Stay Report: Le Meridien Jakarta (October 2013)

Stay Report: Le Meridien Jakarta
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

photo courtesy of TripAdvisor.com

I was going to Jakarta for holidays and was looking for a hotel that was nice and provided convenient access to sights and services. I decided on the Le Meridien Jakarta as I have previously had good experiences with the brand.  It was very easy to book through the Starwood app/website and I received my confirmation.  

The hotel does not provide an airport shuttle, but can arrange for transportation.  The hotel is located in a decent area of Jakarta, on the corner of a major street and a side street with the major streets having shops and restaurants.  While these shops were within a 10-15 minute walk, most other sights, shopping and restaurants required transportation.  The hotel was located outside the downtown area, which meant less noise but also more transportation time.  Hotel-approved taxis could be found inside the hotel, or right outside the hotel were plenty of other taxis (motorcycle and regular) to take you wherever you go (and these were a less costly).

photo courtesy of Starwood.com

From the outside, the hotel looked grandiose and nice.  The grandeur of the hotel continues into the lobby.  As you enter, on the right is the check-in desk while straight ahead is the restaurant and access to the pool, spa, and fitness center.  The lobby was decorated very nicely, with a mixture of modern and traditional, but it was a bit dark at times.  Check-in was quick and efficient and I received the key to my room.

photo courtesy of Starwood.com

I had booked a standard room with a king-size bed, and when I entered the room size was more than standard; it was a large room.  As you entered into the room, there is a hallway with closets and storage on the left hand side.  At the end of the hallway, there was a door on the right which led to the bathroom and straight ahead was the actual room.  The first part of the room was a large sitting area with two couches, a TV set in an armoire, and large windows which provided nice views.  The bathroom was quite large and contained a double sink, a Jacuzzi, and a stand-up shower.  The bathroom and the room shared a wall, and in the room this is where the bed was located.  The shape of the room was odd in that the bed was off to the corner, but the layout also provided privacy from the main part of the room.  The bed was a nice and comfortable king-size bed.  On either side of the bed were night stands which contain plugs for all your electronic devices.  Next to the bed, and going across the entire wall, was a nice window which faced the main street and the shops and provided a nice view of Jakarta.  Overall it was a spacious room with a comfortable bed and a really nice bathroom.     

photo courtesy of Pinterest.com

The hotel is full-service so they have many facilities available for the guests including restaurants, pool, spa, fitness center, and wifi.  As I spent most of my time outside exploring the city, I was not able to experience many of the facilities but I did try both the wifi and the room service.  The wifi was complimentary and had decent speeds and the room service was nice and accommodating to guest requests.   Overall, the customer service at the Le Meridien was excellent; the staff were attentive, provided great customer service, and were generally smiling and pleasant.

In the end, it was a nice stay at the Le Meridien.  While the location is a bit outside the city and thus requires taxi or other transportation, in return you get a hotel with a spacious room, comfortable bed, access to shops and restaurants, and good customer service.