Adventure travellers have another reason to put the Philippines on their travel radar with a new luxury treehouse villa resort set to open on Palawan island.
Explorar Treehouses El Nido will be made up of 65 treehouse villas, each with its own private plunge pool set in untouched mountain terrain.
Scheduled to launch in 2024, the boutique resort will offer guests ocean views, a social space for connecting with like-minded travellers and access to a team of local experts and guides.
Much of the hotel's produce will be grown at the on-site permaculture farm and garden where travellers will also be able to enjoy green-themed experiences. There's also going to be a spa and a wellness facility making use of only local, natural products.
With a key focus being sustainability, the hotel is being designed by Underwood Art Factory in Phuket. The Thailand design team count the Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai and The Slate hotels among their work and are known for their sustainable, salvaged and upcycled pieces. They're also well-versed in building treehouses, having created the luxury thatched villas at the coveted TreeHouse Villas Koh Yao resort in Thailand's Phang Nga Bay.
The Explorar crew will be a key part of ensuring that travellers booking at the El Nido hotel get the most from their stay, with local experts on hand to share their unique knowledge of the islands with guests.
“I am excited by the uniqueness of this treehouse concept on Palawan island, which I believe will become an iconic El Nido resort,” said Scot Toon, managing director for Asia at The Pavilions Hotels & Resorts.
"This continues our growth and the exciting development of our new brand in the region and shows that its experience-driven and social travel ethos is key in this new travel era we are in."
After a day spent adventuring around El Nido and the Bacuit archipelago, guests will be able to gather at The Exchange, a purposefully designed social space in the resort where people can eat, drink, share travel stories and connect with Explorar crew members.
Sister hotel El Nido Palawan Island Resort, from parent group The Pavilions Hotels & Resorts, is also right next door to the new hotel site, and guests will also have access to its adventure park, water sports centre, adventure walks and unique dining experiences.
Voted the Best Island in the World in Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards 2020, Palawan is the largest island in the Philippines.
It’s known for lush jungles, sandy coves, untouched marine life, limestone karsts and unspoiled nature. It’s also home to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, a Unesco World Heritage Site that was voted one of the New7Wonders of Nature in 2012.
The Philippines resort is the second hotel to be announced by what is one of Asia’s fastest growing new hotel groups. The group's first resort, Explorar Pawapi Koh Mook, will open in Thailand in December.
The inaugural 24-key resort is located on a private sandy beach on the peninsula of Koh Mook in the secluded province of Trang. It offers bungalows and villas, an open-air restaurant and a sunset beach bar.
The brand has plans to develop more resorts across Asia and Europe, each falling under one of four themes: Beach, Eco, Cultural or Urban.
Travel to the Philippines remains off-limits for most international tourists because of the global pandemic, but restrictions have eased for vaccinated travellers from green countries in the past month.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
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The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
The specs: McLaren 600LT
Price, base: Dh914,000
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 600hp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 620Nm @ 5,500rpm
Fuel economy 12.2.L / 100km
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
DMZ facts
- The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
- It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
- The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
- It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
- Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
- Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
- Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012.
- Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
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