Loccal Collection Hotel — Hotel in Flores

Hotel Review – Labuan Bajo (Deluxe Room, 4th Floor | €125/night) (Full Review Read below)

Good things first: Fantastic location and sea view

The things we didn’t like: High price for very small, uninviting room Bed linen unacceptable: sweat stains visible under the cover Visible mold in the shower; bathroom drain smells unpleasant Shampoo & body wash appear to be the same generic product Breakfast selection good, but refills inconsistent; items “out” Restaurant/outdoor areas not properly cleaned (tables, ashtrays, door handles, cushions) No shade at the pool; no umbrellas; questionable pool circulation Staff largely unresponsive to repeated guest complaints (wonder if they could do anything, guess - for me it’s a management task to deal with complaints)

Overall value: very poor at this price point

Full Review:

We booked the Deluxe Room on the 4th floor for €125 per night. The location is fantastic, with an excellent view over the sea—one of the few positives. Unfortunately, almost everything else did not meet even basic expectations.

The room was extremely small, poorly maintained, and far from inviting. Hygiene was the biggest issue. Bed linen had sweat stains visible under the cover, which is unacceptable in any hotel, let alone at this price. The bathroom was even worse: mold in the shower and a sink drain that emitted a strong, unpleasant smell. Toiletries were basic and careless—shampoo and shower gel were provided as the same generic product. The bottles were also very dirty. We disinfected them ourselves!

Overall, the room felt unhygienic to the point of being uncomfortable.

Breakfast looked promising in terms of selection but failed in execution. Several items ran out quickly, and staff simply responded “out” instead of refilling. At this price point, every guest should have equal access to the full breakfast offering, not just those who arrive first.

The restaurant and outdoor areas mirrored this lack of care. Tables were left uncleaned, ashtrays not emptied, and seat cushions neglected. Around the pool, there was no sign of active water circulation or filtration, which raised hygiene concerns. No umbrellas or shaded seating were provided, forcing guests to stay in the full sun without relief. My thoughts: I also question the cleanliness of the kitchen, just like the food. If the rooms the customer inspects are already very dirty, what should the kitchen look like, even though the customer has no insight into it?

Multiple guests voiced similar complaints here on Google (read them as well), but management gave little to no response or the standard scripted text!

In short: the view and location are superb, but the basics—cleanliness, maintenance, and service—are severely lacking. At €125 per night, this is one of the weakest stays we’ve had in Indonesia and far below acceptable value.

To Management This hotel has strong potential thanks to its location, but immediate corrective action is needed.

Replace and deep-clean all bedding, ensuring stains are never present. Address mold issues in bathrooms and resolve drainage odors. Provide separate, clearly labeled toiletries and let em clean before every customer. Introduce strict cleaning routines for rooms, tables, ashtrays, and cushions. Ensure pool circulation is visible and functional. Add adequate shaded seating with umbrellas. Train staff to proactively refill breakfast items and respond constructively to guest concerns.

Without these changes, the gap between price and quality will remain...

Date Stayed: June 2021 (2 Nights) Price: Rp. 4.000.000/ night TL;DR: Hotel is not ready to open. Prepare to be disappointed and frustrated with the service. Amazing views though.

The good The view is amazing especially the sunset The staffs at dining service are great!

The bad (Something bad but corrected or will be remedied as time goes) Extremely inefficient service. Check in process took close to 2 hours. But we were chilling at the restaurant while we wait and service will get better as they get more experienced. While you are chilling at the pool, construction workers will be there with you. But this should be remedied after the hotel construction is done. Throughout the day and up til 10 pm, you will hear construction sounds and drilling, but that should also be remedied as the construction is finished. There was no water at all during the second morning I stayed between 9 - 10, but it was only for 1 hour.

The Ugly Food takes at least 1 hour to arrive every time. For a hotel that’s only open for 6 months, the hotel looks worn down and there are smells from the drain, which makes the lobby smells. The pool in the room is dirty like crazy and they tried to “treat” it but it’s even dirtier after the treatment. They gave us a plate of delicious fruits as apology. After that, nothing further is done. The room is spacious but it lacks certain important amenities. For example, hot water will run out if 2 adults and 1 kid take turn showering. Hanging closet is also unavailable The drinking water bottle (roughly 1 liter glas bottle) is only refillable once a day per room. That is ok since they want people to spend money at the bar but the drinking water has a smell to it. The swimming Pool is dirty and the water has the same drainage smell to it One of the members in our party cut himself due to a furniture that’s not properly finished in his room. When we asked for the first aid kit on the front desk, they simply said “We don’t have one”🤦‍♂️and that’s it

Honestly, if not for the view and the dining staffs, I feel this hotel deserve 1 star for the price that you pay. From every aspect considered, this hotel is not ready for opening yet.

I’m not trying to be picky or petty but if you charge people such a high amount and expect people to be satisfied based solely on your location and view, you may have a hard time retaining returning customers. Service, experience and competency speaks volume when you are in the service industry.

As a patron, I feel like this hotel tries to cheapen out on things that they think will go unnoticed, which end up hurting the comfort of the patrons. It’s a shame because the location and concept of the hotel offers so much...

My experience overall was perhaps one of my most negative hotel stay experiences of all time.

1. I arrived slightly before 3pm the check-in time. After completing check-in procedures they asked me to get my welcome drink at the restaurant before getting my card key. I returned to the reception shortly after 3pm and they told me they were still getting my room ready, and justified it saying that checkout was at 12 noon, as if 3 hours weren't enough for them (if so, you need to relook what you communicate externally). I pressed if there was only 1 room of the type I had booked (deluxe) and they replied that all deluxe rooms are not ready. This is appalling. I did get a room at 3.10pm after asking for a refund (they realized I wouldn't just wait around).

2. Rooms have zero soundproofing. I can hear the coughs of the people next door and their banter. I can also hear people's conversation from the corridor. There was a festival going on as well outside (that they couldn't do anything about). Of the 4 nights I stayed, my sleep was disrupted by noise past midnight for 2 of them.

3. 3 times in 4 days, my card key malfunctioned. I was tempted to replace my card key everything I pass by the reception to preempt going up and realizing and coming down to rectify the problem and then finally successfully entering my room

4. The sink area has a really entrenched sewage smell. There are no face towels. I have dropped my toiletries a few times around the sink area because there is simply no space to put them.

5. in the afternoon, because the room faces the sun, it gets very hot. The air con doesn't help because it is far away from the bed.

6. there is an insect problem. 3 times I have found insects on my bed (sometimes because they're on my arm etc). I think it might be because of the light fixture right behind the bed attracting them.

7. The 2 lifts take forever to arrive, and one of them is habitually out of service. For some reason they seem to have amnesia as I have to press the same destination floor again after it seems to reset the buttons. A very frustrating experience.

8. Minor but the chair was very uncomfortable to sit in.

9. The lobby smells like the bathroom.

Positive things: there was hot water in the showers, cleaning staff especially were courteous.

All in all, a very disappointing stay. Also a lesson in not to choose hotels based on glowing reviews. The pool view may look good but if you look closer there are dead insects floating in the pool. And even as a hotel guest I couldn't use the 6th floor during sunset as they had a private function. No merit to being a hotel...