Guide to Choosing Your Hotel in Jakarta

Since Jakarta is so big, deciding on where to stay in Jakarta really depends on what you will do there.

Traffic should be your main consideration and you should choose the location that will minimize as much as possible the time spent going from one place to the other.

1) If you are in Jakarta for work and you need to go to a lot of meetings, choose a hotel close to your meeting points or close from your office, even if they are not in central locations. The traffic usually gets better starting 9pm so you can still go out quite easily after that.

Anyway, there are now malls almost everywhere in Jakarta so wherever you'll stay, you will be close from a fair number of restaurants, bars, coffee shops, gyms, cinemas and hang out spots.

If you are having meetings all over the city, then choose a location near the major roads such as Gatot Subroto, Sudirman, Thamrin, Gajah Mada or the Jakarta Inner Ring Road.

2) If you are in Jakarta for fun or for party, then you must decide what is your style:

- You want to party in the expensive nightclubs in Central and South Jakarta?
It is best to stay anywhere near from Jalan Sudirman, Plaza Indonesia, Mega Kuningan, Jalan Rasuna Said, Plaza Senayan. Kemang is too far in my opinion but it could be an option if you want to be close from the best Western food options.

If you are with a group, you can consider renting an entire apartment:  Check for apartments in Jakarta.

- You want to party with locals in North and West Jakarta?
Choose a hotel in one of these neighborhood: Chinatown (Glodok), Gajah Mada, Mangga Besar, Hayam Wuruk, Tamansari, Lokasari, Pecenongan. Hotels in these areas usually offer a much better value for money than in the South but the surroundings are more dirty and less safe. You also won't have nice malls, only Gajah Mada Plaza and Lokasari Square. Mangga Besar hotels are all girl-friendly and they are close from hundreds of great street food options.

Another good point with this location is that you can still reach Central Jakarta quite easily within 30 minutes. There is a very convenient busway line running from Kota Station to Blok M that you can use.

Alternatively, if you are mostly interested with karaokes and massage parlours instead of clubs, you can go to Kelapa Gading, Mangga Dua, Grogol and Taman Anggrek. These areas also have huge malls nearby and they are not too far from the airport with the toll road.

Read my guide: Bachelor Party in Jakarta

3) If you are in Jakarta as a tourist, then I would recommend staying near Thamrin or Wahid Hasyim. Alternatively, you could also stay near Mangga Besar or Kota, but if you are not familiar with Jakarta you may feel uncomfortable as those areas are 100% local.

As you will read in any guidebooks about Jakarta, the backpacker district is located in Jalan Jaksa. It is nothing compared to other popular traveler hubs in Southeast Asia like Khao San Road in Bangkok or Bui Vien in Saigon. You will only find a handful of guesthouses, usually not well-maintained and not very clean. Nearby, Jalan Wahid Hasyim has more choice but the prices are higher (at least 30$).

To find a decent room in Jalan Jaksa, you need to go inside the gangs (small streets) and look for guesthouse signs.  The prices are currently set at around Rp70,000 per night for a room with a fan. AC will cost you at least double.

In the past few years, there has been an increasing number of backpacker hotels that have opened elsewhere in the city, sometimes with higher standards. Teduh Hostel in Kota Tua or Six Degrees in Cikini are good examples. Their prices are quite high though, even for a bed in a dormitory.

There are several budget hotel chains in Jakarta: Ibis Budget, Neo, Fave Hotels, Amaris, Pop Hotel, Whiz, Hotel 88, D'Prima. The price vary between 20$ and 45$ per night.

One of the cheapest budget hotel chain in Jakarta is RedDoorz. They have dozens of locations in the city which are in fact independent small residences. The level of comfort is good considering the price, usually less than 20$ for a double bed room. In particular, they have some very-centrally located property that I've review here: 5 Best Budget Hotels in Central Jakarta.

I also recommend to check the properties of ZenRooms. They are cheaper than traditional budget hotel chains yet they offer the same value for money. They have quality linens, flat screen TVs, free WIFI, individual AC and clean bathrooms.

They are currently available in several locations in Jakarta and in the rest of Indonesia.

Based on my experience though, the standards can be quite different within the same chain depending on who is the owner. For instance, the Fave Hotel in LTC Glodok is fantastic, probably because it is owned by Agung Podomoro Land (one of Indonesia's largest developer). Another great one is Fave Hotel Gatot Subroto. On the contrary, I stayed in Fave Hotel Kemang and Pasar Baru, both disappointing.

Also, the price may vary a lot depending on the location: The Fave Hotel Thamrin costs double compared to the one in Kelapa Gading.

If you plan on going bar-hopping in Blok M, you may want to stay in Fave Hotel Melawai which is walking distance from the infamous hostess bars. It is guest-friendly/girl-friendly.

Finally, there is also a Red Planet Hotel in Pasar Baru. If you have been to the Philippines, you will know it's one of the best budget hotel chains there.

3-star hotel chains in Jakarta are Ibis, Harris, All Seasons, Santika and Holiday Inn. The price depends on the location and the day of the week (cheaper on weekends). In general, they will cost between 45$ and 60$ per night.

Again, within a chain there can be big differences. Ibis Tamarin and Ibis Arcadia on Jalan Thamrin are getting old but Ibis Harmoni is brand-new. 

I think it is best to find out when the hotel was open and to choose the more recent ones. All Seasons Gajah Mada, All Seasons Thamrin and Holiday Inn Thamrin were all opened less than 3 years ago.

The prices of 4-star hotels in Jakarta vary greatly depending on the location. The cheapest ones, located outside the city center in Mangga Dua, Gajah Mada or Ancol can cost less than 60$ while those located near Sudirman or Thamrin cost up to 100$ per night.

The best chains are Novotel, Mercure, Santika Premiere, Aston, Swiss-Belhotel and Best Western. Again, don't trust a chain blindly, make sure that the hotel was built recently.

The newest 4-star hotels in Jakarta are: Mercure Sabang, Hotel Santika Premiere Hayam Wuruk and Novotel Gajah Mada

5-star hotels in Jakarta are almost all located within the Golden Triangle (Sudirman - Rasuna Said - Gatot Subroto). For this reason, all are rather close from any happening places.

Still, it is even more convenient to choose a hotel attached to one of the big malls. For this reason, you may want to choose:

- Kempinski, attached to Grand Indonesia
- Grand Hyatt and Keraton at the Plaza, attached to Plaza Indonesia (other options nearby include the Pullman Thamrin and the Mandarin Oriental). The Hyatt is a great option as it is close from Immigrant club, Cloud Lounge, Dreams Ego Lounge and Skye Rooftop.
- Ritz Carlton SCBD, attached to Pacific Place (there is also a Ritz-Carlton in Mega Kuningan)
- Fairmont, attached to Plaza Senayan (2 minutes walk)
- Pullman Grogol, attached to Central Park

A JW Marriott was suppose to open in Lippo Mall Kemang Village in 2014 but the project seems to be late.

The Shangri La and the Mulia are also popular with male because of their live music bars, BATS and CJs.

Can I bring girls to my hotel in Jakarta? Which hotel is guest-friendly or girl-friendly in Jakarta?

People are always wondering if they are allowed to bring a girl to their room in Jakarta. The answer is: 90% of Jakarta hotels are girl-friendly.

The only places where you may have problems are family guest-houses or small family hotels located in conservative areas. Outside Jakarta, there have been a few cases of over-zealous mayors raiding hotels to hunt unmarried couples sleeping together. These raids are actually against the law since it is not unlawful to sleep with someone you are not married to. The rule of law does not always apply in Indonesia, but hypocrisy does.

If you stay in any hotel with 3 stars or more, you will be most certainly allowed to bring guests overnight.

An ID is generally required so make sure your girl has her papers.

Hotels located in red-light districts are used to receive night visitors. If you are planning to go wild, then you may want to choose a room in Chinatown, Mangga Besar, Gajah Mada, Kelapa Gading, Mangga Dua, Blok M or Taman Anggrek.

Some naughty hotels also offer plus plus massage services in the room or in their spas. For example: Orchardz Industri, Orchardz Jayakarta, Orchardz Hotel Airport, Sparks Life, B'Fashion, Fashion Hotel (Gunung Sahari), Prinsen Park, Olympic Hotel.

At last, you also have some famous transit hotels such as Hotel BI Executive in Ancol. In this hotel, rooms have mirrors and porn movies are available at reception. You can also park you car just under your room if you want to be discreet.

Brothels in Jakarta often have a hotel license because it gives them more flexibility with the law. In particular, it allows them to open during ramadan.

Even though they are not listed on the traditional online booking engines like Agoda or Booking.com, they do accept guests. 

I wrote a long review that I update regularly about the location of all spas in Jakarta. Please read it: Where are the massage parlours in Jakarta?

Where can I sleep near the airport?

Which hotels are connected to popular malls?

Choosing a hotel located inside a mall is a great idea as it will save you a lot of time. I already listed above the 5-star hotels located inside luxury malls.

You also have the following:

Mangga Dua Square: Amaris and Novotel
Pluit Junction: Fave Hotel (also not far from Emporium Pluit)
FX Mall: Harris Suites FX
ITC Mangga Dua: Le Grandeur
Seasons City: Amaris
Mahaka Square: Hotel Santika Gading
Mall Kelapa Gading: Pop Hotel, Harris Hotel and Conventions (and there is a Fave Hotel accross the road as well)

Some hotels are not connected to malls, but they are just located within walking distance. For instance:
Mall Of Indonesia: Whiz Prime
WTC Mangga Dua: Hotel Neo Mangga Dua
Emporium Pluit: Holiday Inn Express CityGate
Mal Ciputra: Hotel Ciputra
Plaza Semanggi: Crowne Plaza
Plaza Senayan: Century Park
CityWalk Sudirman: Intercontinental MidPlaza
Sarinah: Sari Pan Pacific, Artotel, Kosenda
Rasuna Epicentrum and Pasar Festival: Aston Rasuna and JS Luwansa
Kuningan City: Manhattan Hotel
Kota Casablanca: Park Lane
Ciputra World One: Somerset Grand Citra
Bellagio Mall: Oakwood Premier Cozmo
Blok M Plaza: Oak Tree Urban, Hotel Melawai, Amaris Panglima Polim

Which Hotels are Gay-Friendly in Jakarta?

Conclusion