Flores, a long, mountainous island in eastern Indonesia, gets its name from the Portuguese word for flowers. It’s a place of startling contrasts: crater lakes that shift between turquoise and green, a coastline spilling into the Coral Triangle. At its western tip sits Labuan Bajo, where komodo dragons roam volcanic islands just offshore. IHG Hotels & Resorts, one of the world’s leading hotel companies, has just opened Crowne Plaza Labuan Bajo here. Part of IHG One Rewards with over 6,800 hotels worldwide, it’s exactly what this destination has been waiting for.
The logistics, for once, are effortless. The hotel sits just minutes from Komodo International Airport. A complimentary transfer whisks you directly there, so the moment you land, the only thing left to do is check in and start exploring.
Crowne Plaza Labuan Bajo arrives quietly but confidently. A miniature Phinisi ship; the traditional vessel of Florenese sailors for centuries, greets you at the entrance. It’s a small gesture, but it sets the tone: this is a hotel that has done its homework.
Inside, the design draws on Manggarai textile traditions without veering into pastiche. Natural textures, soft tones, the occasional handwoven detail. Step past the lobby and the pool appears, framed by the Uluwae Lobby Bar. It’s the kind of place you’ll lose a full afternoon to, drink in hand.
A Room That Knows What You Need
The rooms follow Crowne Plaza’s updated New Modern philosophy. Three distinct zones for working, resting, and sleeping, executed with calm restraint. The hotel has also purpose-built accessible rooms, designed for guests with disabilities or those travelling with elderly companions. These feature wider doorways for wheelchair access, lowered beds and seating, and bathroom and toilet railings for safety. It’s the sort of inclusion that should be standard everywhere, but rarely is.
At the gym, a detail worth noting: a defibrillator, installed and ready. It sounds clinical in print. In practice, it’s the kind of quiet preparedness that separates hotels that think from those that merely follow checklists. Most hotels don’t have one. This one does.
Eat, Drink, and Do It the Flores Way
Dining is built around Pamakka, named after the Manggarai tradition of welcoming strangers with food. Global comfort dishes sit alongside the flavours of Flores, anchored by local produce. Mornings begin with the hotel’s Flores sunrise energizer shot. Evenings wind down with a traditional Nectar drink, a calming ritual before sleep. Weekly, guests gather for an informal pairing session, Manggarai coffee alongside local chocolate praline and kompiang. That’s a traditional Flores bread with Arab and Chinese roots, still baked in wood fired ovens across the island. It’s a small ritual, but a quietly revealing one.
The Islands Are Waiting
The hotel can arrange island excursions, so the archipelago beyond the harbour is never more than a conversation with the front desk away.
Komodo Island for jungle trekking among the last of the ancient giants. Padar Island for a ridge climb that ends in a panorama that stops you mid-breath. Pink Beach, where blushtinted sand meets calm water, and the occasional deer grazes unhurried at the shoreline. And Taka Makassar, a white sandbar adrift in impossibly shallow, shimmering turquoise sea, made for snorkelling, or simply standing still and taking it all in.
The islands don’t demand an itinerary. They simply reward those who show up.
Rooted in the Community
The hotel works with Asrama SLB Komodo, a local school for underprivileged children. It also actively partners with the weavers, artisans, and musicians who carry Flores’ cultural life forward.
Labuan Bajo remains one of Indonesia’s most compelling corners of the world. Wild, storied, a little hard to reach, and entirely worth the effort. Crowne Plaza has simply made arriving rather easier.
