*As of March 2019, I found out that unfortunately, Spider House Boracay has closed down permanently.
Spider House Boracay in the Philippines is one of my favourite travel spots of all time.
The first time I travelled to the Philippines in March 2014, I was told by a passing stranger that we just HAD to visit Spider House on our travels. And so we did.
We enjoyed the most magical daytimes relaxing on their decks before the cool crowd came along for sunset drinks. Our days were just so incredibly good and the atmosphere was so unique. I just knew that for our return to the Philippines, I had to book to stay there again!
And so we arrived…. to a web of bamboo scaffolding as Spider House Boracay was undergoing a major extension. Unfortunately, no-one had informed us of this. However, when we stepped into our room, I was relieved to see that it didn’t affect our view and the noise wasn’t too bad. I’m not sure I could say the same for the other rooms.
The Rooms
Spider House Boracay (currently) only has a handful of rooms. We booked a ‘Bamboo Double’ which meant two double beds! We were on the lowest level so our room was just about 2 metres above the sea and we could hear the waves all night. All of the rooms have open window areas with white cloth hanging down as curtains. It’s as close to the sea as we could have been and we loved it.
The toilet was in a small room at the back, which I must admit got a bit smelly but our shower was open and in the room meaning I could enjoy a relaxing shower whilst admiring the view out over the bay – incredible!
There was ample storage space in the form of wooden shelves and an open clothes rail – perhaps I might have expected something a little more with the price we paid.
Our bed had a mosquito net over it which we kept down through the night as well as a fan directed straight onto us, and we kept the other double bed as more of a day-chill place (ie. the sandy bed!)
Security
Since our room had no glass windows, we did feel a little worried that someone could enter. Some of the bamboo scaffolding did come fairly close outside, so if someone wanted to be really devious, they probably could have climbed in. But luckily that didn’t happen.
Our room did have a lockable cupboard where we kept our valuables which felt quite sturdy despite the tiny little key used to lock it.
However, our room was only locked from the outside with a latch and a padlock. The whole door itself felt really flimsy and we felt a bit uncomfortable that a lot of the builders lingered near our room as it was by their rest area and so they knew when we were out – but luckily, none of our worries materialised into anything!
Oh, and also – a cheeky crab did manage to break in. We found him in our shower!
Food and Drink
It’s worth me mentioning that Spider House Boracay is a LOT more popular and well-known than it was in early 2014.
The decks and restaurant have been hugely expanded since then, and fit a lot more people in. And it was really packed everyday.
Some days, even as hotel guests, we couldn’t get seats for breakfast or lunch. At sunset, the queue was so long to even enter Spider House Boracay – and as guests, we couldn’t even skip this! Very frustrating!
However, the food is still really good (although quite expensive for Boracay). The menu is varied and it is so amazing to eat the food perched on wooden decking over the water.
All the communal areas of the hotel are now covered which means you can’t sunbathe as we used to, which was a shame. There is also no private area for hotel guests to enjoy.
Lastly, something we absolutely HATED was that huge Chinese/Korean tour groups would dock up, and climb up to Spider House Boracay as part of their excursion. They’d come up for drinks and take every last seat around as well as being exceptionally noisy. Call me a grandma but it was a completely different experience to 2014.
My review of Spider House Boracay
- Spider House Boracay is in an amazing location on Diniwid Beach just a 5-minute walk from White Beach. It’s a little quieter and there are no touts trying to sell tours or products.
- Despite its major increase in popularity, it’s not everyday you can sleep in a wooden treehouse. For the novelty factor, it’s pretty special.
- However, I would recommend checking to see that the construction works are finished to ensure your stay is more peaceful and pleasant.
- It worked out to be about £70 a night for a double room. This is mid-range in Boracay but I felt for the price, at least breakfast could have been included.
Check out a few more pics below for some inspiration!
I hope you’ve found my review of Spider House Boracay useful and that maybe I’ve inspired you to visit and stay! If you’re exploring the rest of the Philippines, do check out the rest of my posts on the country here.
If you’ve already been to Boracay, let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you ? x
You might also find some of my other posts useful, including my 3 week itinerary here and my top tips for travelling in the Philippines here.
If you’ve enjoyed this post, feel free to share using the below links!
Wanna see more? Check my Instagram here, my Facebook here or my Twitter here!
Omg it looks gorgeous there! I’m adding this to my bucket list!
So blue! Love your photography. The food looks yummy. We haven’t been to Boracay yet. You have mentioned that food was expensive for Boracay.
Can we ask you what an average meal in Boracay would cost? Thanks
Bucket list for sure!!!!! So beautiful ! You take lovely pictures !
Oh my word! Spider House Boracay looks very cool, though I feel your concern about the whole openness of the room. I think no windows would have put me off a bit too! (It looked absolutely beautiful though). One for the bucketlist for sure. I’ve never been to the Philippines. What would the average meal cost there?
What a gorgeous place – and I love the kitty you found! ? Frustrating that it was under construction and filled with tour groups, but what a naturally beautiful place!!
Such lovely photos, looks like you had a great stay! Will definitely keep this spot in mind.
It’s in my list and your pictures make me want to visit Broadway right away. Beautiful pictures ?
It’s in my list and your pictures make me want to visit Boracay right away. Beautiful pictures ?
This place looks amazing! I would love to try out something like this. So cool! However, I do think they should let the hotel guests reserve a table for breakfast at least. That might end up many customers choosing another hotel. Thanks for telling us about this little speciality!
Wonderful pictures! I don’t know how well i could sleep in a room that open, but it is gorgeous! I’d like to give it a try sometime.
This is really beautiful! My first impression was a bit like an old hidden pirate pace somewhere in the Carribean. Your photos make me wanna go there immediately, I love the one having dish with this amazing view… I can agree to the chinese travel groups, I made similar experiences, quite disturbing when they come in masses, being loud and so on… 🙁
But nevertheless great post with great photos 🙂
This place looks absolutely amazing. i’ll admit the no windows situation would be a bit of an issue for me. Mainly security and insect wise, I tend to get bitten to death by mosquitos! I’ll have to check this place out when I head back to Boracay in the future!
These are really gorgeous photos! It looks like something of a kid’s imaginary tree-house! I think travel is becoming much more popular in general, everywhere in the world. I’m in Rome right now and just passed one charming quiet little street with literally 4 bus loads of tourists walking with their flags. And it’s February. Sigh.
my good this looks amazing! Truly like an experience and just .. stunningly perfect! (Except the noisy tourists ^^ofc) but I wonder… why is it called Spider House? I was worried actually to read it and was prepared for some pictures I prefer not to see.. I am not too fond of spiders 😀
While this place sounds rather amazing, it’s a bit disappointing that it has been “discovered”. That water looks just incredible, having breakfast with you feet hanging over the water…and seeing the water lit up at night, make this place look enchanting. I think it would be worth looking into their low season!
Interesting to hear u went back to a place you visited in the past. Part of me feels can it ever be the same feeling or better but it’s nice to learn of more return stories.
It looks like an awesome place to stay. It’s interesting to hear that a room had no glass windows. I also have never heard that crab has been breaking in shower. Thanks for sharing!
The place looks gorgeous with the looks of a true tropical retreat. Nevertheless it was not correct that they did not informed you that there was a work on progress. The food looks delicious and for making thins even better there is a cat!
Spider House and the food look amazing! I am adding this place to my list. So quirky and individual. Its not cheap but its the novelty factor and I think sometimes you get what you pay for and to be right on the beach is a massive bonus
Thanks for visiting the Philippines.
… and I should definitely experience the Spider House too! 😀
This place looks scary and awesome at the same time, don’t know how is that possible 🙂
Sometimes returning to a place is risky because it might not be as good. It’s too bad to hear the downsides but it could have been worse. It sounds like great location for the beach.
I love sweet yellow mango, so my mouth is watering looking at your photo. It’s a shame lots of Chinese and Koreans turn up, hopefully they go again just as quickly, as long as no one plays Gangnam Style! It’s a little worrying about the windows but I guess in a quiet beach like this it’s ok, definitely not in Manila though.
uhhhhh i love mango! and my mouth is just watering looking at the pictures. This trip looks amazing.
Very intriguing place. Thanks so much for this honest review. Isn’t it interesting how places change from year to year? Often these changes are better overall, but some of those little things that really made it special tend to disappear.