Jakarta hotels operate in a challenging envirnoment as meticulous hospitality has occasionally been overtaken by terrorist outrages. A hotel is only as good as the people in it and the Gran Mahakam has heart. Even if communication can sometimes be difficult, something good shines through that words dont describe. Some critics would rate a hotel on the plush of the carpet or the furniture in the room. Stay at the Gran Mahakam, let your misunderstandings turn to appreciation and realise that its all about people.

My Indonesian friend made a reservation for me. While Blok M is knon as a very active but noisy neighbourhood, this hotel was a oasis. On arrival, a glass of orange juice was served while a receptionist was checking me in. While the building looked old, it was well decolated and maintained. The room was relatively small, but again, very clean, well furnished.

Excellent staff, and I particularly liked the way smoking and non-smoking sections are separated in the restaurant on the 2nd floor. The buffet, including European, Indonesian, Chinese and Japanese was great.

The only drawback was that high-speed internet was not compltely installed although they seem to be working it at this moment.

I would say that in general the quality of hotels in Asia is superior to that of Europe or America. And the Gran Mahakam is not exception: I stayed there for 4 weeks and everything was perfect.

I travel a lot for business and have little patience for poor or incompetent service. But there is no such thing at the Gran Mahakam.

- Rooms are as clean as they could possibly be.
- Laundry was never late and no item has gone missing.
- Service is amazing. Lots of smiles -- as everywhere else in Indonesia.
- Buffet breakfast is something else! That by itself would be a reason to stay there. Food from all over Asia (in addition to the standard American fare), many kind of fresh fruits. And again the service is A++.
- The Japanese restaurant in the hotel is highly recommended.
- And the various little things that make a difference, e.g. you get a welcome cocktail while you check-in.
- Good location.

An important piece of advice:
1) DO request a room in the BACK of the hotel. Rooms on the street side are awfuly noisy 24 hours a day from the non-stop traffic.
2) And try to get a room that is not over the disco. Even if you are several floors up you will still hear the vibrations from the loud music (I had to change room because of this).

Enjoy!

Service at this hotel was excellent overall and the food at the main restaurant for breakfast and dinner was nicely prepared. The variety of delicious Indonesian dishes was a pleasant surprise to this first time visitor. In this part of town (South Jakarta) this seems to be the best hotel and with the horrendous Jakarta traffic, proximity to your destination is quite important. Rooms are nicely sized, very clean and comfortable. Bathrooms could use a bit more care, but not bad for a humid climate I suppose.

I would recommend this hotel and plan to stay there again.