Thursday, January 24, 2013

Ritz-Carlton experience in Jakarta

I am writing this post as I wait for my flight back to Manila coming from here in Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia. I flew to the city last Monday morning from Manila with a stopover in Singapore via Philippine Airlines.
 
early morning flight!
 
Food in-flight. Little servings, but just enough to fill you in for the slightly over than 3 hours flight.

At the stop over, all passengers, including those continuing to Jakarta, has to transit thru Singapore by deplaning and boarding the same plane again so I had a chance to sneak a little time to buy some macaroons in TWG at the terminal.
 
 
 Jakarta bound!

snacks served in-flight
 
After arriving in Jakarta, I met up with a hotel personnel who led me to the executive taxi I arranged prior for transportation between the airport and the hotel. It is a first for me to finally stay in a Ritz-Carlton property. I've always longed to experience one however the price per night is usually preventing me from doing so (specially on personal travels). It was a good thing that we have a corporate rate with The Ritz-Carlton Jakarta, Mega Kuningan, that I managed to sneak a few nights stay here. A sister property The Ritz-Carlton Jakarta, Pacific Place would have been more convenient for me as it is located just across our office but the steep rates and lack of negotiated price would not permit.
 
As I enter the hotel security gates, my service car was stopped and went into the usual full physical inspection done to vehicles in most hotels and establishments in the city. Here I was greeted by a staff by my name so I must be on record. Upon reaching the driveway and ultimately at the lobby entrance, I was whisked into another security point where they do x-ray for baggage and persons entering the hotel. It has been a very pleasant experience so far.
 
As I finally enter the hotel door, I was greeted by my name by a staff named Diantika who then led me to my room on the 17th floor. Then I was awed when I saw the room. It was huge and spacious and later did I know upon checking my reservation online that I was actually upgraded as the staff didn't tell me about it. I originally booked using company rate for USD125 for a Grand room (63sqm) with 1 king bed, inclusive of breakfast and internet but I was given a Tempus Grand room, with 1 king bed, which is actually a corner room and has 75sqm of space.
 
Upon entering the room, a welcoming ambience of the closet that actually contains the honor and mini bar greeted me. On the left is a walk-in closet, connected to the bathroom and on the right is the bedroom with a space for sofa and working table.
 
minibar items

walk-in closet, walking inside and further to the right leads to the bathroom

The room is very spacious indeed! The ceiling was high at 3.5 meters which emphasizes the feeling of having a big room. The window is very inviting as well and has a view of the surrounding area outside the hotel.

The working desk is ample enough for my business duties. Wireless and wired internet is available for free (or inclusive) and for power, they even provided an adaptor for those who brought home devices with a different plug (they use rounded 2 prongs here).
 
the working desk
 
view of the room from the window
 
A big highlight of the room of course is the bathroom. Spacious and luxurious if I may say, marbled throughout. The tub is separate from the enclosed shower which I always prefer so as not to slip while climbing out of the tub when using the shower. A couple of sinks is always welcome so that a couple sharing a room wouldn't have problem having his or her own space.
 
 
bathtub

toiletries
 

welcome fruits
 
Bottled water is provided, around 4 bottles in different areas in the room. They recommend that even for tooth brushing to use bottled waters for health and sanitation purposes.
 
view from the room at daylight, overseeing the Mega Kuningan area
 
 view from the room at night

Breakfast is served at Asia Restaurant, located at the lobby level of the hotel. It features cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, American/Western and of course local Indonesian food. There is a wide variety of food available for diners, and servers does rounds on tables for freshly baked breads and pastries.
 
my breakfast plates for the first morning and second, respectively
 
I didn't get a chance to go around the city for food due to weather and for most of my meals, I just had them at the restaurants housed at the nearby Oakwood Shopping Arcade. The area is the same where I stayed 2 years ago for my first business trip in the city. I went back to a restaurant where I've eaten local food that time but I remember it was named as Waroeng Kampong at that time if I'm not mistaken. Right now, this restaurant is called Pawon Nyonya.
 
Again, I had my favorite food in Indonesia - Sop Buntut (or oxtail soup). There's another variety of this dish that I like better called Sop Buntut Goreng where the oxtail is fried and usually separated from the soup.

On another occasion, I ate at Eaton Restaurant - Ah Mei Café, who serves Singaporean and Japanese style food, together with some baked goods at the café.
 
nasi bebek
 
lumpia udang mayonaise
 
wonton soup
 
all together now!
 
 
Such a short trip. I was to stay for 3 nights but my flight falls at the wee hours of Thursday so I had to checkout Wednesday very late at night and headed back to the airport. It is regretful for me that I didn't get to experience this city much, knowing that it may be the last of my travel to this city for quite a long time due to a realignment of my job role.