h2babe

My husband I will be in Jakarta for about 5 days in December (leaving this Sunday!), and thought that I was able to stay with a family, but that plan did not work out. So I need to locate a hotel for our stay. I have narrowed the list down to the following 3 and want the pro's and con's in each (we're thinking to spend approx $200/night), in terms of amenities, locations, ambiance, safety:

The Ritz Carlton
Mandarin Oriental
The Dharmawangsa

I don't have any preference about which side of town I would like to stay in. Thanks in advance for your tips and feedback!

rhkkmk

if it were me i would not stay in an american hotel

marmot

h2babe, Five days in Jakarta is not a pleasant prospect!

I don't like the Mandarin, even though it has just reopened after a massive re-do. In my opinion they should have demo'ed it and started over. It's also on a major traffic circle that "hosts" regular political demonstrations, causing massive traffic jams. I’d eliminate the Grand Hyatt too. A very nice hotel (better I’d say than the Mandarin) but on the same traffic circle. The advantage to both is that two huge shopping malls are walkable from the hotels, which is not true of the other choices. The Grand Hyatt also has a very nice pool area.

The Ritz Carlton is a newish big, big hotel with several restaurants. It’s a bit on the flashy side and somewhat impersonal. You could be anywhere.

Dharmawangsa is my hotel of choice. It’s a boutique hotel with somewhat limited options. One fine dining restaurant, one “coffee shop” serving global food – both very good. An excellent spa, beautiful pool, very good gym. No shop.

It’s in a quiet residential neighborhood where many Western diplomats live. For that reason it is considered a safe site. Sadly, what rhkkmk says is worth consideration. The Ritz and the Marriot have been targets, twice.

The biggest plus to the Dharmawangsa, however, is its design and decorating which is distinctively Indonesian. It’s serene, elegant, understated and quite beautiful.

In the past few years I've been somewhat critical of the maintenance, and if something's not right you have to speak up. Over the past 10+ years dozens of my American clients -- who are sophisticated travelers -- have stayed there and they mostly all rave about it. The major complaint is that "there's nothing to do" which I guess means no shopping. This is true.

There’s a separate building for that’s used for special events. December is wedding season so you’re likely to be exposed to this Jakarta phenomenon at all the hotels. It’s wonderful to see the Jakarta elite in their Javanese finery but the crowds (a guest list of several thousand is normal) can be annoying.

For all, count on the service to be sporadic. Indonesians are overwhelmingly hospitable, friendly and helpful, but there will be lapses even at the best managed properties.

Jakarta’s a difficult city. It’s virtually impossible to walk anywhere – sidewalks with holes the size of Australia, off road motorcycles, no way to cross the street. Traffic can be breathtakingly terrible, no matter where you stay. And, the worst, is that there’s very little to do except wander the sparkling shopping centers. The pools and spas are in my opinion the best of.

h2babe

Do you have any that you can recommend?

thursdaysd

Good point, Bob. I avoid them, too. In Jakarta I stayed at one of the Ibis hotels (the Acadia, I think) - not as luxurious, perhaps, but quite comfortable, and less likely to be a target. But not in the $200/night price range, either (currently $52/night for Dec).

h2babe

Thanks Marmot, it looks like I was typing my response to rhkkmk as you were typing yours I'm an Indonesian-born American, so I have those 5 days dedicated to seeing family and friends, and show my husband a bit of the city. We'll spend about 10 days between Bali and Lombok after that. The downside to this, a lot of my friends in Jakarta can not offer good recommendation on places to stay since they have never stayed at the hotels before.

marmot

h2babe, Well then if you know Jakarta -- The Mandarin and Ritz are both in the Central Business District. The Mandarin in the old section by the Welcome Monument, and the Ritz in the new section.

The Dharmawangsa is in Prapanca, quite close to Kemang. It's in the same neighborhood as the American Embassy Club and many "official" Americans live nearby.

thursdaysd

I did do some walking in Jakarta, but it really is tough - I mostly took taxis and rickshaws. I enjoyed the Wayang (puppet) Museum and the Jakarta History Museum, the National History Museum, not so much. I also enjoyed lunch at the Cafe Batavia, but in general I wasn't impressed with Jakarta, and there didn't seem to be many other tourists around (Jan '05).

h2babe

Thanks Marmot, I haven't lived in Jkt almost two decades, so my memory is very sporadic of the places. But I do remember Kemang and can picture the ambiance of the area.

mohan

h2babe, like you, i also have family in Jkt. I am not indonesian though. I recently spent five days in Jkt and it was really difficult on many levels and I have been there many times. My relative took off from work to take me around and this time we had to visit graves of family members. We were stuck in traffic the entire day, actually day after day. The traffic situation is really really bad and it is on a decline. My back was hurting from the hours of sitting and the heat was getting to me. To show you how bad the traffic was, I went to a massage place near the Pondok Indah mall, I could see the mall but there was no way of walking there and eventually the taxi took 45 minutes to get there. In order to make life easier for myself, I asked my friends to meet me in that mall. I took my laptop so i could plan the rest of my travel; I had lunch, tea, coffee, more teas and dinner and a haircut there. Shopping was bad as everything was more expensive and not more interesting. There was no way to beat the traffic so just try to avoid it. As far as which hotel you should choose, I guess the one closest to your family. Hope this helps.