IAN-UK

I've a couple of days coming up in Jakarta on my way back from a holiday. I have sussed out the IC + RA treatment is a winner, and the price is excellent, but the CP is on a POINT BREAKS, and I'd really like to get something out of that programme!

So they are running sort-of equal at the moment. Does anybody have recent experience of both hotels, their relative comfort, and their convenience to whatever it is tourists do in JKT?

PLUS - any hints on living the good life in Jakarta will be well received.

Thanks (and, yes, I did use the search function...)

GibSpmuh

I've had plenty of stays at both hotels (in fact I'll be staying in both again over the next few days, so I'll add any updates when I return) - they're within about 1km of each other, with the IC just off Jalan Surdirman and reasonably close to the tollway, and the CP directly off the tollway (and for getting around Jakarta, especially to and from the airport, proximity to the tollway is a good thing).

The IC has been renovating their rooms, though even the unrenovated ones were still pleasant, weren't too worn out (the renovated rooms have a more modern look though, unsurprisingly ). I've found RA treatment to be pretty good at the IC Jakarta, everytime I've been upgraded to a suite (even as an Amb I was upgraded to a Jr Suite every time). Club access is no longer given free for RA's - the Club's nothing special anyway, though not too expensive if you decide you want access (US$30 per night I think). The IC always feels quite tranquil in my experience as well, which is always a plus when coming in from the Jakarta traffic.

The CP has also recently renovated some of their rooms and added a club as well. The rooms at the CP aren't as plush as those at the IC, but still above average for a CP. I've received an upgrade of some sort or another each time I've stayed at the CP, even on a points break rate - most recently to the club floor. Never had a suite upgrade there though, but haven't expected it with Platinum status either. I've found the staff quality isn't as good at the CP either, all friendly enough still, but perhaps not particuarly empowered to do anything apart from refer things to a manager. I had some issues in the past in regards to a double deduction of points for points break stays at the CP as well, so it might be worth keeping an eye on your account (a quick email to the Ambassador helpdesk got the points restored though).

As for places worth seeing around Jakarta - they're few and far between . Monas and the National Museum are close to each other and are decent enough (though forget about going to Monas on a weekend unless you enjoy a queue). Kota has some colonial buildings still with a couple of museums and Cafe Batavia is there as well, which is a bit of a local institution. Taman Mini is an experience too - I can safely say I've never been anywhere like it before anyway (on the most recent trip out there I got invited into the Komodo Dragon enclosure to give them a pat ). Both hotels are reasonably located to reach all the locations listed above - just be sure to avoid rush hour on the roads in Jakarta, it's pretty brutal!

If there's anything else you'd like to know, happy to assist - the Big Durian's an acquired taste, but can keep you entertained for a few days (and nights ).

IAN-UK

It seemed a good idea to do a rest stop after Bali before Lufthansa-ing it home from JKT

So thanks a bunch for for that^ - I look forward to your update ...

GibSpmuh

Here in Jakarta now, completed the CP stay and currently staying at the IC again.

For updates on the above info, I forgot to mention before that the IC has free wireless throughout the hotel, whereas you have to pay at the CP.

New roadworks outside the CP for the busway have made traffic there even worse than before - fortunately it's still swift enough to get on the tollway for heading east, but to get on the tollway to head towards the airport it'll add a few more minutes to the trip (as you have to travel in the wrong direction for a bit to do a U-turn under the tollway to get going in the right direction).

Upgrades have been as previously, CP upgraded to an 'executive' floor - which as far as I can tell is a renovated room. IC upgraded to a 1 BR suite again (not one of the renovated ones, but still very pleasant none the less).

If you're partial to breakfast then the breakfast on offer at the IC is far superior to that at the CP. The CP has a pretty run of the mill selection, and the quality is just average (better than some of the other places in Jakarta, but not enough to get me rushing out of bed in the morning). The IC on the other hand as a fair mix of quality options, with smoked salmon aplenty, meat dishes that actually look and taste like meat, and a reasonable array of Asian selections too. The quality of the food is good and the ambience in the restaurant is very pleasant too - not nearly so hectic as at the CP.

As for Jakarta in general, yet more massive malls have opened up as well, especially along the Surdirman strip, and those that were opened previously are filling out with more stores again. So if you're in a shopping mood then the likes of Grand Indonesia, Senayan City and Pacific Place will keep you occupied for hours (or if malls bore you silly, steer clear - there's not much that's uniquely Indonesian in most of them, apart from the service I guess ).

Hope that helps the decision making process - if you're looking to save money then the CP is certainly an acceptable option, especially at the PointBreaks level. The IC is great value for money though, and treat RA's well (and if it was a choice between paying for the two then the IC's a no-brainer these days given the minimal cost difference - now about US$10-$20 per night, instead of US$50 per night difference a couple of years back). Or you could stay a couple of nights on points at the CP and then pay for a night or two at the IC and earn enough points with the current promotion to have paid for the CP nights (the option I chose ^ ).

spunk_tokyo

I encountered the same problem everytime I made PointBreak reservation at this hotel. I tried to talk to the higher level staff and eventhough we speak the same language, they did not understand what happen with the double point deduction. Or were they just playing stupid??

Well, as you said, a quick email or call to Ambassador helpdesk got the points restored instantly.

spunk_tokyo

Which floor exactly your room is? I had suite and the so-called 'executive' floor upgrade in several PointBreaks reservations, but NO lounge access. Did they give you lounge access?

I once managed to book the Chairman Suite on normal 25,000 point reservation, no lounge access neither tho. No more Chairman Suite available on award night tho.

GibSpmuh

One time I was given a room on the 17th floor, the other times its been the 7th floor - I never tried to access the lounge though, so can't say whether or not it was granted (though from the sounds of things I saved myself some effort by not checking ). It was better before they had the lounge I guess, when the Executive floor meant free drinks from the mini-bar instead ^.

camsean

IMO the IC is a much nicer hotel but the CP is great value at 5000 points. I'd probably find it hard to pass up.

I agree with GibSpmuh that Jakarta doesn't have a whole lot to offer from a tourist perspective.

I would recommend you check out the Kota area of the city, however. This is oldest area of the city and has quite a number of 17th century buildings. In just about any other country this sort of area would be full of cafes and shops. Here in Indonesia its quietly moldering away. Which probably makes it more interesting in a way. The best areas are Taman Fatahela and Jalan Kali Besar.

Also in this area, Sunda Kelapa is worth a look. This is the old harbour area where there are 100's of sailing ships berthed. You can pay someone about 40,000rp an hour to take you out in rowboat to have a look at them as well as the harbour generally.

The National Museum, just west of The National Monument (Monas) also has a good collection of Hindu and Buddhist sculpture.

Have a nice trip.

spunk_tokyo

Hope you made your Pointbreaks reservation already.
CP Jakarta disappearred from the list.

GibSpmuh

I just checked and it's still bookable for 5000 points, but I'd hazard a guess that it doesn't have long to live at that rate now given it's off the list.

Now to hope the IC Jakarta makes an appearance soon, seeing as it's the only ICHG hotel in Indonesia that hasn't made an appearance on the PointBreaks list yet

IAN-UK

Thanks for that, and to you others who replied. Given the panicked looks from colleagues who have been to Jakarta, and the general tone of the replies here, we are probably going to pass on the city for this trip. Being reponsible for this happiness of others is a tough one , and I'll do JKT on my own some other time. Time on this trip is limited, but rather than DPS CGK direct then 2 days in JKT, DPS YOG will give an opportunity to explore somewhere with very definite tourism attractions, and then we'll take a YOG CGK flight to link (as directly as possible) in with LH back to Europe.

Sadly no PC hotels in Yogyakarta, but there are some OK-looking places.

Any advice on domestic carriers ? (panicked looks again in the office). And DOM INT transfers at CGK?

Cheers, Ian

iancanton

for safety reasons, every single indonesian airline is banned from operating in the eu, including garuda, the national carrier, and indonesia air asia, an associate company of the successful malaysia-based air asia. garuda is permitted to fly between indonesia and australia.

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/air-ban/list_en.htm

according to the indonesian authorities, the least unsafe airlines are garuda, merpati, indonesia air asia, lion air, mandala and wing abadi airlines.

http://hubud.dephub.go.id/hubud/user...rjaView&id=121

ian.

GibSpmuh

The easiest option within Indonesia is going with Garuda - though booking domestic flights at reasonable prices outside of Indonesia with them can be difficult (if you work it out, be sure to let me know ). That being said, their executive class is very reasonably priced domestically as compared to their economy class (About 1.5mil rp CGK-DPS I think - so about US$140 or so). The other advantage of Garuda is that their domestic flights go from the same terminal in CGK as all international flights, which saves you doing the terminal shuffle. They have a good route network, so no worries doing CGK-DPS-JOG-CGK and they have multiple flights on those routes, so if one gets cancelled you've still got an option.

Apart from that, it's flip a coin and take your chances . I've flown on a few of the budget carriers (Indonesia AirAsia, AdamAir, BataviaAir - was meant to take Mandala but they shoved me onto AdamAir as well due to flight cancellations). Sriwijaya is meant to be alright, so I'm told, I'll find out on my next trip in the region. AirAsia and AdamAir are the only ones with functional e-ticketing, so it's much easier to buy tickets on them. Lion/Wings and MandalaAir have online booking, but require Indonesian based payment processing to complete the bookings. All the other carriers apart from Garuda are in Terminal 1 at CGK, there's regular shuttle buses that do laps between the terminals, and they're fine - just working your way through the touts and taxi drivers to get to the shuttle buses can be a chore though.

Yogyakarta's definitely a worthwhile choice from a tourist point of view - Borobudur was fantastic, Pranbanan was pretty good too (though not sure how far the restorations have come since the earthquake last year for Prambanan, so you might not be able to get *too* up close and personal there). There's Mt Merapi too if you want to get up close and personal with a volcano, and there's the old palace area in Yogya itself (not that special I thought, but still worth a look around). Oh, and there's plenty of people that'll come up with all sorts of stories to get you to try and buy some batik on Jalan Maliboro - it's always entertaining to see what stories they'll spin.

IAN-UK

I did try Garuda's helpful UK offfice. After quoting something north of £200 for DPS YOG CGK, he admitted I might be better off buying tickets locally....

GibSpmuh

I just noticed that zuji.com.sg has some reasonable pricing on the Garuda domestic flights in Indonesia (about half the price that zuji.com.au offers anyway). Maybe not as good as the best prices you could find within Indonesia, but looks like you could do DPS-JOG-CGK for £100 or so all up.