For most people a trip to Jakarta is usually a business affair and that too a short one. Jakarta doesn't deserve the tag of being just an in-out city. There is more to the city than its gleaming office towers, corporate offices and of course, traffic jams. I hadn't discovered this till my last trip to Jakarta. On previous occasions, I had just done the morning-evening trek from Singapore and now Iam thinking how under-utilised those trips were! On my last visit, I had a long 3 day stay at the very business focused Grand Hyatt and I have come back with a new perspective of Jakarta. Its albeit a rose tinted one but at least I saw more of the new confident emerging Indonesia than I do on way to and fro JKT airport.
Given we landed on a weekday afternoon, traffic was minimal and the hotel was a smooth 45 minutes drive from Jakarta airport. The hotel enjoys the most enviable location smack in the central business district overlooking the famous Bundaran HI roundabout and adjacent to the upscale Plaza Indonesia mall. After a prompt check-in, we were shown to our Grand King room. At 500 sq feet, it is one of the most spacious non-suite rooms I have seen in business hotels anywhere. The room has a contemporary design with strong Indonesian influences and through it's double bay windows you overlook the free form pool. Surrounded by lot of greenery and gazebos, the pool looked very inviting. The bed was very comfortable and as is the case with most deluxe hotels, a pillow menu is on offer. The large bathroom with its marble soaking tub and walk in shower was luxurious and the walk-in wardrobe (a rarity in space starved hotels nowadays) lent a majestic touch to the overall feel.
Breakfast was an in-room affair for us. The American and Continental breakfasts we tried on different days were good but nothing exceptional. The Grand Hyatt is a very busy hotel. While checking in, one cannot miss the crowds of business people conducting meetings in Fountain Lounge, entertaining clients at the hip Burgundy bar, high society Indonesian women shopping at the Hermes, Cartier stores at lobby level and the Jakarta glitterati socializing in general. We had tried the buffet dinner on our first day at Grand Cafe and the poor service attributable to large crowds had put us off. Wanting to avoid the crowd, we ordered dinner in room for the rest of our stay. One such dinner was ordered in from C's Steak and Seafood restaurant. Having decided to stick to seafood, we ordered prawns in black pepper with chargrilled fresh lobster. Whilst the prawns were jumbo sized and delicious, it was the lobster which came out tops. The portion was mammoth sized, cooked to perfection and considering the price (USD 90++) was a steal. Seafood is sold by weight and I'd recommend you to order less than what you think you can eat. The portions are genuinely huge. I would go back to Grand Hyatt only for the lobster if nothing else!
The lobster indulgence meant i had to take it easy the next day. Plaza Indonesia is conveniently connected to Grand Hyatt through a special lobby passage. The mall is home to top luxury brands like Armani, Louis Vitton, et al and is huge. You can spend an entire day there but I was exhausted after a couple of hours and headed back. Spa therapy beckoned and I made a beeline for the Olympus Wellness Centre for my pre-booked two hour Javanese massage. The spa ambience is not top notch but the skilled therapist made up for it. Being post-lunch time it was thankfully very quiet and the zen quotient was upped by the dim lighting and soothing music. I was lulled to sleep during the massage and at the end of it, the spa graciously offered me complimentary use of the sauna and jacuzzi. What hedonism but I wasn't complaining!
As we reached the end of our trip, I realized we hadn't stepped out of the hotel at all (popping into Plaza Indonesia doesn't count as it is right next door). So we asked our friendly concierge what is a good place to have brunch and were promptly recommended Hotel Intercontinental. Considering it is one 5 star hotel's recommendation for another, we went along with it and landed at Java restaurant at the Intercontinental. The champagne brunch is excellent and it was the fist time I saw a brunch extending across multiple restaurants. You have an impressive choice of food from not only Java but also from the award winning Italian restaurant Scusa. A day well spent in gluttony!
When it was time to check-out I was genuinely sorry to leave Grand Hyatt. With previous experiences of busy business hotels which lack soul, this hotel stay had taken me by surprise. I had definitely relaxed more than I had intended to. How is one to find fault with smiling staff, spacious rooms, great location, gleaming well maintained interiors, excellent dining and recreation options, friendly concierge services topped with reasonable tariff (approx USD 300 per night which goes lower if you get corporate rates)? A few niggles here and there can't take away from the overall superlative experience one is capable of having here. Mine was great and with high expectations for an encore, Iam waiting to go back. I suggest you do the same.
Given we landed on a weekday afternoon, traffic was minimal and the hotel was a smooth 45 minutes drive from Jakarta airport. The hotel enjoys the most enviable location smack in the central business district overlooking the famous Bundaran HI roundabout and adjacent to the upscale Plaza Indonesia mall. After a prompt check-in, we were shown to our Grand King room. At 500 sq feet, it is one of the most spacious non-suite rooms I have seen in business hotels anywhere. The room has a contemporary design with strong Indonesian influences and through it's double bay windows you overlook the free form pool. Surrounded by lot of greenery and gazebos, the pool looked very inviting. The bed was very comfortable and as is the case with most deluxe hotels, a pillow menu is on offer. The large bathroom with its marble soaking tub and walk in shower was luxurious and the walk-in wardrobe (a rarity in space starved hotels nowadays) lent a majestic touch to the overall feel.
Breakfast was an in-room affair for us. The American and Continental breakfasts we tried on different days were good but nothing exceptional. The Grand Hyatt is a very busy hotel. While checking in, one cannot miss the crowds of business people conducting meetings in Fountain Lounge, entertaining clients at the hip Burgundy bar, high society Indonesian women shopping at the Hermes, Cartier stores at lobby level and the Jakarta glitterati socializing in general. We had tried the buffet dinner on our first day at Grand Cafe and the poor service attributable to large crowds had put us off. Wanting to avoid the crowd, we ordered dinner in room for the rest of our stay. One such dinner was ordered in from C's Steak and Seafood restaurant. Having decided to stick to seafood, we ordered prawns in black pepper with chargrilled fresh lobster. Whilst the prawns were jumbo sized and delicious, it was the lobster which came out tops. The portion was mammoth sized, cooked to perfection and considering the price (USD 90++) was a steal. Seafood is sold by weight and I'd recommend you to order less than what you think you can eat. The portions are genuinely huge. I would go back to Grand Hyatt only for the lobster if nothing else!
The lobster indulgence meant i had to take it easy the next day. Plaza Indonesia is conveniently connected to Grand Hyatt through a special lobby passage. The mall is home to top luxury brands like Armani, Louis Vitton, et al and is huge. You can spend an entire day there but I was exhausted after a couple of hours and headed back. Spa therapy beckoned and I made a beeline for the Olympus Wellness Centre for my pre-booked two hour Javanese massage. The spa ambience is not top notch but the skilled therapist made up for it. Being post-lunch time it was thankfully very quiet and the zen quotient was upped by the dim lighting and soothing music. I was lulled to sleep during the massage and at the end of it, the spa graciously offered me complimentary use of the sauna and jacuzzi. What hedonism but I wasn't complaining!
As we reached the end of our trip, I realized we hadn't stepped out of the hotel at all (popping into Plaza Indonesia doesn't count as it is right next door). So we asked our friendly concierge what is a good place to have brunch and were promptly recommended Hotel Intercontinental. Considering it is one 5 star hotel's recommendation for another, we went along with it and landed at Java restaurant at the Intercontinental. The champagne brunch is excellent and it was the fist time I saw a brunch extending across multiple restaurants. You have an impressive choice of food from not only Java but also from the award winning Italian restaurant Scusa. A day well spent in gluttony!
When it was time to check-out I was genuinely sorry to leave Grand Hyatt. With previous experiences of busy business hotels which lack soul, this hotel stay had taken me by surprise. I had definitely relaxed more than I had intended to. How is one to find fault with smiling staff, spacious rooms, great location, gleaming well maintained interiors, excellent dining and recreation options, friendly concierge services topped with reasonable tariff (approx USD 300 per night which goes lower if you get corporate rates)? A few niggles here and there can't take away from the overall superlative experience one is capable of having here. Mine was great and with high expectations for an encore, Iam waiting to go back. I suggest you do the same.
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