Lorenso Cottage

Hospitalité + cadre

État global du bungalow

Location is amazing; at Lorenzo’s, one feels like Robinson Crusoe. Lorenzo is very charming and welcoming host.

Robinson Crusoe probably experienced similar confort… rooms and bathrooms are basic and spartan, which is OK for us in principle, but they were very, very dirty; we left without even spending a night there.

Location for snorkelling was perfect by and Lorenso is genuinely a great bloke. Good for solo or on a budget. Food was good and plentiful. Three kids 7-11 had plenty to entertain themselves with on the beach.

Another comment stated “feels like you’re shipwrecked”. I would agree.

Lorenzo est une personne très respectée à Bunaken car il a évité a cette belle île d'être sacrifiée au tourisme de masse. Même si ses bungalows nécessiteraient une bonne rénovation, la gentillesse de Lorenso, le calme qui règne ici, l'atmosphère familiale, les menus variés et l'accès facile aux récifs coraliens nous ont permis de passer un séjour agréable. Merci Lorenso !

My wife says "he cooks three full meals and made them vegetarian with no chili...just as we asked!" The Cottages are in a part of the island that is near forest and mangroves. At low tide you can walk a long ways up the coast. You can swim at this place among the mangroves. It is shallow for a long ways out. There are no strong waves. And Lorenso makes arrangements for excursions at no extra cost. And he does whatever you ask him to do in terms of service. And there are very few mosquitoes. Local birds on campus include rainbow bee-eater, rufous-sided gerygone, sahul and black and brown throated sunbirds, nankeen night heron, Philippines megapode, collared kingfisher, pied imperial pigeon, zebra dove, hair-crested drongo. The heron and megapode were one-off sightings. The others were seen daily.

The water needs to turned on by Lorenso when it is time to fill the big tub in the toilet. He turns it off when you are done filling it. Only during the interval do you have running water. The electricity is turned off when you leave for an excursion so when you return, your phones will not be much charged. There is no WiFi, but I paid him 100,000 rupiah to share his hotspot from his phone for a few days. He had to often go to town to get more data. Snorkeling from his beach doesn't lead to coral, but to sand. So few fish and many starfish. But Pantai Pasar Panjanj is one mile away and is a good place to snorkel if you stay safe from ocean currents

Come as guest, leave as Family. Lorenso and the staff can make anything possible. Very friendly and helpful host. The food is good and the reef for snorkeling right outside is beautiful.

The cottages Can use a renovation, however if you are ok with basic amenities this place is good value for money.

Lorenso is a sweetheart. He tries to make your stay as comfortable as possible. The location is very good, close to a good snorkeling spot, and close enough to walk to the village. He arranged a very nice snorkeling trip for us but is never pushing for trips or activities. Only suggestions on what there is to do. He was very helpful arranging transport from Manado to his place on Bunaken seeing that we arrived on a Sunday where there is no public boat. And he brought us to the ferry on departure day on his motorcycle....in pouring rain. Thanks again Lorenso!

The chairs on the veranda could be a bit more comfortable.

I spent two weeks at Lorenso Cottages on Bunaken Island, and it felt like home and family to me. There are accommodation options for every budget, the cottages are surrounded by a beautiful garden, and the beach is just a few steps away. They organize diving, and there’s snorkeling gear available. The reef nearby is absolutely stunning — so much to see! Meals are served three times a day, and the food is really good, so you don’t have to worry about anything. For me, this is the best place on the island. Everything was so comfortable that I didn’t want to leave. I really hope to come back one day!

Lorenso is a great guy who tries to make his customers happy. He makes good food to. The reef is just in front the guesthouse.

The guesthouse is basic and needs maintenance.

This is in a great location right on the water and hidden behind the mangroves. WIFI, free water, tea and coffee available. Apparently the best snorkelling on the whole island is right out in front of this place and people will come from across the island to snorkel here.

We never like to give negative reviews but felt we got swindled so leaving an honest review for future travellers. Lorenso is lovely and super friendly but this accomodation was quite shocking and we are surprised by some of the previous positive reviews. We booked the budget room and when we got there it was unlike the pictures and he upsold us to the bungalow straight away knowing that we’d have to say yes. We would expect all of the above if the room rate was significantly less, however for $60 Aud ($40usd) per night we would expect much more/better facilities. We have been travelling for 1 year and have stayed in places of similar quality for a fraction of the price. The kicker for us was a rusty nail about 30mm long was found in my partners food, I know it wasn't intentional but he just laughed it off as if it was nothing. Other places on the island for the same price have AC and a pool. We intended to stay a few nights but left after 1. Cannot recommend this place unfortunately. I don't want to discredit this place too much since it has obviously fallen into a state of disrepair since covid but with a small amount of work this place could be restored to it's former glory.