Sakanti City Hotel Jogja

I spent 2 nights in Jogja for a quick respite from the city and it was the second time I have really stayed here although this time there was plenty of time to explore.
Booking hotels seemed to be more complicated than normal as the ones on the shortlist were booked. I had originally budgeted for less than 300k a night but due to my choice of hotel and it being the weekend and also my Fiancee agreed to upgrade we were looking for something less than 400k a night.
We searched for hotels through http://www.yogyes.com/ as they have a wide choice of hotels and information for the hotels there.
And at the end of the day I have done the budget hotels and cheap rooms and now I want to have more luxury and comfort.

So we ended up choosing the Sakanti City hotel. The hotel is located 300 - 500 meters from Maliboro street and is behind the railway stay and so well in walking distance. It is also very close to a Trans Jogja bus stop and also there are many becaks as well there.

Sakanti City Hotel Jogja will indulge you during your stay there as if you stay at star hotel’s room. It lies only 300 meters from Malioboro

SAKANTI CITY HOTEL
Jl. Gowongan Kidul No. 34, Mangkubumi
Phone:
+62 274 588118
+62 274 557659
SMS:
+62 81392750666

Show on map

Share

Room	Rates	Description
Superior Room	IDR 350,000	for 2 persons, double/twin bed
Deluxe Room	IDR 375,000	for 2 persons, double/twin bed
Tripel Room	IDR 425,000	for 3 persons, double/single bed
VIP Room	IDR 450,000	for 2 persons, double bed

• Extra Bed IDR 90,000
• Extra Person IDR 70,000
• All rates are inclusive goverment tax & service charge
• Rates including breakfast for 2 persons
• Check-in time at 13.00 PM and Check-out time at 12.00 PM
• Rates are subject to change without prior notice on Idul Fitri, Christmas, and New Year

We opted for the Deluxe room which was a double with balcony. The hotel was small but friendly and comfortable although I never saw any other guests at any time I was there.

The room was on the ground floor so the balcony was quite intriguing. The corridor to the room was partially exposed to the weather and so the floor got slippery in the rain.

The room was medium size but the bed was clean and comfortable and the bathroom was a fair size although there was some problems with a leaky ceiling. 

The AC worked very well although on the last day it was leaking water every where. 

The balcony door opened into a very small space of which you sit and look at a grey wall. Slightly cheated with that but it did make the room a little bigger.

The breakfast was soup and rice and not for me. The fridge worked and the staff were great and helped get taxis and sort some other things out.
The becak men did not try to rip us off, in fact we over paid them due to them carting us around in the rain.

Now, would I stay there again? If I had too yes as it was ok. But maybe not with a balcony. Overall out of 10 - 7 and a good 7.

The Ardjuna Boutique Hotel and Spa Bandung Java

Went a bit up market for a conference in January. My company EF Indonesia organised the conference in Bandung, West Java and chose the Ardjuna Hotel.
The link above is the best one to the site as the main one reports the site is under maintenance.
I dont know much about Bandung except it is built in the hills of Java, its cold at night, they sell lots of Strawberries, Brownies and is shoppers paradise. The traffic is worse in my mind than Jakarta.
Surrounding the city are lots of volcanoes active or inactive and it is about 2.5 hours by fast car from Jakarta. I also think it is one of the best train trips in the world as the route has stunning scenery.

So the hotel. It is up a long long hill and then tucked away behind some trees. It is rather unassuming and does not show any sign of the reason the rooms are so expensive. That happens when you walk inside.

Inside it is very bright and welcoming with lots of staff and pleasant smiles. On checking in there was no sign or help where the elevators were but I found them quickly.

The room I was in was a twin with a stunning view of the mountains and city and it looked great at night. However it was small and still a hotel room.

The colour theme throughout the hotel was brown and white and cream and it really worked. The bedroom had comfy beds and the ac worked well. The shower was over a bath and the water was hot and well pressured. The light in the bathroom was good.
It was very clean.

The conference rooms were huge and we were well provided for.

Dinner, Lunch and Breakfast was great. Lots of food and lots of choice. The vegetarian option was limited. But there was no limit how much you could eat.
The omelettes were not hot as they were cooked in bulk and you had to go looking for a cup of tea and the cups were very small however the service was very good.
Beer was 40,000 a glass with 10% tax and the piano bar shut at 11. It was well stocked with wine but the starting price at 1 million rupiah soon put me off. Thats silly money.

The karaoke bar next to it was occupied by a waiter and 3 hostesses that had sadly seen better days but they were cheerful enough and happy to smile if you bought them drinks. Lucky I did not do karaoke but the others I was with said that they had fun.

Getting to the city was easy although took a long time due to traffic and taking a mini bus down the hill about 1km got you atms and mini marts which was very useful.
Next door was a restaurant serving beer and western food too.

Outside was a great swimming pool although a bit too deep if you had young children but plenty of space to sit and in the evening it was rather pleasant with out the wind blowing.

My only criticism really was the fact that there was so many little steps all over the place and so you had to be very careful where you were walking otherwise you ended up tripping over them.

If I was to rate the place then I would give it 8/10. It was pricey but it was lovely.