Budget Chinatown – Jayakarta Hotel Jakarta

One thing I like about places like Jakarta, Bangkok and, well, much of South-East Asia is that they are full of hotels that once were grandiose, but are now a bit run down. This means they are cheap! And the Jayakarta Hotel Jakarta fits snugly into this category. It is though right the hell in downtown Chinatown, has a pool and it’s quite literally $23 a night. This makes it one of the best budget hotel options in Chinatown of Jakarta.

What the Jayakarta Hotel?

The history of the Jayakarta Hotel actually goes back to Sjukur Pudjiadi, who started out in 1952 with an import and export business before getting into property in the 1970s. In 1973 he built a four storey, 52 room hotel in Glodok, but clearly decided that wasn’t quite grand enough, so the building was demolished and replaced with a 21 storey, 334 room hotel in 1977, which at the time was the tallest hotel in Jakarta.

The hotel was owned by the Pudjiadi family and became the flagship property of what would become Jayakarta Hotels & Resorts, which has since grown into a sizeable Indonesian hotel group. So while the place might look a little past its prime today, there is actually some serious Jakarta hotel history here.

Jayakarta Hotel Jakarta Rooms

With this being on the company dime and for a research trip for YPT I went for the bog standard normal room. This was decent enough, comfy bed, TV with no channels and a bathtub. This is an old school throwback I like in these hotels. Of course they also have higher range rooms too, and this is the kinda place where I would have liked to have seen a suite.

Deluxe Room: around IDR 400,000 / $23

Executive Room: around IDR 600,000 / $35

Junior Suite: around IDR 800,000 / $47

Suite: around IDR 1,000,000 / $59

Prices obviously change depending on dates, booking site and whatever random deal they happen to be running, so treat these as a rough guide rather than gospel. Current rates can be found from around IDR 375,000 before taxes on some dates.

Like most all places, the Trip.com rate is often lower than the rack rate, or even what they can offer you for cash.

Jayakarta Hotel Jakarta Facilities

Bog standard shit to be fair, with the highlight being the pool. I booked this place partly for the pool, which I simply just did not use.

There is an outdoor swimming pool, gym, spa, restaurant, bar, room service, free WiFi, parking and the usual conference and business facilities. There is also a 24 hour front desk, which is handy if, like me, you have a tendency to arrive at stupid o’clock.

Around the hotel? You are like 15 minutes from Glodok Chinatown Market, which is a great place for street food and buying crap in general. Being Glodok also means being close enough to all the dodgy bars and nightlife opportunities. Amazingly it’s hard to get a beer around much of the area, although it flies to sell dildos on the street – go figure. One top tip I have eating wise is Bakmi Kota 21, which is honestly a bit of a street food gem. You can though forget Porkies which is now a dim sum place of sorts. Sadly Indonesian Islamification seems to have reached even the largely Christian Chinatown.

Where the Jayakarta Hotel Jakarta?

The Jayakarta SP Jakarta Hotel & Spa

Address: Jl Hayam Wuruk No. 126, Glodok, Jakarta 11180, Indonesia

Telephone: +62 21 6496760 / 6294408

Email: jakarta@jayakartahotelsresorts.com

The hotel is around 15 minutes from Glodok Chinatown Market, around 10 to 15 minutes from the main Chinatown food areas, around 10 minutes from the nightlife around Mangga Besar and around 10 to 15 minutes from the flea market and shopping madness around Mangga Dua, depending on traffic. From Soekarno Hatta International Airport you are looking at roughly 30 to 45 minutes by car, again depending on Jakarta traffic, which can turn a relatively short distance into an expedition.

So, yeah, not the best hotel on the planet, but honestly one of the best value ones if you wanna check out the street food and overall ambience of Chinatown in Jakarta. And you know what, it has history that you can’t put a price on.

Click to see my tours to Indonesia with Young Pioneer Tours.