Waecicu Eden Beach Hotel — Hotel in Flores

This Hotel’s location is far away from the main city and inaccessable without your own car or scooter.

Hotel was unable to provide us with scooters so we had to catch a boat and a taxi to the main city and find our own rental scooters.

Hotel is located at the bottom of an extremely steep hill after hiking down an unpaved rocky dirt road. Thank god we were not elderly as there’s no way my parents would have been able to manage the hike day in and day out.

On the first day it was extremely hot and after a long flight all the way to Komodo we wanted to have a nap. Suddenly the AC stopped working. After talking to the receptionist they informed us there was an entire power failure on the island and could not do anything.

After some investigation we realised this wasn’t true as the other resorts opposite us had lights and running electricity. When bringing this to the staff’s attention they said the other resorts had backup generators. When I asked if the Waecicu Eden Beach Hotel had a backup power generator they said yes but they can’t turn it on until 5pm as they want to save power. We protested as we had spent nearly 100$USD a night each for our own private rooms and expected the least amenity they could provide us with was AC. After threatening to leave unless they fixed it they finally gave in and turned the electric back on. The AC suddenly came to life.

Then as the hotel is far away we needed internet to help with booking tours and planning our daily activities. Goodluck with that at the Waecicu Eden Beach Hotel as they do not have internet throughout the day. They only have a low speed connection that can be used from 5pm until 9pm.

When the internet wasn’t able to be used we then sought to ask the hotel staff whether they could help arrange the tours but they too weren’t of much help and could help us plan the activities we had wanted.

Our rooms were never cleaned once for the entire four nights stay. When I complained why no one had attended the rooms they said they can do it but we needed to leave our key inside the door before leaving the hotel. Im not sure about other people but leaving my key in the door to my room where all my expensive valuables are is not something I would ever feel comfortable doing.

The beach also while the water looks beautiful its ruined because nobody ever seems to clean the sand. Tourists/ guests of the resort have thrown their rubbish and plastic all over the sand and it just makes the whole relaxed vibe uninviting. After regretting everything we wanted to give feedback to the hotel manager but surprise surprise; Waecicu Eden Beach Hotel has no live in manager as the so called manager is based in Bali and only visits the hotel sporadically and we couldn’t even call to voice our complaints as he was on holidays in France. Enjoy your stay here...

I'm reviewing 2 things since this may be an issue in Labuan Bajo overall, not just this place.

First, it seems like lots of places here charge mid-range prices for low-range amenities and service. At $39/night, we felt like we'd get 24/7 wifi, A/C in the room, easier road access or cheap/free transport to the city center, etc. So given this context, it was a pretty good value and stay.

Second, when I first arrived to the hotel, I was surprised by the hike down 100's of steps, limited internet (only 6-9pm) each day, etc. I fumed a bit for the first few hours, but the staff has been great at giving me on-demand access to the wi-fi hotspot to work (so I don't get fired), and reduced the boat cost for my girlfriend and I, which is why I've given them a decent review. That really made things work out well!

Here's an itemized list of things I initially had issues with: Wi-Fi only on demand outside of 3 hours a day (6-9pm). Fans in lower priced rooms, not AC. Bug nets around bed barely go around it and had to fuss with it a lot to get it fully closed around my bed. Luckily no bugs at night so I was fine. $8.25 boat rides each way to the city center daily - so add $16.50, or ~41% more to your booking if you got a standard double room. Road from the top of the hotel is long, steep, and you can’t drive a car or motorcycle down it - so if you have a lot of luggage, it's a bit of a hassle. Hotel name on google maps (eden beach resort) is different than the hotel name (waecicu eden beach hotel) - so you may end up going to the one in Labuan Bajo accidentally. Dirt roads there are really sketchy if you’re on a motorbike so unless you’re an experienced rider, don’t risk it - you’ll likely fall off at some point, and you can't do water activities or diving if you get cuts on your body. Stairs from the beach / restaurant to your room will be a workout every day so if you’re older, out of shape, or want to lug scuba equipment to and from your room daily, maybe reconsider.

They should tell you about the steep hill and boat option ahead of time to avoid a lot of upset customers. It would have made the initial impression much more positive, even feel a bit exclusive and exciting.

Maybe I’m spoiled from Ubud, Canggu, Seminyak, Uluwatu, Southern Gilis, Lembongan, etc, but I firmly believe many of the aforementioned are essentials at this price point and for a country with a deep history in hospitality.

After the initial issues, it was a lovely stay with attentive staff. Initial issues aside, I'll likely stay here again since it was a pretty cozy stay at night, and the stairs don't bother you much after you're used to it... or if you just take a boat in and out of town :)

The private beach and view is quite nice any...

If you want fancy Lardy dah! Go elsewhere and pay for it elsewhere! If you want rugged, boho, chilled and take negatives in your stride then this is a good place. |First the negatives. Free internet is between 6pm and 9pm in the reception come dining/ breakfast room. If you want your room made up then leave them the key. Simples. There is no safety deposit box. The electric system keep failing. I guess they could run a back up generator. First night we were hot and the power dropped 8 times and over night. They asked us to turn off the fridge. We did but it still dropped off. The food is actually quite good. They have some good people in the kitchen but don’t expect 6/6star cuisine, it is very much good enough. The rooms are clean and cleaned each day ( if you let them!) the bathrooms are semi open. There is a kitchenette but no idea why! There is a hammock where you want it. There are five of us. I felt the rooms should be better insulated to keep the cold air in as it is all wood and gaps. This would save money. The beach is clean and very private as it is so off the beaten track. You have to get a boat taxi to go into town or a 7 minute walk up the hill to the road. Boat to beach, wet feet with sand on them and if you wear trousers they will get wet. If you don’t like this, don’t book or moan. Where else would this happen and you be able to remember this for years to come. Internet is useless, we got hold of a roaming box to help, but it was lovely to see the kids trying to remember how to communicate again!! It also showed how stupidly tied we all are without it. Last night the water stopped but Labuan Bajo main town also had the water off for 24 hours. Back on in the mor I g though. The views are to die for and take them to heaven with you. The hotel is on a hillside and there are steps to get to your ‘cabin’ it’ll help your food go down and get your heart racing. No cupboards in rooms for storage and just about enough plugs. Lighting is all low voltage. I battle with understanding if this is the hotel people being cheapskates or eco. I think a bit of both. Yes I would stay again. There is a coral reef just in front of the hotel and the snorkelling is good. Low tide was 12 noon to 4pm and it is quite flat so goes out a fair way. Boat taxi is about 20 minutes to town. We had to pay for this and also taxi to town.|Young and very...