Jakarta - Hotels

On my recent trip I stayed at the Novotel Gajah Mada for a few days. Have not seen a report for this hotel for a while, so here goes.

I got a sweet deal at $30 a night for a standard smoking room which is kinda hard to beat. I opted for "no breakfast included" as in the past I have never made up in time for breakfast. When I got there, I was given a room on the 16th floor. The lobby is pretty decent, with adequate place for visitors and guests to sit and chat. 4 elevators service the rooms, so you are never waiting for a very long time. The room itself was as expected. Clean, spacious, with a comfortable queen bed, 4 pillows and a nice duvet, a small sofa, a chair and working table for furniture. A tiny fridge, kettle, TV, alarm and safe. Basic toiletries in place. Air conditioning could be better. Ventilation in a smoking room is vital and this one was not bad.

The housekeeping and room service is pretty decent, however at times they might turn up long after you have given up on your request. Sabar my friend, sabar. I had a bit of trouble with the basin draining out on day 1. Took them nearly an hour to fix. Ice cubes are on the house, they do not charge for it. Great little touch for those who like a bit of party in the room. The plug points are all local, but they have just one point which is multi-country type. There is a pool and gym, which is pretty decent too. Standard operating hours I guess. I visited both usually after 10 am. I never ate inside the hotel, so I can't comment about the food quality, but given its a Accor Group hotel, it must be decent.

In the cewek department, the place is completely friendly. No one even bats an eyelid. They are all smiling and courteous all the time. The room is pretty soundproof I think, I could not hear anything happening next door, not even the occasional flush in operation.

Location-wise this place is hard to beat. There is a Starbucks for those who fancy it right outside the hotel. A couple of fancy Japanese restaurants in the complex too. A supermarket right next door with an ATM inside. Holland Bakery is practically next door. There is always a Bluebird or two waiting in the driveway and a bunch of Ojeks drivers hanging our on the road, so transportation is not a challenge. Everyone knows the place.

All in all, absolutely fantastic value for money.

[QUOTE=Blanquiceleste;2284286] A couple of fancy Japanese restaurants in the complex too. [/QUOTE]Did you try any of these places? I was meaning to last trip but never got around to it. The Japanese garden in this hotel is very nice. Of note the Jonisteak a block away from Novotel smells like a sewer. If you need to go to Jonisteak for late night eats go to the good one beside Hotel Classic.

This was my first stay at the Grand Mercure in Harmoni.

This Hotel lives up to its 4 Star ranking. The Lobby is spacious with a triple height ceiling. Looks very airy and spacious when you enter.

The Harmoni Square restaurant is HUGE and located on the lobby level. They serve buffet breakfast and lunch. Dinner is a la carte.
The Hostess who welcomes you and walks you to the table is a cutie. She wears a long skirt (like a sarong) with a deep side-cut to the upper thigh.
Very sexy uniform. The hair is stylishly folded back and tied. (similar to Singapore Airlines Air Hostess).
While eating dinner, I chose a table so I could see her. I loved watching her walk back and forth with a side view of her upper thigh.
I started fantasizing, but since I was staying in the Hotel, I knew my advances would go no where. Next time, I plan to stay at another Hotel and visit this Restaurant as an "outsider".
I feel for these girls. It is not easy to deal with the locals in Jakarta - some men even blow cigarette smoke in their face, while speaking with them.

I stayed in a standard Non-Smoking room with Queen bed. The room is adequate for two adults.
The TV placement on the wall is perfect for watching while lying in bed. The size of the TV was good (40 or 42 inches).

PLUS
(1) Hotel is 100% girl friendly. You can bring any one. No ID required.
(2) House Keeping did a good job of cleaning the room. (I left a 14,000 IDR tip on the bed every day when I left the room).
(3) One evening, my request for extra towels and facial tissue box was delivered within ten minutes.
(4) Bathroom is very spacious with a Rain shower + hand-held shower. Water pressure is just adequate.
If the curtain is not drawn, you can watch your girl taking a shower from the room. A touch of Hollywood.
(5) The Hotel provides 4 bottles of 'Mineral Water' free every day.
(6) Blue Bird Taxis are always parked in the Hotel parking zone. When I checked out at 5.30 am in the morning, the Taxi was waiting for me.

MINUS
(1) The closet to hang your clothes is very small. I also had to request extra hangers. Cheap plastic hangers were delivered quickly.
(2) The desk is a little small. I prefer a larger desk but this is strictly personal preference.
(3) Like other Hotels, access to the ISG website is blocked. This was annoying since I was unable to circumvent this block.
(4) I paid approximately USD 65 per night. A little expensive, but I made my reservation only one week before arrival.
If you book couple of months in advance, your rate should be around USD 50 per night.

[QUOTE=BKKguru;2284357]This was my first stay at the Grand Mercure in Harmoni.

This Hotel lives up to its 4 Star ranking. The Lobby is spacious with a triple height ceiling. Looks very airy and spacious when you enter.

{Snip}

(3) Like other Hotels, access to the ISG website is blocked. This was annoying since I was unable to circumvent this block.
{Snip}[/QUOTE]Did you have drinks on the top floor (10th?) looking out over North Jakarta? A great view with expensive cocktails but worth having a look. If it is a slow night some of the female bar staff will sit with you if you are alone and hassle a drink or two out of you. I've only experienced this when the place was not so busy. Good fun though.

In regards to ISG, I experienced the same issue. My fix was to use Opera browser in VPN mode and I didn't have a problem after that other than the connection was slow.

This is a good hotel for one or two nights IMHO.

[QUOTE=Stykler;2284362]Did you have drinks on the top floor (10th?) looking out over North Jakarta? A great view with expensive cocktails but worth having a look. If it is a slow night some of the female bar staff will sit with you if you are alone and hassle a drink or two out of you. I've only experienced this when the place was not so busy. Good fun though.

[/QUOTE]

I did not get a chance to to visit the Roof top bar. I did visit the "Mens Spa". When I walked in, there were three girls (hostess) - all in blue uniform.
Two girls were sitting with other customers. I requested a tour and was shown the massage room. This room is huge (compared to the room in Classic).
The girl who gave me the tour was very friendly. She grabbed my hand while walking with me in the hallway. I was surprised.

Later, when I was back at the front desk, she kissed the hand of another Customer who was leaving the Spa. I guess they do this with all Customers. :)

I am curious if the Massage Therapists provide any "extra" services at this Spa. I was hoping to see the Therapists in person. I was only shown pictures on a smartphone.

[QUOTE=BKKguru;2284368]I did not get a chance to to visit the Roof top bar. I did visit the "Mens Spa". When I walked in, there were three girls (hostess) - all in blue uniform.
Two girls were sitting with other customers. I requested a tour and was shown the massage room. This room is huge (compared to the room in Classic).
The girl who gave me the tour was very friendly. She grabbed my hand while walking with me in the hallway. I was surprised.

Later, when I was back at the front desk, she kissed the hand of another Customer who was leaving the Spa. I guess they do this with all Customers. :)

I am curious if the Massage Therapists provide any "extra" services at this Spa. I was hoping to see the Therapists in person. I was only shown pictures on a smartphone.[/QUOTE]Yes. They definitely do. There is an option for In room service too.

[QUOTE=BananaBoi;2284351]Did you try any of these places? I was meaning to last trip but never got around to it. The Japanese garden in this hotel is very nice. Of note the Jonisteak a block away from Novotel smells like a sewer. If you need to go to Jonisteak for late night eats go to the good one beside Hotel Classic.[/QUOTE]Nope, never got around to them. I usually stick to local fare, so I am happy with the Bakmi and Bakso and Nasi Goreng and Nasi Padang and the likes. Only on one day I ventured out to Senopati for a good burger at Three Buns. Awful craft beer but stupendous burger. The fries were good, but a bit too salty for my liking.

I have eaten at Joni Steak in the past. I think Gandy is a tad better. Thoughts? Of course if you want a really good steak there are the more expensive place in Central Jakarta.

If anyone wants to know about the noise issue, skip ahead to the 4th paragraph. Made my first visit to Jakarta in February, and chose Four Points by Sheraton. The reservation was made by using the Marriott app. Price was substantially less than other properties I would have considered. Have been staying at Marriott properties (Four Points by Sheraton is within the Marriott "Bonvoy" group), so as to maintain my status.

Check in was friendly and efficient. I was provided the WiFi password which was good for my entire stay. Very reliable WiFi, and reasonable speed, with no issues. Very convenient location in Central Jakarta, and right on the TransJakarta bus line, and across the street is a KFC, Burger King, and Starbucks. Never went into these international name restaurants. Actually I had a very nice coffee for 15000 rupiah across the street in the 5 level mall. It is definitely not one of the fancy mega malls, but more for locals, for example you could buy any Muslim attire on the top level. On the bottom level is a great food court and also a very nice supermarket. Very good prices! At the hotel they prepare an excellent food buffet for breakfast starting at 6 am. Also had dinner in their restaurant, and chose the special which was spicy chicken and rice dish, with ice tea for 100,000 rupiah. I am now a big fan of Indonesian food.

This hotel has in room massage. I ordered the 90 minute oil massage for 365,000 rupiah. You call the front desk and they arrange the masseuse. The info card in the room does not mention anything about a hotel spa. It specifically states in room massage - 10 am to 12 pm, last order at 11 pm. Wondered about the Couples Massage "for 2 persons in the same room", which is 690,000 rupiah for 90 minutes. How does that work? 2 masseuse and the couple all on the queen size bed? Anyways, on my day of arrival (ANA flight from Tokyo that arrives at 4:30 am) I had a young, and quite attractive girl from Java. What a great body! Not a hard body, or a petite "spinner", but just really shapely and healthy. Got her Whatsapp number. On the second day (Javanese girl had her day off), I had a different massage, and had her do only a massage.

One feature of this hotel that some may appreciate. Outside and behind the hotel there are 3 or 4 loudspeakers mounted on a tall pole, so it was just below the level of my room, and about 100 meters away. Am alarm clock is completely unnecessary, because the first call begins at 4:40 am, and lasts for over 30 minutes. I will confirm that any Jakarta hotel booking I make in the future will be better or completely insulated from the daily calls. My last day, I was at the hotel for most of the day. I was a little tired in the afternoon (been up since 4:40 am), so laid down on the bed, but this did not work out well, as the calls happen during the afternoon as well. Then again at 6:45 pm, the evening call starts and lasts for 1 hour.

The Four Points by Sheraton is a very decent property. It has adequate furnishings in the room, nice mattress and pillows, good space for work, and excellent food.

[QUOTE=PapaeNoel;2288340]If anyone wants to know about the noise issue, skip ahead to the 4th paragraph. Made my first visit to Jakarta in February, and chose Four Points by Sheraton. The reservation was made by using the Marriott app. Price was substantially less than other properties I would have considered. Have been staying at Marriott properties (Four Points by Sheraton is within the Marriott "Bonvoy" group), so as to maintain my status.

Check in was friendly and efficient. I was provided the WiFi password which was good for my entire stay. Very reliable WiFi, and reasonable speed, with no issues. Very convenient location in Central Jakarta, and right on the TransJakarta bus line, and across the street is a KFC, Burger King, and Starbucks. Never went into these international name restaurants. Actually I had a very nice coffee for 15000 rupiah across the street in the 5 level mall. It is definitely not one of the fancy mega malls, but more for locals, for example you could buy any Muslim attire on the top level. On the bottom level is a great food court and also a very nice supermarket. Very good prices! [/QUOTE]That 5 level mall is called Sarinah mall. It may not be too impressive these days, but that was the first modern mall ever built in Indonesia and was all the rave back in the day. That is also the first place in Jakarta to have a McDonalds. When that McDonald's first opened, it was a big deal and people used to travel from outside Jakarta just to go to that McDonalds. LOL. It's still a good mall for tourists to visit because it still has an entire floor dedicated to only Indonesian souvenirs and carvings, which I find to be pretty cool. Those souvenirs used to be very cheap, but unfortunately, now they are expensive. When I first came to Jakarta 20 years ago, that was still a viable mall, but since big new nice malls like Grand Indonesia have been built, Sarinah is no longer considered a top mall in the city. Believe it or not, the Hard Rock Cafe was located in Sarinah until the mid 2000's and it was one of the best pickup spots in all of Jakarta at the time. It was a large Hard Rock with 2 floors. Good bands, plenty of ladies of the evening as well as plenty of non pro girls looking for fun, and people would be dancing on the tables drunk by 1 am. I have traveled all over the world and always go to the Hard Rock Cafe when I go to a new city, I've never been to any other Hard Rock anywhere in the world that was even close to as wild and fun as that Hard Rock in Sarinah. I used to go there almost every night. When they moved the Hard Rock out of Sarinah, it was a real shame because it went from my favorite place in the city to a place I won't even visit anymore. (Hard Rock Cafe is now in Pacific Place mall. A much nicer mall, but it's no fun anymore.) I still go to Sarinah to go to Chilis because that's the best hamburger in Jakarta and the rest of the food at Chilis is pretty good as well. There is a very good place to play pool there in Sarinah just next to Chilis. The Air Asia office is located in Sarinah now, so if you do need to buy or change an Air Asia ticket, that's a good place to go.

Not far down the road from your hotel, Grand Indonesia and Plaza Indonesia malls are very modern and are within walking distance.

[QUOTE=PapaeNoel;2288340]One feature of this hotel that some may appreciate. Outside and behind the hotel there are 3 or 4 loudspeakers mounted on a tall pole, so it was just below the level of my room, and about 100 meters away. Am alarm clock is completely unnecessary, because the first call begins at 4:40 am, and lasts for over 30 minutes. I will confirm that any Jakarta hotel booking I make in the future will be better or completely insulated from the daily calls. [/QUOTE]That's very good information. I find it a bit shocking they would put a hotel within close proximity of a mosque. I've never stayed at that hotel, but if there was a mosque waking me up, I would immediately demand to move to the other side of the hotel or I would change hotels. I just looked at their website and I notice one of the things they promote is they are not far from the biggest mosque in Indonesia. They must have an abundance of Muslims staying there. I would think they should tell you there is a mosque near the hotel when you check in and not put non-Muslims on the side of the hotel that has the mosque.

I was actually upgraded into the larger room. Could well be that they guessed my religion. It is a good place to stay, but will try a different property in April.

Looks like JWMarriott will work for me, but I think I get 1 free night at the Ritz Carlton. It is just slightly more than the JW.

Great history on the Sarinah mall and the Hard Rock.

[QUOTE=IronQuinn;2294122]I didn't check any reviews. I just saw some pics, and it had a bed, bathroom, and AC, and that was all I needed. If you want a review, I had peaceful nights in a comfortable bed. I loved the location, so that's what I went with. The staff was also very accommodating. .[/QUOTE]*Moved this thread from Jakarta forum*.

Thanks for posting a trip report.
The Disclaimer in your report is appreciated. It provides an important reason for choosing this Hotel "....the regular travelers that likes to SAVE a buck".

I was curious to learn more about this Hotel. I learned:

-Hotel 55 is listed as a "Bed and Bath". Google gives it a 2 star rating.
-Lots of reviews complain about "weak AC" or "AC being in the wrong place".
-Room has no windows. "Built like a prison".
-Hotel Staff is "helpful" and "accommodating".

If you ONLY plan to visit Kota Indah. Then Hotel 55 does offer a strategic location.
However, I am sure there are other choices within walking distance OR a 5 minute Taxi ride to Kota Indah.

Folks who have stayed in this area please provide some name(s). Thanks!

[QUOTE=BKKguru;2294524]*Moved this thread from Jakarta forum*.

Thanks for posting a trip report.
The Disclaimer in your report is appreciated. It provides an important reason for choosing this Hotel "....the regular travelers that likes to SAVE a buck".

I was curious to learn more about this Hotel. I learned:

-Hotel 55 is listed as a "Bed and Bath". Google gives it a 2 star rating.
-Lots of reviews complain about "weak AC" or "AC being in the wrong place".
-Room has no windows. "Built like a prison".
-Hotel Staff is "helpful" and "accommodating".[/QUOTE]For GBP14 (when I stayed there) Hotel 55 did the job, and it's about a 5 minute walk from my fave dive bar Starmoon for example. Staff were friendly and helpful, breakfast (included) was edible, bed was sleep able.

If I'm going to be be picky, then it's true the room was windowless, the hot water was a lukewarm dribble and the A/C asthmatic, but hey. GBP 14!

I have a couple of simple questions regarding AirBnB in Jakarta. Anyone here that can enlighten me?

1. Is AirBnB allowed to operate legally in Jakarta? It isn't in several places, hence the question.

2. How is the attitude of security staff in the condos where the AirBnB apartments are most likely located towards our hobby. I don't care much for a smirk or a frown. My concern is really about being barred entry, or a complaint to the property owner, or worse yet a quick call to the cops.

Does anyone has any experience with this? If so, would you have recommendations on which apartment complexes to choose. Preferably in Central / South Jakarta.

[QUOTE=Blanquiceleste;2337409]I have a couple of simple questions regarding AirBnB in Jakarta. Anyone here that can enlighten me?

1. Is AirBnB allowed to operate legally in Jakarta? It isn't in several places, hence the question.

2. How is the attitude of security staff in the condos where the AirBnB apartments are most likely located towards our hobby. I don't care much for a smirk or a frown. My concern is really about being barred entry, or a complaint to the property owner, or worse yet a quick call to the cops.

Does anyone has any experience with this? If so, would you have recommendations on which apartment complexes to choose. Preferably in Central / South Jakarta.[/QUOTE]No idea about the legality or otherwise, but I have stayed a couple of times in AirBnb properties at Cosmo Mansion (Thamrin City). Guy on the desk showed absolutely zero interest in who I was letting in: the Hopefully the same will apply for my 3rd stay there next week!

[QUOTE=JamesXFisher;2337711]No idea about the legality or otherwise, but I have stayed a couple of times in AirBnb properties at Cosmo Mansion (Thamrin City). Guy on the desk showed absolutely zero interest in who I was letting in: the Hopefully the same will apply for my 3rd stay there next week![/QUOTE]Thanks mate. Thamrin is a nice locality, I might look up Cosmo Mansion.