I booked 5 rooms online for 2 nights each, taking a chance because there were no reviews online for this hotel - Ibis Semarang being rather new. But I believe in the Accor chain, so I gave it a shot. And I'm glad I did.

When we drove into the hotel porch, my first impression was that the porch was rather small and the entrance rather narrow. They had a security guard running a mirror contraption under the car for scanning (for security reasons). The lobby was spacious enough, and bright - orange being the main colour. Check-in was a bit confusing, as I'd made online bookings for rooms with breakfast but the reception insisted I did not have breakfast. Luckily I brought my print-outs and showed it to them, so they acknowledged my booking.

They checked us onto the 5th floor - a smoking floor, when I'd reserved a non-smoking one. But I didn't make a fuss about that. When I got into my room, there was a "bad drain" smell in the bathroom, so I requested a room... more