Sylvia Resort Komodo

Jl. Pantai Waecicu Labuan Bajo – NTT, 081 238 710 815. 40 rooms. Pool. Breakfast.

The best rooms at Sylvia Resort Komodo are along the bay-front strip, where it is very quiet save for the sounds of happy frolickers and the odd clicking noise of geckos. Plenty of substantial wood lounge chairs are scattered on the sandy beach, where water laps at the wide, clean, sandy shore. But my favorite thing was lounging in the infinity pool’s lukewarm water and gazing out to Cecu Bay. However, no matter where you are in the world, no matter what the bliss, there is always the interruption of reality--in this case it is someone clearing orange canava trumpet flowers and debris from the sand, turning on porch lights for the night, and with the flick of a switch illuminating trees with lights, when all I really want is to hear is the tweeting of birds and the lapping of water hitting shore while twilight slowly deepens.

Note that this is an inexpensive backpacker’s hotel, and so the bathroom is tiny, water is precious (they truck in barrels of it, so it sometimes runs low and the shower is limp—the amazing thing is that it runs at all), and you walk up and down stairs to get to the entrance lobby (there is no elevator). Off the restaurant in the open-air entry building is a lounge area with two pool tables. The spare, simple rooms are of decent size and feature white marble floors, allowing you to quickly spot any wayward bugs. White cotton sheets and duvet provide comfortable sleeping, and the AC works well. Wi-Fi is free but spotty. They speak little English at the front desk but always have a smile and can help you arrange for tours.