La Cecile Hotel and Cafe Komodo

We were wowed by the amazing view when we arrived and thought we'd found a gem, but the place is run down and needs renovation. Both pools were dirty, under maintenance and closed. The pool bar looked cool but wasn't operating either. Rooms were low standard, the restaurant was overpriced and the food below average, and service wasn't great. It's a shame, because the grounds and location have loads of potential. With some renovation, or someone else running the place, it could be paradise. We chose to stay just one night.

We've eaten at La Cecile several times and know the owner. We run our business mainly in Labuan Bajo, and have always found the food very good. It's a well-known spot for dinner and the panorama, especially at sunset. This evening we arrived around sundown as a family group of nine, ten including a little boy. We had booked a table for ten and sat down right away. While we waited for the menu, five of us went to the nearby “chapel” to take sunset photos. It's La Cecile's main photo spot, with a beautiful view of the bay. As we were nearly there, a young waitress named Wulan ran after us and stopped us, saying photos weren't allowed before we'd ordered a meal. We were surprised, but followed the rule, returned quietly to our table and ordered. By then the sunset was gone, and all we had was a dark photo of ourselves sitting at the table. That behaviour felt unfriendly, outrageous and disrespectful. We'd already taken our seats, but were treated as if we were penniless visitors trying to enjoy the place for free.

We had such a great stay at La Cecile. The views from the pool, restaurant and rooms are stunning, and the staff were really friendly and helpful. I'd happily stay again!

The view from the deluxe sea-view room was an 11/10. I spent almost five hours on the balcony taking it in and watching birds, including a couple of collared kingfishers and a golden breasted sunbird. Service was very helpful too: they took our luggage straight away, gave us a tasty welcome drink, brought breakfast out in stages and cleared each plate when we were done. I'd read about the room condition, so I knew what to expect, and yes, it was quite bad. The bidet was punctured, the shower flow kept changing, and the toilet couldn't flush tissue, though there was no sign saying so. It also couldn't fully flush number twos, and I had to use the bidet to help clear it. I paid 700k for the room, including a full breakfast for two, so I wasn't too unhappy. Hotels in Indonesia with views like this and similar room conditions can cost this much or more, sometimes for a room half the size where you can barely move, a shared bathroom that isn't always cleaned properly, and no breakfast. It would be great if they fixed parts of the bathroom and repaired and repainted the ceiling where water had seeped in. With that done, I'd be fine paying around 800k. The facilities cover a lot of ground, with two pools, several viewpoints including a sky deck, and a restaurant.