Room 5148 - Novotel Mangga Dua, Jakarta

Never accept a deluxe room in Room #5148, Novotel Mangga Dua, Jakarta, or for that matter, any room in the same floor near to or beside! I learned the hard way that paying USD120/night for a deluxe room and getting this room, which incidentally is not even the non-smoking room that i requested for, but is a room directly beneath the Cinema!

Sonic Booms throughout the movie screening!

The next change of room to #6223 was hardly ideal, because it was still a smoking section, and the smoke was permeating the room, perhaps through the airconditioning ducts. The showerhead was leaking, the tv reception was poor, and in spite of my feedback, repairs were only attended to when i called them a second time, and the technicians came over without any tools or new showerhead. I had to advise them to replace the shower room showerhead with the bathtub showerhead.

The poor tv reception was another issue. The technician kept arguing that i had to switch to a different channel. Only after I explained that the CATV plug was loose did they check it and fix it.

Thus, all in all, although i love the proximity of the shopping complex (just below the hotel), i would not recommend anyone pay more than USD70/night for a room here.

Food prices in their restaurants were pretty expensive for Indonesia too.

I think my Mandarin Oriental Jakarta experience was certainly most favorable.

PS: I think the walls in the Novotel are really too thin. The screams and moanings from the couple next door, obviously making out, are coming through to my room even as I type.

Wednesday Breakfast

After the early morning start the day before, I thought I would try to sleep early last night.

Thus, by 9.30pm, I was in bed, trying to find the elusive slumber that I so desperately needed. I must have dozed off around 10pm, but found myself up again at 11.30pm, barely 1 hour of rest. And that was the story the whole night through, until I finally saw 5am on the clock, and I was able to rush about 2 hour sleep thereafter.

I deliberately made my way to the club lounge for breakfast at 8.45am, as I knew that the breakfast at the ground floor main restaurant would offer wall to wall buffet spread. The club lounge served a small buffet spread that gave little to write about. I had a short link sausage, a triangular sausage patty, a piece of beef bacon, and just a spoonful of porridge. A few pieces of fruit rounded up the meal with my latte, and I was out the door.

My first appointment was a few blocks away, that would've cost me less than RM4, but the hotel had to send around their premier taxi with a flag down meter charge of RM4. I ended up paying RM9.40 for the trip. The return cost me RM3.60 with a round up to RM5.

The meeting did not seem promising, but I shall still count on His Favor to make all things work for the good of those who are called by His Name.

All in all, my days away from home have been blessed with the sweet sms~s from precious friends who have managed to take the sting out of the loss of my loved one.

The day has just begun.

KL in April

Waking up at 4am to catch the 6.30am flight to KL on any morning is definitely not my favorite thing. I am thankful, however, for wonderful, loving friends who took the time to sms me as I boarded the plane, fully loaded with equally sleep-deprived zombies who staggered clumsily to their seats.

I called a cab this morning, at 5.05am, and the friendly programmed female voice noted my address from the mobile number and promptly offered a pick up point at the same location, i.e. my void deck within 5 to 8 minutes of my call. How delightful efficient! Didn't even have to wait for a gruffy morning receptionist with a singlish accent asking me where I would like my pick up from. Technology! Yes, I much prefer the efficiency of an ATM than to be at the mercy of a moody bank teller.

Speaking of moody, the reception I received from my hotel, The Renaissance KL, an affiliate of the Marriott Group, was far from warm. The person who served me during check in had poor service etiquette. He hardly looked at me, and did not even greet me. I had reserved a club floor room, and this usually afforded me prestige service in most other hotels.

The check in guy just ignored me, then walked over to my side of the counter and matter-of-factly remarked that he would escort me to the club floor check in counter. Throughout the "escort", he did not look at me, and acted like I was a task to be completed and done with.

The same went for the staff at the check in counter of the club floor. I must admit this level of service made me stand up and take notice that I'd gotten so used to good service, I am more than quick to spot poor service when I am confronted with it.

Lessons to be learnt in rendering good service; always look at your guest/customer/patron when you speak to him/her. Always greet him/her with a smile. Always thank him/her for his/her patronage. Always make him/her feel important for booking a prestige product by emphasizing the fact that special services have been reserved for him/her because of his/her choice of product.

Good lessons for a salesperson such as I to take note of.

Thus, with the poor reception, I was left to consider any deficiencies with extra gravity. Take for instance while I was waiting for my room to be prepared and needed the washroom. There were none available on the club floor lounge. How odd! They provided me an access cardkey so I could take the elevator back down to the lower floors to locate a public restroom.

Then I tried to use the built-in bidet incorporated into the toilet bowl, and goodness! The bidet was faulty and sprayed water right to the top of my head and splashed all over my back! I was drenched. I was certainly thankful I had flushed the toilet first before trying the bidet, or i would surely need a new change of clothes and a full shower!

About the room; it needs remodelling, refurbishment and a new set of furniture to keep up with the times. I shall opt for another hotel the next time.

All in all, I would not recommend anyone to this hotel, unless a touch of antiquity coupled with shoddy service is preferred.