Have you stayed there?
The reason my New Year's vacation was ruined was that we went to a place (Providencia, Colombia) we had only read good things about. Unspoilt nature, little tourism, great beaches!
The reality was, it was just poverty, no infrastructure, garbage everywhere, staff had no training, though we were staying at the "best" hotel on the island.
I don't blame the locals because they were just poor and I felt sorry for them, but also, it was really not what we had traveled many, many hours for.
We ended canceling the whole trip and going home a week earlier than plan, after all other alternatives also had fallen through.
I really, really want to avoid making that mistake a second time. I'd rather miss out on a great destination than find myself surrounded by poverty and misery again.
And Palawan doesn't seem to have 5-star resorts...? I probably sound like a snob, but I'm not. But this disaster trip really taught me not to go somewhere that doesn't have chain hotels, just as an indicator of economic development.
I'm really intrigued by Bawah Island though.
It's much more expensive than any hotel I've ever stayed at, but it looks simply amazing. I'd really prefer something cheaper, but I'm seriously considering it to make up for the ruined trip a few weeks ago.