http://www.accorhotels.com/accorhotels/fichehotel/gb/nov/5704/fiche_hotel.shtml

This six month old 4* hotel is in the Huge Mangga Dua Square Complex at the junction of Gunung Sahari and Mangga Dua in North Jakarta. In this same complex you have Carrefour, Sands Disco, Sands Executive Spa, and 3-plex cinema, a shopping center and variety of restaurants.

I booked this hotel for 465K a night with one breakfast at the Indotel desk at the Jakarta airport in the baggage claim area. Go indotel does not impose a surcharge for payment with a credit card.

http://www.goindotel.com/

KAHA currently doesn't have a contract rate with this hotel.


I love this hotel and if my budget allows I will use stay here. I feel it is worth the additional $15-$20 a night over Sparks. The location is great as you have Sands, Carrefour, and lots of restaurants right here. All of my favorite Kota mongering spots are a short taxi ride away.

There is a way too small lobby on the ground floor. And the rest of the hotel sits on the 5-7 floors. The hotel rooms surround a really nice olympic size pool which has nice landscaping teak decking and lounge furniture. The lounge chairs also have great comfy cushions. Lots of good pool time here. On the fifth floor there is a very cozy lounge, lots of public seating. A decent modern gym, public meeting rooms, and the restaurante. The included breakfast buffet is extensive and excellent (maybe slightly better than the Mecure) and is served until 10:30 AM. (That extra half an hour seems to make a big difference on whether I make it down or not.)

The standard rooms are decent sized but not huge. The marble bathroom is nice. There is a very comfortable king size bed, and very nice sofa-day bed and coffee table, a big desk which has has a second table that swings out to creat more table top space. A high quality 21" TV and about 40 cable channels. A good size close with three drawers and in room safe the is big enough to store a moderate size lap top. The fridge is well stocked with mini bar items. Have them empty it and stock up at the in house Carrefour.

There is supposedley Wi Fi available in the rooms and public areas. Currently it is free because they are obviously working out some kinks. My room was on the 7th floor and I could only get a weak signal and never got it working. However, in the fifth floor public areas it worked quite well. Although twice I there was problems with the network so I couldn't get logged. If it is important I believe the 5th floor rooms will have a much stronger signal. Also it's free now but for how long. Anyway it helps close the gap on Sparks who charges 35K for an hour of wireless now.

The Plusses for the hotel

1) Nice comfortable new rooms
2) Good in room safe
3) Great location
4) Blue bird taxi stand out front
5) Great Breakfast buffet
6) Good gym facilities
7) An excellent professional staff
8) Excellent professional and highly visible security staff (There was always security on each floor and you couldn't access the hallways with rooms with out a room key) When a girl showed up, security would escort her discreetly to your room
9) Lots of eye candy in the hotel
10) Huge and nice pool

Negatives
1) There was a real problem with the water pressure. It would intermittenly switch between quite strong and quite week
2) Small lobby
3) Expensive mini-bar
4) The wifi service is advertised as being in room but it wasn't. However, I though it's speed was better than elsewhere I have seen in North Jakarta and there are plenty of comfy place to set up shop on the 5th floor.
5) Price -- the Indotel listed the 465K with one breakfast (505K for two) only for domestic ID holders. There was no price listed for foreigners. However, I had them call the hotel directly and they agreed to give me the domestic rate. No garauntees they will do that though.

Oh yeah the also stock a robe for you to use in the closet. However, you have to supply the girl with the bolt on titties to fill it.

Photo: Novotel Robe

Great info MX, sounds like you found a great place to stay, espec if they have wifi going (Sparks charges too much for theirs IMO). How much would a bluebird taxi cost to Kota from here? How much time during traffic would it take to Kota do you think. I had to stay at the Oasis Amir, which the dude at KAHA said was "close to Kota" but each taxi ride to Kota cost 20K and it all added up.

This is Kota! Penjay is gonna cost less than 10K and will take 3-15 minutes depending on traffic and Lokasari less than 15K and will take 5-15 minutes. You could probably walk to PenJay from her in about 20-25 minutes.

Now I can't believe the guy who always drops the 40-80K more for the ST room upgrades is worrying about a couple of 20K taxi rides.

Hehe, never minded spending money on the p4p experience but can't stand spending extra time and money on taxis. Thanks MX, I'm gonna give this place a try next trip, whenever that is.

Me too, MX, thanks for more pioneering work. Sounds like a nice place, and since I've become more dependent on internet, I hope they get it working well and inexpensively.

Did you negotiate a corporate rate?

Seriously, we should look into getting a CH corporate rate with a few hotels in a few places.

I moved over here for two nights after my first three nights in Sparks. A much much better hotel experience. Plus the FREE in room was much better than I have gotten in Sparks or any other Kota internet cafe. The TV has a shit load of cable channels with lots of English ones, including HBO, Cinemax, and Star Movies. Great pool and breakfast buffet (that is open until 10:30), good gym. Plus there is always Bluebird taxi outside. Lots of airconditioned restaraunt/fast food/ foods court options in the adjacent Carrefour shopping center.

And you have Sands Disco/Spa next door as well. A great way to while away a couple of hours with great facilities (sauna,steam, jacuzzi, TV lounges), decent chinese buffet, and get a 90 minute massage for under $20. I love that place.

You can currently book a standard room here online for 438K including taxes (but I don't think breakfast) at http://www.accorhotels-asia.com/

thanks for the write up. I've been meaning to check this place out for some time. My mo at most destinations is to switch around multiple times so that i can get the lay of the land at various locations. i plan to check this place out as well as stay at melawai in blok m and travel due to the level of talent within.

Well I have not heard very good things about the hotel rooms in the Melawai. And certainly the state of the ST rooms and the public Area of the sixth floor Bar Massage doesn't give me much confidence. Then again the lobby was just renovated and looks a lot better and there are new much more comfortable bar tools in the 6th floor. So who knows. Don't expect super young hard body spinners deluxe at the the 6th floor. However, you will find some big old titties, fantastic attitudes, and out of the world service. Bules make up most of the clientele, so the music is at a decent level and the lights are up at a level you can really check the chicks out well.

However, in Blok M there is a new Grand Boutique hotel that looks real interesting. I think it is owned by the Boutique Hotel on Gunung Sahari. I have heard they are in soft opening with rates in the 350K range. Might be worth checking out.

thanks. i'd stay at the melawai just to explore the area a bit and take advantage of the close proximity it has with certain pick up malls, bars and of course, the upstairs massage.

The Melawai is indeeed not a particularly classy hotel. I stayed there two nights. Soc, you're right about the proximity advantages. Next time, I'll try the Melawai II across the street, I think it's a little nicer.

Or maybe I'll take MX's suggestion, although the proximity to the 6th floor Marabaya bar is important to me (one of my favorite places in JKT).

It seems that all good things come to an end. The WiFi at the Novotel is no longer free. They cost is $5 US for a one hour period and $10 US for a 24 hour period.

Too bad about the wi-fi fee now.

I'll add that one of the major disadvantages I can think of in travelling between here and lokasari and places south of it is the high potential of having to deal with corrupt cops, their check points (had to pay a fine for having a copy of my passport vs the real thing) and having to take taxis into lokasari-stadium area and beyond since penjay closes down earlier than most of the other bars in kota.

I had to learn the alleys in kota and direct taxi's through it to avoid theses check points although sometimes they are unavoidable. Staying off hayam wuruk at night is key.

Soc, you gotta start wearing that muslim high priest cleric cap, scarf and shroud more often. Knock on wood, I haven't been hassled yet, but I'm prepared.

Too bad about the Wi-Fi charges, but it's essential for me, espec. since I couldn't find icafes near Sparks or other places. My blackberry gets good reception though.

I stayed at the Novotel Manga Dua Square this trip. Overall, I really liked this hotel. I stayed in the Deluxe Room for about $65.00/night and everything -- bed, furnishing, lighting, service (most times) -- was excellent. There is a bluebird taxi stand and the hotel is next to SANDS spa and massage and the huge Manga Dua Square Mall. Good security and the breakfast buffet was excellent for a bit over $10 bucks (but it's the same buffet each am). No problems with bringing in chicas or guards harassing the girls. Good business office with all the gadgets and the swimming pool area is very well set up.

The negatives. I too had some service issues with this hotel initially. They made a mistake on my arrival date and when I arrived, they said they had no rooms (despite me producing written internet confirmation). Had to make a bit of a scene, but after about an hour, they "found" me a room, but overlooking the busy street where I could hear the honking from the streets. I'd say get a room in the back, away from the street as you can hear the traffic.

Also, even though Kota is supposed to be five-ten minutes away, the traffic was pretty bad most hours and a one way ride avg'd about 12K-15K ($1.50). I go back and forth often and found myself spending about $20/bucks a day on these trips, plus the $10 breakfast, plus the $10/day internet. So spent over $100/day. Finally, there were alot of wedding parties there for some reason, so people tied up the elevator sometimes.

While at check-in, saw a guy using a Kaha voucher, perhaps there is a Kaha discount now?

Overall I'd stay there again, very nice ambiance.

I am staying at the Novotel Manngga Dua on my maiden voyage in Jakarta. Overall I find it a pretty good place. I got the 458,000 on-line pre-pay price which does not include breakfast.

The staff has treated me great and helped me with everything I need. The business center helped me to buy an airline ticket for my next leg in Indonesia on Batavia Airlines when I was unable to work directly with the airline because of the language barrier. They went ahead and confirmed my reservations and got the ticket delivered to the hotel. Workout facilities are excellent for a hotel (I think it is an attached health club). As pointed out it is next to the Sands Spa and the Manngga Dua mall (which I believe to be the most confusing shopping center on the face of this planet). The rooms are nice and comfortable; the beds are a bit hard which has caused my back some problems (but that is more a comment on my back then anything else). In room programmable safe, lots of English TV stations

My biggest complaint has got to be the in-room wireless. Really expensive at about 130,000/day and has been really slow for me. Been almost impossible listening to a baseball game on streaming audio, which in the middle of a pennant race is causing me quite a bit of anguish.

I also saw a KAHA voucher being used, but do not know if what that price would have been

I chose this place because folks said it was quieter than the Sparks, I might try that next time just to compare the two different hotels.

The internet crawls everywhere in North Jakarta, not just the Novotel. Having stayed at both places, I'd say you'd be a lunatic to want to try the Sparks. There is no comparison. Kiss any semblance of sleep good bye.

I liked Sparks...except for the freaky gay general manager dude who was trying to get into my pants.

CC don't let it go to your head and think you are hot suff. The Sparks GM hits on EVERY hombre he meets.

ya I liked sparks a lot. + meeting upo with mx over the morning buffet was a swell way to start the day

In the spirit of my mission to save you tens of dollars, there is now an alternative to the rape you in the ass wifi service of the Novotel.

There is a free wifi hotspot at the One Cafe. This is the bread shop and coffee caffee at in the elevator lobby you use to go to Sands Spa or Disco. Exit the ground floor lobby of the Novotel and go to your right. Its the second entrance.

They didn't seem concerned at all if I bought a drink, but I usually sprung for a 14K double cappuccino. The WiFi performed about as good as that found in the Novotel. The cafe closes late, I think around midnight. I never went bye later to see if you could mooch free internet after hours. There is also another cafe with a big "Free Hot Spot" cafe around the corner. But I didn't check it out. So these hotspots couldn't be closer or more convienent, and a no brainer compared to the fip off $15 dollar a day Novotel service.

Although I love staying at the Novotel, the price of internet and dining there is ridiculous. The breakfast buffet is bow 108K after tax. There is no need to pay that as there are LOTS of good cheap food options in the Mangga Dua Square complex. For example Sands 5th floor restaurant offers decent Dim Sum at super cheap prices everyday. We are talking about 5-6K per 3-4 piece orders of Har Kao, Shue Mai, Char Bao, etc. (pardon the spelling.) Also the Korean place on the thrid floor offers all you can eat korean BBB for $5, etc...

Also, have found an Excellent and SUPER CHEAP seafood place across the street called Kampoeng Nelayan. Here the food is extremely well prepared. Went with a group of 5 and had Ikan Bakar Saus Kunning (Grilled Fish with yellow sauce) 45K for a big fish, A plate of Fried Shrimp 25K, Fried squid 20K, Mussels in Padang sauce 7.5K, Clam in oyster sauce 7K, two plates of vegatables 6K each, Four big pieces of Tofu stuffed with seafood 15K, BBQ squid with egg 25K, several orders of sayur assam soup (sour veggie soup 3K each, ..... All together it was a really well cooked feast in full aircon dining room for 200K (this included drinking fruit juice as well) Aboslutely fantastic value for less than 5 bucks a head.

There is a brandnew pretty decent internet cafe on Level 2 of the Mangga Dua Square mall called Ayolah. Hardware and speed are decent. However, you can't plug your own laptop into the ethernet and they don't have printing. More of a cybergame center with internet connection. Hours are limited from 11am - 10 pm. But the price is 4000 rupiah per hour. Kicks the crap out of using the Novotel wireless. Also they have a decent cafe attached where you can get fresh juice for 6K. Hopefully they will get wifi or set it up so you can use your own laptop and get more business center type services.

I think I speak for many in saying that ANY fast internet service in Jakarta is a welcomed blessing, no matter what the cost. Of course it's even better if it's CHEAP. If a country's looking UP at the PHILIPPINES in fucking ANYTHING (like internet access), they should be well ashamed attheir retardation.

BTW, internet service on Bali was about 10x worse than what it was in Jakarta. Neesless to say, that's, UHHMMM, NOT GOOD!

I just got back from Jakarta after a quick Thanksgiving jaunt. I had planned this trip late and all the standard rooms were out, so I reserved a deluxe room online. When I arrived, they said all the deluxe rooms were taken and they upgraded me to a junior suite for free. It has an outdoor jacuzzi and is essentially a one bedroom apartment sans the kitchen. The bathroom is huge. I have no idea how to book this room at Accor.com as they only list standard and deluxe rooms and not the junior suite rooms. But I was happy for the free upgrade! There is another Hombre who likes to book this room as well. And I was lucky enough to see this room on a previous trip.



(Message edited by xenono on November 27, 2007)

Here are the pics of the room.

Wow I have never seen the junior suite with an outdoor jacuzzi, that's sweet!

Yeah I am the hombre that every now and then will book a junior suite. It's a pretty dam nice $100 a night hotel room. However, despite it's good value, my budget just doesn't let me indulge too often.

Too bad you haven't kept in touch and missed our mini Hombre convention over Thanksgiving in CP. It would have been a great opportunity to check out that venue.

Here is a picture of the Mangga Dua Square mall where the Novotel is located. This picture was taken from Monas, the National Monument of Indonesia. The mall is located in the center of picture, towards the top.

Here is a quick update on everyone's favorite hotel in North Jakarta.

When I was last here before they were adding two floors to the hotel and it was a loud as all hell.

The jackhammer started at 8am and finished about 6pm at night. I had to change rooms several times. The lobby was all torn up as well and checkin/out moved to the 5th floor. Now all is better. The 8th and 9th floors are the so called "Executive Floors" with added benefits.

8th is smoking, 9th is non.

With the executive floor you get free internet access, free breakfast and free snacks in the 8th floor lounge. The standard is about the same with a darker wood finish. The best news is the internet. Generally, it sucks in Jakarta. I don't know if they upped the speed just for the executive floors or not, but I am getting 1 mbps per second up and down and that rocks for Jakarta.

I am connected via Ethernet cable and not the wifi. I guess their IT staff finally realized they could not double their room capacity and not add capacity to their crappy internet connection.

Here is a screenshot of my speedtest and some pics of the room and lounge.

The room runs about 93 US per night and that is with my Accor discount. So you could probably purchase breakfast and the internet separately on the standard room and come out ahead the other way. But I wanted to check out the room.

You can also bypass the lobby and check in and out on the 8th floor reception area if you stay on the executive floors.

The room looks pretty much the same same as the standards, with the exception of the plasma TV and the darker floor. Thanks for checking it out; good to know I won't be missing much next time I'm there, in the standard rooms of course.

Thanks for the update Xenono. I notice you are using a bandwidth tester (the screen shot) and wonder whether you could share the link or program?

LAGuy:

It is speedtest.net

MX, Merlin, et al.
With the frequency of your stays at this Novotel and /or the Mercure do you guys belong to any of the Accor loyalty programs and would you recommend it.

I have used my Compliments (Accor properties in Brazil only) membership to knock off a few bucks here and there over the years but found it a chore trying to get those rewards.

I've been a member for a couple years, Accor Advantage program ($200US) now and Accor Gold (prev. program). It is worth it only if you travel a lot to Asia as it is initially costly and they have annual membership. But you get a free complimentary night right away and good discounts on rooms and meals. No waiting in the lobby checkin/checkout. Plus, the Accor staff really know how to kiss ass well to its members. In Asia, most of the higher end Accor hotels have been extremely nice hotels with exceptional service.