TA’AKTANA, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Labuan Bajo — Hotel in Flores

A wonderful new Luxury Collection... but with some oddity. Pretty much everything about the property is outstanding and stunning. All the suites are located in the main building. The rooms are beautifully designed, cosy and homy. The interior design is simply stunning and the bathrooms and gorgeous. Housekeeping service and turndown services both were impeccably performed. We really liked the bathroom toiletries as well as the selection of teas/coffees provided in the room. Also the minibar selection was complementary and what a good choice of delicious drinks (coconut, kombusha and the likes) and snacks. There was a coffee bar near the main pool and also a tea bar near the reception, both offering various local coffee beans and teas. The main pool is beautifully appointed and wonderful to swim. You are offered water, drinks, and fruits as soon as you arrive. However, we always had to ask to lower the party music which is played there, the atmosphere feels more being at a W hotel than a Luxury Collection hotel, so we rarely stayed long at the pool. The food in the two restaurants was very delicious. And the offering was really great. The non alcoholic drinks selection was huge, healthy and amazing. Many juices, kombuchas and other local drinks. Mocktails were sophisticated and delicious. Breakfast was also a delight. The bar Maiga over the water was a perfect place to enjoy the sunset. For elite members, they offer one small drink and one small canapé complimentary during sunset time. The gardens were well appointed and lovely for delightful walks. There is also a vegetable garden which we really hope the property will continue to cherrish and cultivate in the future.

Now, there are two points which we found rather negative. There are some beautiful corals so close to the beach, with quite many fishes. Unfortunately, the sea has a lot of plastic. Whether you swim or use the water activities the hotel provides, the visual of plastic is inconvenient. It is the case in most areas in Indonesia being one of the main plastic consumer. What a pity. The second point and most negative point was the service which did not live up to our expectations. While every staff had a pleasant personality, we felt being watched all the time, from the horde of security and staff members. There is an incredible amount of staff who are always looking to greet you. Perhaps in one day, we felt having to respond to 50 greetings. Unless you ignore them, it is simply tiring at the end. We felt most staff member to be intrusive and they will interrupt you to have a forced conversation while you are yourself already in a conversation with your partner or just looking to have a moment for yourself. So most of the staff was not able to show common sense in their interaction and when to interact or not with a guest. This includes the service of managers and butlers. However the staff at Lejos seem to have received a much better training resulting in a more genuine and refine service. We were pretty much looking for serenity, but that was very hard to have it outside our room. We got asked some weird questions. "sir, are you now going to toilet?" lol At breakfast, when asking to have a tea.. The answer from the staff one day was: "oh you better try a tea in the tea room next to the reception after breakfast so you can have a wide selection of teas"... "But can I have a tea now?" When about to have a walk inside the hotel at night: "Sir where are you going?" "We want to have a peaceful walk"... "Oh no, it's dangerous at night." We have got so many of these remarks. On the day of checkout, we got asked 20 times or perhaps more what were our flight details. Too much. While the property is no doubt very comfortable and luxurious, we may wait to come back in the next couple of years due to the excessive service and sometimes embarrassing interaction with the staff, which we have not encountered to that level in other Luxury...

Recommended by a friend who only likes 5 star luxury hotel stays, we booked the one year old Ta'atkana, Luxury Collection in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia. Our stay was stellar and I say one of the most memorable ones. It rates high for service/staff, room, upgrades and food. Titanium Bonvoy member. ||Labuan Bajo is a quick one hour flight from Bali. The hotel will pick you up at the airport (no charge) and the attendent was literally on the jetway with a sign with our name as soon as we stepped off the plane. This set the tone for the service for the entire stay. The airport is only 5 minutes away. ||We had used 5 NUA, but they were denied. At check in with lovely Bella, we got upgraded from the lowest tier suite to high floor, sea view suite for first 2 nights and 3 nights in the freestanding 1 bedroom villa with plunge pool. The villa at 1205 sq ft was incredible and took my breath away. I will post my video. ||The butler service is great and IIham was really good about tending to all our needs and questions. It's all done thru WhatsApp. I asked for mosquito repellent and he sent it right away is an example of his help. He scheduled our morning coffee delivery, assisted with moving rooms, and luggage. ||The breakfast buffet at Leros was one of our favorite things to do, because the food was incredible and it gave us a chance to interact with the lovely staff. Director of Culinary, Simon had a great personality and we have a friend in common from St Regis Bali. Head Chef, Andi really went out of his way for us. I did a Sambal demo with him and he later sent Chicken Sambal to our room. He prepared specially for me, |Homemade Blueberry Jam for my toast when they ran out of the kind in the jar. One night he sent his famous Cubano Sandwich to our room. ||One of the best surprises was Agus, new restaurant manager, is our friend from St Regis Bali. We had kept in contact on Facebook. All the servers in the restaurant were so nice and May made my toast for me every morning with the soft butter. The food is buffet and changes everyday. The extensive menu is also available and breakfast is included in the room rate. ||We loved the pool and Eduardus and Wellem took care of us everyday. There are over the water bunglows and jetty with boats that you can charter. They have kids club and 3 restaurants onsite for dinner plus the pool bar. There are 2 bars onsite and one has music starting at 8 pm. The Coffee Roastery is interesting and they roast beans there and explain the process. ||At Nera Lounge every night from 5:30-6:30 is the evening Sunset Ritual with free drink and small bite. We enjoyed this part of the day. We met Maria there and she became a very special friend. She surprised us with a gift of Tenun Timor, on our last day, that she bought for us. ||There's a spa, fitness center, Olympic pool, cooking classes and free shuttle to town. The housekeepers did a great job everyday and were very discreet. There are a lot of gardeners working tending to the grounds and we loved Hilarius, one of the security guards by the beach. There are buggies to take you around, but we walked everywhere. ||Our flight to Lombok was canceled and we returned to the Ta'aktana for another 5 nights and skipped The Sira, it was disappointing but we enjoyed Ta'aktana so much, it was like going home. The concierge, Ben (Les Clef d'Or) was great about assisting with our flight refund and assuring that we didn't miss our next flight to Bali. He woke up at 2:30 am to check us into our flight. ||We had a chance to meet GM, Peter Paul and had a very interesting conversation about the resort. We also met Omen and Geri, who were very kind. Our departure was sad, but the staff were there to say goodbye and had the Sanggar Ritual for us. The chef sent my favorite cookies and a card that everyone signed. The people of Indonesia and especially the staff at the hotel are so friendly, warm, eager to please, we really enjoyed our...

Come and join us as we are still in-house guests suffering from excitement to share our experience with others.

This is not the next Bali, this is Labuan Bajo making its own stamp and Marriott is your perfect host.

Book as soon as you start thinking about it as they have wonderful offers and beautiful rooms from private villas with a pool to rooms offering a wonderful view of yachts, mountains and sunsets.

I could write pages about our experience but will control my excitement and happiness as a guest.

Let’s start here:

Welcome & Hospitality The welcome ritual is an introduction to what the hotel stands for, reimagining tourism in Labuan Bajo with the force of Indonesians leading the way with their wonderful hospitality, warm touch to details and positive presence in what they do.

Everyone in their team is working together to gift guests a wonderful experience in all areas.

Guests please be patient, be open to understand that this island is just blooming. In such a short time, at Marriott you will meet locals and young future superstars in tourism willing to learn by offering their way of hospitality in a way that any request is not a challenge for them.

Accommodation & Architecture The hotel offers a modern architectural structure which has levels of privacy. They create experiences around the hotel in small traditional buildings where one can lounge, enjoy the beach, do activities and engage in the daily program.

The rooms are wonderfully curated with Indonesian artistic practices from the ceiling structures to the artworks and amenities provided in the room. Every room has a balcony to view the hotel and its lush garden or the view of the harbor and sea.

Dining Experience The hotel brought wonderful chefs that seem to take our palates on an unforgettable journey with local spices. The team is aware of your presence and needs which makes everything feel thoughtful.

Service & Personal Touches My child's stories about losing her baby teeth while on vacation were so well responded to. She wrote a letter to the Labuan Bajo tooth fairy and made sure to share her story with the team and the team's response has her willing to travel to Labuan Bajo anytime she is about to lose a tooth.

They prepared a wonderful cake for her, not just any cake—a toothbrush fairy sprinkle magic cake and wrote a handwritten card (I love this detail) with a personal text and giggles.

The kids club keeps the kids busy with educational, creative and traditional activities with a team very accommodating and fun.

Activities & Amenities This all to say, they offer a place to rest in nature, to sunbathe in a beautiful pool, to focus on your health in amenities such as whirlpools, sauna and a beautiful spa menu.

A unique menu in every restaurant…with a kids menu, to have a taste lingering around your mouth because it connects you to the essence of you as a human and the rich soil in Labuan Bajo.

The end of the days are honored with wonderful sunset ritual for gratitude and to honor the gift of another day of life.

The whole team deserves all the success and growth. My only request is that Marriott continues to invest in those leading the teams and being a great example of what Indonesia has to offer outside of popular touristic cities.

Why Book Now We are still in-house guests but my fingers were tingling to write this review in the hopes to help someone that needs an honest review from someone that normally has a very critical eye for details and service.

If you want to feel rejuvenated, book and don't keep this a secret. You don't need a villa or status to be a VIP here, you just need your reservation!

Until the 31st of July is their anniversary festivity and they are gifting guests great rates and packages to celebrate.

Thank you for everything you are doing for my family. We shall...