Top of the food chain, The Funny Lion Coron has been crowned king of the jungle by the very travellers who’ve stayed there, time and time again. Highly awarded and consistently rated among the best hotels in the Philippines, it earns its crown by knowing exactly what travellers want: instinctive service, rooms that carry the ease of home with the lift of something special, and a design that is surprising, yet sympathetic. The Funny Lion doesn’t roar, it reigns.
It’s said that the hotel’s owner and his family had travelled to Calauit Safari Park, about an hour and a half’s drive from where the hotel now stands. They saw zebras and giraffes, but no lions. The kids were disappointed, so the owner gave Coron a lion of its own. A funny one.
And ‘funny’ speaks to the Filipino spirit. To the kind of positivity that comes with perspective. It reflects a modern Philippines that is self-aware, self-assured, and able to laugh at itself.
This is what runs through The Funny Lion. This isn’t a place that takes itself too seriously. ‘Hunt’ is a restaurant. ‘Pride’ is a room category. A concept that nods and winks, then quietly overdelivers.
Pride in the details
The Funny Lion Coron avoids the well-worn Southeast Asian tropical island tropes and instead leans into a contemporary, rooted aesthetic. Cement walls are softened with timber. Industrial lines are counterbalanced by curves of rattan. And in the shade of tropical plants, shipping container villas sit quietly, a playful nod to resourceful design that doesn’t roar.
First impressions of The Funny Lion Coron
Set quietly on the edge of Coron Town Proper, a ten-minute tricycle journey (my daughter’s favourite part) from the town’s lively restaurant scene, The Funny Lion doesn’t try to impress from the curb. But from the moment you arrive, the experience feels assured. Staff meet you with a lemongrass and pandan drink, children are gifted a little surprise. Nothing is overstated. Everything is intentional and genuine.
The open-air lobby holds back the surprise of the space that awaits.
The rooms: Clever restraint, with room to exhale
The 46 rooms come in six types: Cub, King, Pride, Savanna, Mara and Tana. Each offers something slightly different, but all share a common design language that balances cool restraint with natural warmth. Cool tones. Warm wood. Smart layout. Everything makes sense.
Rain-style showers are spa-like. Beds are soft without swallowing you. Local treats are replenished daily. It’s the kind of room you unpack into.
At check-out, a parting gift arrives with your invoice. A final note of thoughtfulness that reminds you where you’ve been.
Dining: Come to the watering hole
Hunt, the on-site restaurant, serves up some of the island’s best local cuisine. It’s here we breakfast on dishes that rotate daily.
At the hotel’s Mexican outpost, Cinco Grande, accompanying well-executed Mexican favourites, is the widest selection of tequila in town. During our stay, friends from other hotels came over for dinner here, or for breakfast at Hunt, and for rooftop happy hour cocktails at Pride Rock Deck. It’s the kind of place that draws people in.
Facilities: Everything considered, nothing loud
- Rooftop jacuzzis with panoramic views
- A pool that’s never crowded
- In-room massages by arrangement
- Thoughtful shop stocked with reef-safe sunscreen and local goods
- Airport transfers handled seamlessly
Coron is one of three locations in the Funny Lion portfolio, with sister properties in El Nido and Puerto Princesa. Each reflects its environment while keeping the brand’s signature: thoughtful design, gentle humour, and a kind of generosity that can’t be trained. It’s lived.
For travel agents, this consistency makes packaging Palawan itineraries seamless. For travellers, it makes you want to see how the next Funny Lion expresses itself in another place.
Checked in or checked out?
Fully checked in.
The Funny Lion Coron doesn’t win so many traveller awards by accident. It earns them, one guest at a time, through design that speaks softly and staff who don’t need a script to be thoughtful.
This is what it looks like when a hotel honours its place, honours its people, and quietly takes its seat at the top of the pride.
