Jaimito Cartero

A couple of pictures my wife took around the pool last week.

Jaimito Cartero

We just finished a two week stay here, with two rooms. I had booked a stay here earlier, but had canceled when their pool hadn’t opened.

Lots of masks being worn here. They had disposable masks for sale for 5000 IDR (35 cents). Seats in the lobby had X’s on seats not supposed to be occupied. At this time, most people coming to stay on the weekend. There is a temp check when entering the hotel, and often at the Open restaurant. The Sea Grain restaurant is still closed.

Luckily, the day before we arrived, they reopened the pool. This is one of my favorite pools in Jakarta, as it has plenty of concrete stairs, with railings making it easy to use the pool if you have mobility issues. They limited the amount of people who can use the pool, offering a reservation for different times.

They announced the pool was going to close this week again. Jakarta government announced some new rules, like no kids under 9, or adults over 60 allowed in pools. Kind of strange.

We booked under their Dream sale, which was the cheapest rate I’ve seen for awhile. It was just under 1 million rupiah per night. ($65 or so).

We got a one suite room upgrade, our second room was just a twin executive room, . Their lounge has been closed since March or so. They are delivering afternoon tea and evening drinks/food via room service.

The evening food and drinks were pretty good, but seemed to repeat frequently, with some savory items just not to my taste. Coleslaw, and veggies with beef were my least favorite. Weekends they had better items, including shrimp. We got some undercooked chicken wings one night. They had a great selection of fresh juices. Rockmelon, papaya, watermelon, guava, dragonfruit, in addition to some packaged juices like apple and mango.

The Open restaurant was very nice, as usual. During the week they often had ala carte items, but would bring you whatever you’d like. Weekends, they had a buffet, where an employee would serve the food you indicated. Often I’d be asleep during breakfast, and they’d graciously make a bag to go for my wife.

The hotel staff at this property, except for some management, is the best. From concierge desk, front desk, poolside, and restaurants are outstanding. We have been rather disappointed with the new management that came into the property. Even last year, they just don’t interact with guests like previous managers, Pak Walid and Pak Neil did here. That’s very disappointing, as having communication with all employees helps make stays much better.

Some things we were used to at the property. No welcome letter, or chocolates in the room this year. The hotel did do a pretty good job at notifying by email about changes in service at the property. We have almost 50 room nights at this property in 2020. I’m sure we will have another 5-10 before we leave.

The only other slight gripe is that room service is a bit inconsistent. My daughter likes their kids fish and chips, and the size, and number of pieces vary. At first it was 3 pieces, then only 2. Sometimes two smallish pieces, other times larger. Lemon hardly ever included, but indicated on the menu. Delivery speed was good. Usually in the 22-25 minute range. I can’t recall waiting more than 30 minutes.

HannsenBos3

Will need to try this Property, had seen good reviews

Jaimito Cartero

Just checked in after a gruelling 35 hours of travel time from the US. Even when arriving at almost 3am, had a warm welcome and our huge pile of luggage was quickly taken care of. Although some new employees here, we were glad to see so many familar faces.

It was disheartening to see this property with less than 10 guests when we checked in, early in the pandemic in March, 2020. Our last stay was in November, 2020, and I can tell you that we didn’t find a single hotel in the US, even a JW Marriott that came close to the service or food that this Doubletree does.

Breakfast selection is as good as ever. No recuced housekeeping, or breakfast bags here!

Looking forward to our next two weeks here. At this moment the Sea Grain restaurant and bar are still closed. Supposed to open in July. Hilton Asia has a dining promotion of 25% off for gold and diamond members at on property dining.

Jaimito Cartero

We stayed for 16 nights total, two rooms for much of it. Main room upgraded to a suite.

The staff is still quite good, though so many staff has changed since out last visit, 18 months ago. Luckily, many of the staff in Open are still there.

We did have some wifi issues, with it being down almost an entire day. Other times it was just intermittent. We had electrical problems, with the lights/AC clicking on/off rapidly for a few minutes. I could hear the breaker in the fuse closet clicking a lot. Even with 3 visits over 3 days they could never fix it correctly.

And some things from our last visit seemed the same from 18 months ago. Like the cord to the bedroom phone line wouldn’t click into the phone base. I had them replace it this time.

All the other staff was great, and is by far, their greatest asset. I still love their pool. As someone who often uses an electric wheelchair, it’s one of the few that are handicapped friendly. Nice stairs and railings for entry.

Lounge was pretty good, but they’ve removed the alcohol from the table near the dessert cooler. The staff will bring it to you, but it takes awhile.

Jaimito Cartero

I book most of my stays at this property with points, usually in 5 night blocks to take advantage of the 5th night free.

I’ve already booked my Christmas holiday nights recently. I was checking some other nights before then, and noticed that their point requirements have increased. Most nights are 25-26k, up from their standard 20k for many years. It’s not a dynamic pricing situation, as their rates are the same or less than when I redeemed nights recently. This increase obviously negates the 5th night free.

The cheapest nights I’ve seen are single Sunday nights for 23k.

Schwann

Did ponder this hotel for a stay at the end of October but chains like the Mercures are of a similar standard and half the price.

Jaimito Cartero

I’ve stayed in at least one Mercure in town, and certainly wouldn’t say it was comparable.

I’m a long time Doubletree guest, so probably get a little different treatment. Still, the breakfast, afternoon tea and evening lounge are all really nice. As a diamond, they really go the extra mile.

They have a nice pool, and some of the best staff in town. There are plenty of cheap places in town to stay, but I think the Doubletree is one of the best values for what you pay for it.

IAN-UK

i observed the same phenomenon: maybe an indication that it's time to ease off on the praise pedal😄,

It's the only HH property in town so even the faintest of of recommendations is going to divert HH members there from Mercure, IHG et al, and send rates skittering upwards
on IHG, the new(ish) Gajah Mada property is worth a look. They've done away with the lounge, but it's a nice olace in a handy location.

And OK I know there's a HGI, but i can't see any positives about its location, exvept the important one that it's handy for the airport.


There were a bunch of low redemption rates aroynd Indonesia. It's a shame Jakarta's Doubletree left bthat league. I think only the Bali airport HGI is still on 5k points, but they've spoiled things by scrappng the extremely helpful shuttle.

Jaimito Cartero

Well this year the Bandung Hilton has really been jacking the points rate up. Often 30k a night for weekends.

I’m sure that the Doubletree is trying to catch up a bit. Covid was bad for most hotels. I think their cash price is still somewhat reasonable. Compared to so many US hotels who charge $200-250 for a basic Hampton Inn, paying $100 for an advance purchase rate isn’t so bad. The benefits for Diamonds is pretty stellar.

Before the Doubletree opened, I used to stay at the Grand Hyatt frequently. They were almost always $200 plus a night. Their lounge was a bit better, but I found roaches multiple times there. And other staff and room issues.

I’ve stayed at $20 hotels in Jakarta in my earlier visits. Nothing horrible, but most leave a lot to be desired. I don’t need a luxe hotel, but good food and service are way up my list of needs.

Schwann

Well I ended up staying here for two nights after cancelling my Mercure reservations. Not sure it was worth twice the price... but nevermind, it was still a nice hotel.

Upgraded to an executive room - basically a king room with lounge access so not really an upgrade given lounge access would have been included for me as a Diamond. Nice comfortable bed and decent shower albeit not from a rainfall shower head as my preferred method of receiving water.

Pool was excellent, love the "river"/circuit type design rather than the standard rectangle design. Lounge food had plenty of options which rotated each night.. lounge staff were very attentive. Food self service but alcohol hidden away.








Lounge:

Jaimito Cartero

During my last stay in May/June, the Executive Lounge was having alcohol served by the staff. Pre-Covid, the bottles of alcohol were on a table near the chilled dessert/canapé cooler.

I really love their pool here, as it’s one of the few I’ve run into that are really handicapped friendly. I can drive my wheelchair to the steps, and easily get in and out with their excellent hand rails, and wide concrete steps into the pool. Many other hotels have extra exterior steps, plus only metal stairs to get into the pool.

Looking forward to our next stay here over the Christmas holiday!

Lefly

I used this hotel few times in 2019 (and it was my last stay in 2020 before everything closed down) and loved it, from breakfast to lounge to the pool. The staff was more than great and provided exceptional service.
I would like to go back there in the future.

Jaimito Cartero

The staff has had a lot of turnover during the Covid period. There are still a lot of my favorite staff members, and most are great.

One of the reasons why this Hilton property is where we have the most stays is the great staff members. While we’ve been to fancier hotels in Jakarta, this is still where we will spend most of the time.

nldogbert

Who knows what is supposed to become of that skeleton structure? When I last stayed at this hotel back in March 2020, that skeleton frame was already there and I see after so many years it's still not changed a bit....
Btw, the lounge offerings looks good in my opinion. Can't wait to visit this property again....

Cheers!