Sparks Hotel
JL. Mangga Besar Raya no 42.
Jakarta Barat 11150, Indonesia
Phone: 62 (021) 625-2534
Fax: 62 (021) 625-2570
Webpage: http://www.sparks-hotel.com
E-Mail: info@sparks-hotel.com

Completely ignore the rates quoted on the website. Either email the hotel directly or just make a reservation through the KAHA desk.

The hotel has a nightclub on the first floor past reception. On the second floor is a restaurant, meeting rooms and a commons area for the internet. I never got the wireless internet to work. They didn’t have in-room internet available. On the third floor, they had a nice pool though.

The hotel also had in room massage. I never got a massage there, but Merlin was quite happy with his. They also had a small drug store with basic items in the lobby.

The best thing about this hotel is its location. It is right across the street from three clubs and Lokasari Plaza is a short five minute walk away. It is modern and brand new and the different design and décor of the hotel make it a cool place to stay. And it is 100% guest friendly.

Xen, did you have a suite? Your room looks a bit bigger than mine was. I didn't have a couch or tub in mine.

I suggest people try to get rooms on the 3rd or 5th floors (there is no 4th floor), to the front. On 6 and 7, you can clearly hear the karaoke place on the 8th floor all night. On the lower floors, if you're in the back, you can hear the disco quite loudly until the wee hours.

Otherwise, this is a great hotel, with a perfect location and very guest friendly.

Yeah. It was the Junior Suite. I got a great deal on it by emailing the hotel directly before the trip.

I think I was on the 3rd floor (The Green Level). I could vaguely hear noise from the disco, but it didn't bug me. Didn't even know they had a karaoke place on the 8th floor.

By the way, the TUB was horrible. That shower curtain sucked and there was no way to keep water from splashing out all on the floor. The shower handle was one of those that had a flexible hose that pulled up from the base of the tub. The only problem was that there was no place to mount the shower head so I had to rinse myself, put the hose down or between my legs, soap up, and then rinse again. It was annoying.

I liked this hotel a lot and the location can't be beat. the B-fast buffet is not too bad on the 2nd floor and it has wi-fi (purchase a coupon downstairs in lobby). They seem to alternate foods -- one day it's indo buffet and the next is Western b-fast.

On the weekend, the disco had a fairly good live hip-hop band with cute singers.

I also tried the in-house massage 3 times and found it good for the most part, it depended on the girl. There was one cutie 19 y.o. that was real good, she came to the room for about an hour and did a fairly good massage w/lotion. Tried for extras but nothing more than some groping. When ordering, beware they have guy masseuses, so when they ask, "10am massage Mister", that means 10am massage with a Mister.

Kaha rate for 2006 is now 305K, not sure if that includes breakfast.

MongerX, they offered out of the blue to refund my extra 25K they charged over the "mongerx contract rate" when I checked out at 5 AM the other day. That was a nice touch after I was feeling worked over by the front desk guy before they actually gave me a room a few days back.

(Message edited by merlin on January 13, 2006)

NOTE for the Holidays: I'd recommend getting advanced reservations for major holidays instead of relying on KAHA on the date of arrival.
From Subaraya, I had probls reserving at Sparks in JKT on New Years as it was all sold out, as was Mercure Reykoso.

here's a decent chinese restaurant you'll see on your walk between Spark's and TC's

First-Hombre, this should probably go in the Topics section....Thanks;

Secondly, I am not in any way involved, receiving any compensation, additional discounts or remuneration of any kind for this information;

Thirdly-Many thanks to the pioneers in Jakarta for posting info on the Sparks Hotel, how to get great deals at KAHA at the airport (over Sparks published internet rates) etc. Without you guys, I never would have even known about the Sparks Hotel. many thanks.

Well, I must say I am impressed with this place. One year new, well managed and the location couldn't be better for being close to the action. Because I am staying about 17 days, I asked to speak to the manager to see if I could arrange an even better discount and some extra freebies they normally charge for. Within two days, the Gen. manager has made it a priority to make sure I have met the food and beverage manager, the commercial host, the head of housekeeping, the head of security and anyone else of importance here. For some reaon, I am being treated like a VIP and everyone I meet is calling me by name. Here is the deal I managed and the commercial manager agreed to extend same to anyone making an inquiry and referencing Sandman.

His name is Mr. Amhad Hifni
Commercial Host
commercial@sparks-hotel.com
You may e-mail him directly and have a reservation before arival instead of taking your chances at KAHA.

KAHA Rates;
-Std. Room $275,000
W Bkfast $305,000
Direct Rates:

w/ Breakfast$290,000 (didn't ask about without Bkfast but you may inquire)

- a 10% discount on Internet access

Free ice daily (normally 10,000K)

Xtra coffee and bottled water in room at no charge.

It isn't a great deal of money saved but every little bit helps. What is best about this is that you can arrive in Jkt. with a reservation in hand.

I can recommend this place. If you want a more upscale place at a good price, I saw MongerX's room at Novotel. Very nice place and great location. I think he said he was paying $49 per night but it could be a couple of dollars less.

Now, don't all jam in here at once but if you have the chance and are not inhibited being in a foreign country where few if any speak English, then you should put Jkt on a future mongering jaunt. Do not expect to be guided around or have your hand held by anybody and Xens report is an excellent guide on places to go (just do not expect them to be easy to find...except Lokasari). An experienced traveler will be fine. First timers should have a wingman to explore with and make discoveries.

I do like this place and like Hunterman, am very glad I made the plunge to visit.

Sandman

Thanks. I discovered this hotel during my first exploratory visit to jakarta, then passed the 411 via e-mail to my closest monger pals that frequent jkt. It was a much cheaper option than the mercure rekso which at the time was the preferred hotel for mx and crazier, my trip advisors to j-town.

Since then, i've noticed some major changes.

1) Many of the og staff have disappeared...i miss cutiepie risma the most.

2) Alot more mongers (mainly chinese, malay, and indo. although i did see for the first time, other bules...two to be exact. ) are using this hotel as their base as i'm seeing many 'working' girls being taken into this hotel nowadays. During my virgin stay here, i seemed to be the ONLY one bringing in talent and felt quite self conscious about it actually. Now i see girls from penjay, madonnas, emplorium, stadium, blok m, TC, and more. Nice to have the option of waving a cewek down in the hallways on your way to the hotel's morning buffet served daily!

I spent three nights of my past trip here. Talked with the new GM here, when he wasn't tellingme all about gay orgies in some club called Babylon in Bangkok and prodding me why I didn't like such things, I did learn a couple of things. First, there are owned by the some folks who own 1001 and the Alila hotel. And that they are planning to bring in so Uzbek girls.

The lobby bar has finally caught some traction and the live band format appeals to the local rich kid crowd. All that means is your Window will reverberate until 4 AM everyday night except Sunday. I finally have had enough, and will try to always try to stay at the Novotel Mangga Dua now. Also, the Dusit on Mangga Dua has been renamed the La Granduer and supposedly all rooms are renovated. Been seeing it offered for around 450K a night. Might be worth taking a look at.

the noise from the club was quite menacing. I immediately asked to move floors and was comfortable on higher levels. I don't like the next club promotions downstair. those rich indo kids look like assholes and was given looks a few times.

Well, I gave this place one final fair shake, I asked for a room as far away from the disco, but I could still hear the noise until the wee hours of the night except Sunday. The location is excellent and the service is great, but I won't be staying here anymore because of the noise from the club/disco.

I love Sparks' response to the obvious large number of complaints about the noise. They will provide ear plugs from the front desk. Sparks has an ideal location but the primary purpose of the hotel is to be the place you get a good night's sleep. When you can't get that, what's the point? It's a shame because the hotel is so good in many ways. However, as long as I keep getting the Novotel for 438K nett (no breakfast) I won't be going back.

I had the same experience as Merlin. It was very difficult to get a good night's sleep. If it wasn't coming from the disco downstairs, it was coming from the karaoke rooms on the top floor. I changed rooms several times but never did find a quiet place. Guess I'll have to try the Novotel next time up, or the Mercure on the corner.

'Tis a pity, as their location rocks.

I guess having impaired hearing is a benefit sometimes; I've never noticed the noise.

I recently spent four nights here, and I found the noise situation is much improved. It must be some new soundproofing as the disco still blared into the wee hours each night. I had rooms on the 3rd and 6th floor. The price has gone up a bit to $350K nett with breakfast for two. I got this asa corporate rate with the hotel direct.

While the rooms are starting to show there age a little, the breakfast was definitely improved upon. I can still get the Novotel for 400-450K a night, and I think the Novotel is still worth the premium IMHO.

Also, I cehcked out the lobby bar one night, and they now have a LC (lady companion) with sexy dancer set-up in here with live music. LC model is like and Indonesian ficha fuck you set-up, where the girls sit suck down 50 or 100K drinks and stroke your leg. Uuuuuhhhmmm No Thanks. The sexy dancers have the same shitty set-up where the topless girl comes over and gives you approximately 15 seconds of grinding for a 50K shot of tequila. If you buy a series of drinks they will get more nasty.

While this is as crappy a model in Jakarta as there is, the place is pretty nicely set-up. And they have a good two bottles of Cuervo Gold for 750K. WW and I had quite a bit of fun with one of my regulars I called over. One of the dancers was one of my regular's friends. Soon her her g-string was halfway down and Wicked Willy was doing Puki Shots. Of course my regular was getting quite wild and dancing nasty. It looked like WW and I were gonna give her the double dose of cock she craved. But then the clock struck midnight (of really 12:30) and Ciderella -- I mean Wicked Willy -- had to get home to his wifey. So this is a fun place if you get your own girls and bring them along as opposed to playing with the house girls. This is almost always the winning strategy in north Jakarta karaokes and nightclubs.

Mongerx,

Thanks for the update. BTW, have they improved the quality of the internet services? They sucked as of a couple of years ago.

Internet still sucks and insanely overpriced. This is true at the Novotel as well. However, at the Mall attached to the Novotel (Mangga Dua Square) there are now a number of wifi hot spots; J Co Donuts, Oh la la cafe, Bakery One (?) which are free with purchase. Service is still spotty and not reliable for data heavy stuff like VOIP. Also there is a large new internet cafe on level 2, which has internet for 50 cents and hour and wifi for 70 cents. This seems to be the "best" solution, but the service is still spotty.

They are now quoting me 450k by e-mail. It is prime holiday dates but still, that doesn't sound right to me. What has anyone else paid recently? Is that a holiday price or a Bule price?

I thought the rec for this hotel was to always get the vouchers from the Kaha desk to get the best price.

MX: is the freaky gay manager still around? That guy was shamelessly trying to grab my dick when no one was looking. Got a couple of free meals out of him...I am such a whore.

The last two times I tried KAHA for Sparks, they were booked solid and I stayed elsewhere. I'm thinking I'll hold the reservation at 450k as a backup and shop around KAHA for better deals when I arrive.

This trip, I inquired about Sparks with Kaha and they told me it was booked. Sparks isn't worth 450k IMO. We swung by Sparks anyways to hit up the nightclub (good live band and cute dancers). It would appear the hotel still has problems with the noise level 'till 2am or so.

FWIW, 450k was the best I was quoted by e-mailing them. KAHA had it for 340k with breakfast and no trouble booking on arrival this time, although last two times they did not have rooms available to KAHA at all on arrival. Agree with Merlin it's not worth 450k but didn't hurt to have a reservation anyway JIC.

Did anybody ever get the gay (oops, I mean open minded, exploring his sexuality) manager at Sparks' email address? Xen?

Could be a good resource?

Evidently earlier this month a new sauna place has opened within the Sparks hotel. Unfortuantely, I found out too late to check it out personally. What I have heard is that there is a lounge where you can check out the girls with reasonable drink prices. The girls can be taken back to your room if you are stying there, regular massage rooms, or their new innovation theme rooms. Some of the themes are doctors office, train car, classroom etc..

Unfortunately the prices are quite steep for 90 minute sessions. Theme rooms are 450-650K for 1.5 hours, and regular rooms are 200-300K. For extras you have to negotiate with the girls, but it seems that FS will require an additional 300K. Reviews are that the girls are quite high in standard with several trophy racks available (can you hear me bro Silverbird!)

There is a little info on this link
http://www.sparks-hotel.com/index.php?hal=promo

Sroll down to get to the Spa promos

Looking forward to an investigative report...

That's not a big building. Did they take rooms out of commission to build it, or did they take over the KTV on the top floor?

No they always had the area set aside. it's on the 2nd floor around the pool area into a small bar dance floor area. They have frequent parties there, but it's overpriced and the energy level low. That said, there are a couple of cuties but nothing to get overly excited about imo.