Jakarta
Raffles Hotel is a fabled brand and its installation in the Indonesian capital is one of the brand's fairly new foray out into the region. In factsheet copy the property has great selling points - entry level rooms that start from 60 square meters, a full spa, 2 tennis courts, a 600m green jogging track, a 25m long outdoor swimming pool plus a host of other impressive facilities. There is also an adjoining Lotte mall and other conveniences within its Kuningan location on the tick-list, and yet this isn't quite the hospitality address in a city packed with hospitality addresses impressive on so many fronts. One can discern that the lack of a certain je-ne-sais-quoi might be at play, or that one expects more from a Raffles property based on brand hype alone, and there should perhaps be more signature restaurants or a butler service that is more effective and personalised. Whatever the case, this colourful property festooned with a monumental splash of Gunawan accents still has plenty to offer even as it isn't quite reaching optimal brand goals.
While at Raffles Hotel Jakarta
why don't you ...
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With entry-level rooms that are already 60m with junior suite layouts, the suites in this hotel are lavish affairs bedecked with plush furnishings and exuberant carpets.
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The Raffles Spa should be tantalising for wellness buffs but the Jakarta outpost is somewhat lackluster and uninviting. Maybe it is the uninspiring entrance counter cluttered with stationeries or the general lack of facilities, but it could be as simple as the inexplicable presence of fabric flowers that may be the need-to-be-missing accents in this puzzling conundrum.
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There is only a restaurant and a bar in this hotel, which is unusual for a Raffles property. Arts Cafe by Raffles serves mostly buffets with seasonal booster menus while Writers Bar is better known for its afternoon teas served in three-tier cages.