel going through those reviews can provide some useful insight, as long as they are examined properly. Tripadvisor has 113 reviews, out of which only 13% are below average. It also seems like reviews from the last year have been much more positive, which is an encouraging sign. People really compliment the staff and liked the location, but complain about the food and rooms being dirty. There are also 288 reviews on Booking.com and 468 at Agoda, where the rating for both is 8.1. Guests at both sites really liked the location and the unqiue design, and say it's one of the best value for money choices in Boracay. The staff's friendly attitude also gets a constant mention. The main downsides here seem to be the breakfast and the WiFi signal inside the rooms.
Here are the main key points for why you should stay at this resort:
There are also some negative points you must keep in mind before deciding:
To sum it up, we firmly believe Club Ten is the best budget option in the station 2 area of Boracay. It offers everything you need, while providing a friendly and relaxing atmosphere. The main advantage you get is being close to everything, without having to spend a fortune. This is a great choice for couples especially, but everyone can easily have a great time there, as long as they know what to expect.
Both of these are 30m2 and are comfy and well designed. They each have AC, a TV, mini bar and a safety deposit box, as well as other toiletries and small amenities. Both come with a queen size bed, with the difference between the two being the Deluxe also includes an additional single bed.
This room is slightly bigger, thanks to a 2nd floor you can reach by climbing a spiraling stairway. It has 3 queen size beds in it, and can easily fit in 4 adults.
