I found this to be one of those hotels that reels you in with an attractive-sounding room rate then charges excessively for everything – for instance, I was charged almost US$22 per day for internet access, which really is outrageous. Food and minibar were pricey too. They also quoted me prices in US dollars when I made my reservation but then, when I checked out, they billed me in Indonesian Rupiah at the “hotel rate” – what this means is that you are paying an extra 1-2% on top of the price you had agreed with them. If you query this they make silly excuses, eg, “we have to charge in rupiah”—if that’s true, they should be quoting prices in rupiah, not dollars. The room rate I was quoted, including tax and service, was $133 dollars but taking into account the currency ruse and the extravagant internet charge, I was charged more like $157.
Hotels get away with this routine gouging, and imagine that it’s perfectly acceptable behaviour, because too few of us complain (in my case I did, and at least persuaded them, after much arguing, to waive the hidden currency charge). It’s a shame that I came away from the hotel feeling that I’d been ripped off, because I would otherwise have had a fairly positive impression: the staff are polite and helpful; the hotel is well located and smart (though the carpet was stained in my room); they have metered “Silver Bird” taxis at the hotel door rather than the overpriced limos that some other hotels have; and there was a very good breakfast.








Rooms
Cleanliness





