Casa do Sândalo Boutique Guest House

It was an okay experience. The rooms were nice, however, there seemed to be a few caveats to consider. One of them was the water pressure, basically nonexistent and also the staff (the person on site) was a bit pushy and rather aggressive. Had to bribe him with cigarettes to let me come back at night. The room itself was very neat and the inner courtyard was fabulous. The location was not bad, however, I expected it to be closer to the main things.

Great location, disappointed with the false illusion of fly screens which actually have large holes and given the gardens are popular with mosquitos I was very unhappy with this. The room I had was also very dark, I couldn't comfortably read. I asked for the broken lamps to be fixed/replaced but only one was. The bathrooms have low water pressure and constant smell. There was mouldy food left in the cupboards from a previous resident. There is no pool, only a small fountain, so ignore any mention of the old pool. It's secure and I felt safe - just not from mosquitoes!

The rooms are old and almost everything is falling apart. The lights just stopped working and the room has a weird pungent smell. They'll tell you a room is 500 a month but won't tell you that if you leave earlier you have to pay by days and it's going to cost you much more. No only that does not make sense, it's deceiving. No wifi. Do not recommend.

Stayed here for just over a week whilst visiting the skateboard community in Dili. Room was affordable compared to other hotels. We had a desk, wardrobe, bathroom, small double bed, kettle with cups and a big fridge freezer. The location is good and there is security 24/7. We hired a scooter to get around $20 a day. Cute little turtle lives in the water fountain. Security will most likely great you upon arrival and then later a reception manager woman will come to take your payment etc. Security speak local language and reception manager speaks English. Wifi cables are currently being installed in the sea from Australia, but until then you will need a SIM card to get by. (try Timor Plaza) Even at the fancy hotels the wifi doesn't work and staff will hot spot you from a phone. Save some money and stay here if you're on a budget and self-sufficient. The local Chinese burger restaurant (2min walk away) did have free 'wifi' and it was very good. Sorry I forgot to take pictures! As of March 2025 it's around $35 a night.

Great place, great value, plenty of old style charm. Free laundry! Very attentive staff, extremely helpful. Convenient for town and beach.