Pullman Surabaya City Centre

100   Recommended

June 22, 2015 by EXPERT
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Surabaya is in East Java. If you consider Jakarta on the one end of the long island, Surabaya is at the opposite end. Its the second largest city in Indonesia.

I was there for work and booked two Deluxe Rooms. Two years ago I stayed at the Mercure which was nothing special. So I was surprised when I searched for a property and saw that there is a new Pullman in town.

This Pullman opened a year ago and was formerly the Meritus Hotel (from 2012-2014) and prior to that called the LJ Discovery Hotel. They have not done much to the rooms (comparing pictures on google). I believe the Restaurant is renovated. The hotel is 5min walk to the largest mall in town Tunjungan Plaza. This mall too has come a long way since I first visited some years back. It now has two brand new annexes with nice restaurants and cafes.

Back to the hotel...

Now here's the deal. The Deluxe room, excluding breakfast, in a Pullman, which even has a decent lounge costs: ~EUR50 incl all taxes! (on a non-prepaid rate!) 

Why they would sell the rooms so damn cheap I can't comprehend. Read on, there are issues; but still the rooms are worth more than EUR50. (The nearby JW Marriott has rates starting 30% higher.)

So we arrive on a Sunday, around noon. Car drops us off, and in my usual style in a new hotel ask the concierge where the executive lounge is for check-in "25th floor sir.." thank you and off I go to the lifts. Porter stands at the lifts and asks me which floor I am headed to and I say "Executive Lounge".. he slots in his key card and up I go. Door opens and I see the glass doors to the lounge. But its all dark in there. Doors are locked. (So the only thing I can say is: It looks big and quite nice).

So I head down again and query at the reception on the Lounge. "Oh, the lounge is closed due to Ramadhan". So here is my issue: 1) It's 3 days before Ramadhan, why close it so soon. 2) I had the same thing happen at the Ankasa Hotel in Medan (Sumatera) last year - but that hotel was just going through rebranding. This is a 5* Pullman property! Yes, they offered some snacks in the lobby lounge instead but why pull down the standards of a 5* hotel.

Anyway, I was checked in and given they key. So I asked if it was upgraded. No it wasnt "oh I need to check". Please check.
After some phonecalls I was given new rooms keys. We went to the room and the curtains were almost drawn closed. Here is the room:

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The room is nice, but I find it a bit sparse for its size - and it was big. We heard some music from the outside to sound insulation wasnt good.
It has a nice view of the city and we wondered why they would want to hide that fact and not pull open the curtains. And then we see this:

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There is a piece of glass missing/shattered and they have boarded it shut with a wooden board! !&@%#!$!!! A) You are selling this room and B) This is your "upgraded" room?

I head to the reception and they supposedly had nothing else. I told them they I would go out to the mall and come back in a couple of hours and that I hoped that they would have something by then.

I came back and they showed me a new room which we moved into:

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This room had a much nicer and cosy feel to it. 
When I queried the reason for giving out a room with a damaged panel I was told: "Oh, the glass is not broken, we put the wood there because some guests complained that the room was getting too hot..So the wood is there to block the sun." You have got to be kidding me...! I didnt argue further.

- The pool isnt big, but certainly adequate.
- Beds are extremely comfortable - but that at least should be expected in a Pullman.
- Towels were old - at least 2-3 years old. So they didnt change that when they rebranded.
- VIP welcome gift - plate of fruits.
- No executive floor letter/welcome stating benefits / that the lounge is closed and that some snacks can be had at the lobby lounge etc. 
- Welcome drinks voucher received - not used.
- Indonesian restaurant across the road called Dapur Desa is nice.
- On the last night we decided to try the hotel buffet. It was the last night before Ramadhan but they had already started with their Ramadhan buffet. It was extensive and quite good. Price: EUR9!! (And that was not yet deducting the AccorPlus discount).

Would I stay again? Sure. But not without writing and email to the GM first.

And if anyone from Accor is reading this, fix your rooms, change the towels, train your staff, open the lounge, and please charge a bit more (I cant believe I'm saying this).

Location

Finally, the location is in the centre of town. The largest mall in town, Thamrin City is about a 5 min walk away. And my favorite place for a local dish called 'Nasi Rawon' is about 4mins by taxi, called "Rawon Setan" - opposite the Marriot. Rawon is a local beef stew cooked in herbs.  

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