The signature white and tosca colored cabin is what Le Pirate Beach Resort famous for. I have stayed in Le Pirate in Nusa Ceningan a few years ago and loved the ambience and the stylish decor. That’s why when I was planning my trip to Labuanbajo, Le Pirate Labuanbajo was the first thing that popped out in my mind for accommodation.
Le Pirate has total of three branches: Nusa Ceningan, Gili Trawangan, and Labuanbajo. From the photos I’ve seen, the one in Gili Trawangan is the largest one, while the Nusa Ceningan is the medium one, and the Labuanbajo is the smallest one. In terms of area, of course.
Le Pirate Labuanbajo is located at Soekarno-Hatta street Labuanbajo. Very close to the port if you are looking to do island hopping by the boat to go around Komodo National Park.
Even more special, Le Pirate Labuanbajo also provide boat service for their guests. They call it Le Pirate Explorer. The boat is very stylish, probably the prettiest boat you can find in Labuanbajo port. All beautiful in white. Unfortunately I haven’t tried it. You can see more info about the boat service here. The price is slightly more expensive than regular boat you can find in the port but I think it is worth it for the facility and the quality of the boat they offer.
They even provide ‘Boatel’ starting this September 2017, and it looks superb! (Take me back to Labuanbajo, pretty please?! Hahaha).
Moving on to the hotel!
Le Pirate in Labuanbajo is a 4-story building. The 1st floor is the office, the 2nd floor is the restaurant, the 3rd one is where the cabins are located, the 4th floor is the rooftop bar with plunge pool.
The restaurant on 2nd floor are quite popular, and open for public not only for hotel guests. Price-wise, it is slightly more expensive than other restaurant I tried in Labuanbajo.
Take the stairs to the 3rd floor, you will find their signature cabin. Rooms in Le Pirate comes in shape of a cabin in white and tosca color. Every cabin has hammock in front of them, so bring your books! I love reading while hammocking here.
The price for the cabin is varied depends on the type of the room. I stayed at double bed room with port view and it costs Rp 750.000,-. If I’m not mistaken, their rooms can only be booked via their website only.
The room is simple with all white decor. My room is quite small, I can barely put my luggage anywhere. It’s a no no if you bring large luggage here, you can only open it outside of the room or on top of your bed.
I remember my bathroom in Le Pirate Nusa Ceningan is an open air bathroom, you can clearly see the sky right above you. But here in Labuanbajo, the bathroom has roof, gives you more privacy but still with a touch of nature outside haha. The bathroom is quite big, probably half of the bedroom size. The water pressure and the heater is okay here, I got no complaint for their bathroom facility.
The rooftop area on 3rd floor is my favorite since it has gorgeous view of the port! They also have plunge pool here if you want to take a small dip.
At night, they also have cinema under the star at this rooftop. The night I stayed here, they were playing The Jungle Book. This was my first time under the star cinema experience, so I was super excited!!
Now I will review the place, and this will be an honest one. I have stayed in Le Pirate with travelmate both in Nusa Ceningan and Labuanbajo. While I personally like staying here (and really want to try the one in Gili someday), my travelmates didn’t really have a good impression for this hotel. Both places. Why?
I will try to breakdown the pluses and the minuses!
(+) Le Pirate is beautifully decorated and every corner is Instagram worthy!
Duh! You can tell by the pictures. The one in Labuanbajo is smaller than the Nusa Ceningan one though, so it needs extra effort to take good pictures here.
(-) The room is very small
There are a lot of people complaining about this too in TripAdvisor. But I still went for it just to experience it myself and have my own opinion. And yes, the room is so small, especially the double bed one. I stayed in their bunkbed room in Nusa Ceningan and it was slightly better. Here in the double bed room, you can barely open your luggage.
(+) Perfect location
Le Pirate Labuanbajo is located at the heart of Labuanbajo town, so you can easily find anything within walking distance here. It is also very close to the port. While this is a plus, it also brings you to the next minus.
(-) Noisy, especially at night
I stayed in bedroom with port view, which is located next to the main street. It is more expensive than the regular bedroom cause you get the gorgeous view, but the bummer is it gets noisy at night! Even at 12 AM, you can hear people from the street yelling and singing here. If you are a light sleeper, I say, avoid the port view room.
(+) The staff is really kind and helpful
I love the service here! They don’t discriminate the local guests, unlike some places in Bali.
(-) The check out time is 10 AM
This is my biggest disappointment towards Le Pirate. I felt a little robbed because the check in time is still the regular 2 PM, not earlier. Other hotels I’ve stayed in so far have 11 AM or 12 PM check out time.
(+) Le Pirate is more for young travelers
If you are looking to meet other young folks or travelers, this is the right place. I also didn’t see any toddlers or babies here cause it isn’t really a family friendly hotel.
(-) Wifi only available in common areas
Well, this could be a plus if you want disconnect yourself from work e-mails or social media. But this could be a minus if you are a religious social media user, or if you like to do your work while vacay-ing here. You can only use the wifi in common areas: the restaurant and the rooftop, so you gotta bring your laptop or smartphone here. You don’t have to order food or drink, but at some point, I bet you will. Smart move from Le Pirate, making the guests order the food and drink just for using the wifi.
(+)(-) The open air bathroom
I really like open air bathroom! Hahaha. It gives different experience than usual bathroom. But I get that this could be bothersome for some people. That’s why I put this as a plus and also a minus.
From the pointers above, I could say that though Le Pirate is a nice accommodation, it really isn’t for everyone.
I don’t really mind with the minuses stated above (except the 10 AM check out time), but all my travelmates are all bothered with those. Their concept is not a very local traveler cup of tea, I guess? No wonder, 90% of Le Pirate Labuanbajo are foreign travelers (as the hotel staff told me). I imagine this would be perfect for honeymoon backpackers, though.
Two Le Pirates down, hopefully I will post the one in Gili Trawangan soon!
Labuan Baju very amazing