Le Meridien Jakarta is a luxury 5 star hotel under the starwood group. Being a part of the Le Meridien chain of hotels, guests usually have high expectations. My experience there certainly showed the Le Meridien does indeed live up to its good reputation.
Date of stay: December 2013
Le Meridien Jakarta, Jl. Jend.
Sudirman, Jakarta Pusat 10220, Indonesia
Prices start from USD $320 per night if yo book through the hotel’s website. If you book via hotel booking sites, prices can go as low as USD $205 per night.
Le Meridien, being a luxury establishment, sees countless of guests every year, from tourists to businessmen. Hence, their location is of great importance and it is essential that the hotel is within reach from offices, shopping malls and tourist attractions. The hotel certainly is located in the heart of Jakarta’s business and financial district, as there are 45 corporate offices located within 1 km of the hotel. Countless more offices lie within the next 4 km, and they are easily accessible by metro bus or car. There are also several shopping malls in close proximity to the hotel, and examples include Plaza Semanggi Shopping, Ratu Plaza and Plaza Senayan. However, places of attraction do not lie so proximate to the hotel, with the nearest being 4 km away. Furthermore, recreational destinations like theme parks are located even further from the hotels. However, it is usually not an issue if the hotel is located further from recreational attractions as this is usually the case unless the hotel is located in a theme park.
However, one major problem that guests would face is that the hotel is not easily accessible by public transport. The nearest railway station  -which is the easiest way to travel around the city- is located 5 km away. Thankfully, many corporate offices are accessible by foot and some of the shopping malls as well. Should guests require a taxi, the hotel concierge staff are polite and are willing to assist in making travel arrangements.
Guests who are SPG gold members can expect to receive free room upgrades based on availability. For my trip, I was upgraded for free to a club room. This entitled me to a slightly larger room on a higher floor (club floors for Le Meridien Jakarta are located on the top 4 floors) and access to the club lounge.
My first impression of the room was that it was cavernous but slightly old fashioned. There was nothing about the hotel that stood out or set it apart from other hotels. The lack of decor in the room, coupled with the plain carpeting and simple colours of the room, I found the room just unimpressive.
What I liked though, was the floor to ceiling windows along one side of the room.
Not only does the floor to ceiling room allow for a generous amount of natural light to enter the room, it also provides a picturesque view of the surrounding sky scrapers. With such a fantastic view, guests will be spoilt for choice between shopping around the vicinity or just spending half a day in the room to appreciate the view.
A large sofa is  placed right beside the windows so guests can relax whilst admiring the city skyline. A coffee table with a nice frosted glass top was also included so guests can enjoy some drinks from the mini bar or some snacks while on the sofa. The only qualm I had with the sofa was the arrangement, which I thought could have been more well placed. After all, I’m sure that guests would like to be directly facing the spectacular view or the TV while sitting on the sofa.
The bed was very comfortable with clean, well pressed and tautly pulled sheets. As I would expected from a hotel of this calibre, guests have the options of soft or firm pillows. The bedside lamps were also adequate in giving the bed a cosy feel at night, and yet providing sufficient light for guests to do some reading comfortably without straining their eyes.
There was a simple work desk, one which I felt was a little inadequate.
The table top was sparse and not well equipped. There were not stationery provided and even worse, a lack of storage space for guests. This is definitely not something I would expect from a luxury hotel that markets itself as a business hotel. As majority of its guests would be on business trips, it is only expected that the hotel should provide some form of stationery or some gadgets that would benefit and be of use to them. Guests would only appreciate such thoughtful actions.
Another flaw with the work desk was its arrangement. The work desk was implanted directly in front of the floor to ceiling windows of the room.
Sure it does provide breathtaking city views that guests can appreciate while taking a break from work. However, Jakarta is often sunny and the sun’s merciless rays often shine directly into the room through the windows. This means that the blinding sunlight is directed right on the work desk and when this happens, it is very uncomfortable for the eyes. The table lamp, albeit contributing to the beauty of the room, served a less amount of practicality. Unlike more modern lamps that look good and are able to be manoeuvred, this lamps was just a fixed table lamp and as such, it is unable to provide the most optimum lighting from the best angle.
What I enjoyed was the handy placement of power sockets on the work desk. The sockets were conveniently attached to the side of the work desk. This eliminates the need for guests to bend or squat under the table just to locate dusty power sockets to charge their laptop of hand phone. Furthermore, free high speed wifi was available throughout the hotel and in all guests rooms, so there is no need to pay extra just to get your work done if you need to. This is surely one of the better perks that the hotel offers to its corporate guests.
The pantry and mini bar were discreetly hidden within different cupboards. This design removes any sign of clutter or messiness of the room, making it seem more comfortable. The mini bar was relatively well stocked, with a reasonable selection of soft drinks, beers and juices. There is definitely a drink for each guest. A tall cupboard also opens up to reveal an electric boiler, some cutlery and a selection of coffee and tea. These items are also kept clean and well organised, so they do no become an eyesore or hazard. Comparing to some other luxury hotels, what the pantry in Le Meridien Jakarta lacked was a coffee machine and a selection of snacks. Though the coffee machine is not a necessity, I felt that the snacks were definitely needed and it was a disappointment that there wasn’t a choice of snacks available.
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