Lelewatu Resort Sumba

We spent 4 nights in a hanging villa with private pool 30 Dec to 3 Jan. The view was stunning and the staff were amazing.

The place was supposed to be very nice, the location is beautiful , but in fact the hotel is abandoned, the room was good, but the rest of the hotel is lacking a lot of manteinance.

This resort has a beautiful and dramatic setting, built into a cliff overlooking the sea with individual plunge pools by each villa. You sleep to the sound of the waves beating on the rocks and enjoy beautiful sunsets. However, it is experiencing many problems with staff and service. We did not receive a gracious welcome, were not given an orientation to the staff or amenities, and were charged an enormous amount (over a million IDR or $70 apiece) for a "barbecue" when we arrived. We had a bumpy 3 hour drive from the west and did not want to eat much on unsettled stomachs, but were told that this was a "fixed price" meal even if we did not want to consume it. We were ready to try to take our meals elsewhere until we realized that on the other days we could order a la carte. Major problem in communication and not a great way to welcome clients. The resort is also not eco-conscious: We were allotted 2 small plastic water bottles, had to beg for more drinking water to take our meds and make coffee in the room. Only Nescafe, no milk available. They should follow the lead of other Sumba resorts (Nihi, Cap Karoso) and provide refillable glass bottles. This is both wasteful and stingy on the part of the staff. The general manager left while we were there and is apparently not going to be replaced. We did not get an orientation about activities or the spa (which we never visited, although there was a sign about it). We asked our driver about horse back riding and so did that

amazing location , private, beautiful villas, delicious food. The staff were so freindly and accomadating, nothing was to hard for them, always smiling. extra touches like a cake on y wifes birthday delivered by all the staff, allso was our anniversary so on arrival flowers on the bed and in the bath. awesome week away

Our stay was such a disappointment, not only because the property has so much potential but because the staff really tried hard to be helpful. Unfortunately, the place is very poorly run. The staff, as friendly as they are, barely speak any English. Their uniforms are also dirty. The room, as much potential as it has, is falling apart. Windows don't close properly, showers have no pressure and the toilet barely flushes. Mosquito nets are also full of holes, rendering them useless. We also only found used toiletries in the bathroom. There was also no bannister on the staircase down to the room, with a fairly violent drop if one were to fall off the edge (which can be easily done). The staff, while friendly, are also not particularly conscientious. Dangerous driving from the hotel meant we almost had a collision on at least two occasions (even trying to overtake another Lelewatu vehicle en-route). The golf cart down to the rooms was also overloaded and didn't feel safe but the poor English skills made it practically impossible to communicate this. There is also no manager on site (they're based in Bali), which means problems are almost impossible to resolve. In any case, said manager also doesn't speak English. Said management also appears to be deleting reviews on Google (of which I have screenshots). The quality of the food is very poor; a bread basket that came with breakfast is made up of cheap local rolls that are stale and dry, having more in common with cheap pre-slice