nldogbert

Introduction This was the only Hilton family brand property in Jakarta. Location This property is located in the Cikini area of Jakarta. The neighbourhood looks to be a mix of houses and commercial with hospitals, university and local shops around the property. In front of the property is a road which on work days especially the evening rush hour becoming a grid lock road.There is a Commuter train station [a sort of metro system] about 5 mins from the hotel which at least for me was very convenient at least from a touristic point as the train does go all the way to the [few] attractions in Jakarta. One of the main attraction is the old city [Kota Tua] where the line ends. Along the line, it does a few stops which brings you close to walking distance to the other attractions.For the airport, on a good day, it will take about 45 mins to get to the airport via the toll roads but on a bad day, it will most probably be twice of that time. On my arrival during the peak hours, I took the train from JKT airport to BNI City station and from there taxied to the hotel. The taxi part from the BNI City station to the hotel took about 25 mins [on a OK day, it would be about 1 mins]. Check In I was contacted by the hotel via email a few days earlier prior to my arrival and I did provide my expected arrival time. Arrived after 8pm at the hotel and I was helped immediately by the front desk associates. I had already noticed in my booking that I was upgraded to a room on the Executive floor. Upon noticing this, I was given an option to complete my check-in at the front desk or lounge - which I just opted to complete it at the front desk. Contact with the associate was pleasant and I felt very welcomed. Within 1 mins of arriving, I was off to my room with the usual cookies in hand. Room The room was situated on the 2nd highest floor of the hotel [17th floor out of 18] and the same floor as the lounge. The view was towards the train tracks and further downtown of Jakarta.Room size was ok - there was a long working desk and also a smaller sitting area. There was a nice welcome gift [two smaller water bottles and a box of pralines] including a note - this is always a nice touch. Too bad not too many properties will take the effort for such a small task but big positive impression.There was the usual tea/coffee making facility and a fridge. Internet speed was good and stable - good coverage throughout the property. The airconditioning was good and effective without making too much noise. TV selection was very good with lots of different international and national selections, but what was best was the quality - in HD with no interference. Sleeping quality was good with the bed not being too hard nor soft. As mentioned earlier, the room faces the train tracks and the busy road, however the sound isolation of the room was quite good. You will only hear the traffic/train when they horned [for the train this is every time before it leaves the station] however this was minimal disturbance. The only noise disturbance was the thin thin walls - it really seems that the walls were just a piece of paper as on one night, the occupance of the room next door came back after midnight and started to talk and laugh which sounded like they were in the same room. Luckily this lasted only about an hour and they went to bed. Therefore, I can imagine if occupants were of the noisy type, this would have been a nightmare.The bathroom size was ok with a walk-in shower area. There were 2 bottle of waters found on the wash basin. Amenities is as usual from Crabtree&Evelyn. Breakfast Breakfast even for Executive Lounge floor guest is only available in the main restaurant located one floor below the front desk. One word to describe the breakfast quality and variety at this property - Wow!. I've visited lots of hotels in Asia and this has got to be one of the best breakfast spread I've experienced [even beating some top hotels in Asia]. They had different sections/stations with different offerings from different Asian cuisine and even for the western selections, there were tons available. They even had a small selection of ice cream to select from and you could order different type of juices/smooties.I guess even if you had to stay for a month, you will not be bored with the choices as they also changed the selection every day. The associates working in the breakfast room were friendly and nothing was every too much for them to accommodate. Seating is either inside or outside [facing the pool area]. A big kudos to the property on having such a great breakfast buffet. [Although sadly - noticed also a lot of guests wasting lots of good food] Executive lounge The lounge is located on the 17th floor and like many lounges in Asia, the reception desk here acts and works the same as the front desk. The associates working in the lounge were friendly and always ready to help. the lounge consisted of 2 large rooms - one acting more as a lounging area and the other more for food/bar function.The lounge is open from morning till night. There is no breakfast served in the lounge, but from 2-4 pm, they do have some light afternoon tea type of food and from 5.30-7.30 pm, the usual evening happy hours.For the evening service, the selection of food is good - with a mix of fingerfood and slightly larger hot dishes. Drink selection was good with 1 red and 1 white. The wines surprisingly were locally made - from a winery in Bali [grapes I was informed comes from Australia]. During my stay, the lounge was never too crowded - and there was always ample seating on both sides of the lounge. All in all, for a Doubletree, a very good lounge with friendly service. Pool The hotel has the pool in a sort of resort style. The area was very well assigned with lots of trees and different lounge benches including some smaller cabana type seating. There is a smaller kids pool. Service was very good with always someone available when needed. The pool was well kept and water temperature was good - especially after a long hot day of exploring. Service The hotel service was very good - with very friendly staff all round. They were all ready to help and provide information whenever needed. Even the security associates were friendly. Overall All in all, a very solid property with top notch service. The hotel is well kept and very nicely designed with touches of local culture. Only one major improvement I would recommend is to please reduce the level of the air freshner in the lift. This I found foul - it was so intense that basically it was more nausating than nice smelling every time I stepped into the lift. I was also not really in favour of the bubblegum fragrance that they selected - it would have been maybe more bearable if it was something more asian like - bamboo/lemongrass/sandalwood type of smell.