Accommodation in Sumbawa is a bit of a mixed bag, ranging from homestays, guesthouses, surf camps, hotels of varying standards and a couple of up-market “resorts”. In more out of the way places, you either have to camp or hope that a local will open their home for a small charge. In many places, hot water and air-conditioning, if they exist, will generally cost extra.
West Sumbawa offers the most in terms of choices in terms of accommodation geared towards Western tourists. The capital, Sumbawa Besar has a couple of reasonable hotels to choose from. The Samawa Transit Hotel is a good mid-range option and they have a more upmarket sister eco-resort a short way east along the coast. Around the west coast from Maluk south to Tropicals, there are a range of homestays, surf camps and small mid-range hotels. Elsewhere, expect local standard guesthouses or hotels.
On Moyo Island, there are several homestays in Labuan Aji village on the north-west coast or the very exclusive Amanwana Eco-Resort for those with very deep pockets. Alternatively, you can camp just about anywhere on the southern and eastern end of the island.
East Sumbawa is much more limited. Dompu has a handful of small, local standard guesthouses and hotels. It’s the same for Bima although there are a couple of newer establishments on the scene. The mid-range Hotel Marina seems to be favoured by Westerners. For the budget conscious, you could try the Lila Graha Hotel in downtown Bima if you don’t mind basic. We’ve stayed there ourselves and found it clean and reasonably comfortable.
The port town of Sape on the east coast, where the Flores and Sumba ferries arrive and depart from has a few smaller local standard hotels which are fine for a night. There’s also the fairly new beachside Kalimaya Dive Resort just to the north of the town.
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