Female going to Jakarta ALONE - Is it safe?

Hi,

I will be heading to Jakarta for the 1st time and heard many scary stories.

Is it safe for me to stay at Intercontinental hotel in Jakarta? Any shopping areas around this hotel that is safe for me to walk over?

Is this hotel near the Jakarta Fairgrounds? Was recommended by my Indonesia colleague to stay at Manhattan Hotel but read all lousy reviews in Tripadvisor..

Please advise!

Thank you.

Female going to Jakarta ALONE - Is it safe?

Another question to ask is that :

Is intercontinental hotel or Novotel mangga gua nearer to Manhattan hotel?

I need a hotel that is safe, near shopping malls, near Jakarta Fairgrounds and the CBD.

Thank you all!

Female going to Jakarta ALONE - Is it safe?

Whoa... If in Singapore, you%26#39;re question will be something like this: near Japanese Gardens, Orchard Road, and Little India. Then which place would you recommend?

You should consider these factors in choosing the hotel:

1. LOCATION

If you look into Jakarta map, the Jakarta Fairground is located in old airport, Kemayoran (north of Jakarta). The nearest hotel (out of 3) will be Novotel Mangga Dua (approx 10 to 20mins).

the CBD, on the other hand is located towards the south (I believe the biggest CBD area is the Sudirman CBD or SCBD). The nearest hotel is InterContinental and Manhattan.

2. SHOPPING OPTIONS

Out of the 3, only Novotel Mangga Dua is attached to the shopping mall, but the shopping mall is not the sophisticated one (not like Raffles City, but more like Bishan Junction 8).

Intercontinental is amongst office towers, but many upscale shopping centers are short distance away (with taxi).

3. RATING

If you can afford 5-star InterContinental, why have such fuss with lower rating Manhattan or Novotel? First, they%26#39;re in different league already, so the service level and security measure will be also different.

For more convenient location, why not try the brand new Kempinski Hotel Indonesia or Grand Hyatt Jakarta. The location are fantastic and both are adjacent to shopping malls. Jakarta Fairground (to the north) and the CBD (to the south) are within 30-40mins away...

Although considered new and boost modern design, but Manhattan hotel might not be suitable for you since it has bad traffic access (especially if you have business to do at Jakarta Fairground or CBD), It%26#39;s only OK if you have meetings in Kuningan area.

P.S. what kind of scary stories do you hear?

Hi Cirque,

Many thanks for your reply!

My friends told me that in Jakarta, those cab drivers will marked up the fare price or rape you etc, and during traffic jams, they have beggars with no arms or legs and keep knocking on your window and door and lots of pickpockets etc.

I checked the price for Grand Hyatt and its way above my budget. My company is only paying up to SGD$200 per night for my stay there.

So, if i were to stay at Intercontinental, will there be any shopping malls linked to it or within walking distance?

How bad are the jams in Jakarta? Seems like everyone is talking abt the bad traffic there.. Is there a peak hour for these jams or its like congested for the whole day?

That%26#39;s why, whenever you take taxi, you need to look at the Company name properly. Only choose BLUE BIRD TAXI for your safety (there are 2 version; regular and executive, both can be identified by %26#39;BLUE BIRD GROUP%26#39; sticker on the windscreen). And rest assured, taking taxi in Jakarta is as easy as in SG, all are using meter. At 4-5 stars hotels, all taxi can be get through hotel lobby.

Unfortunately, there is no shopping mall linked to InterContinental. Taxi to nearby shopping mall is very cheap lar... Around Rp10,000-Rp15,000 only (like SGD2-3 only!)

If you want somewhere near shopping mall, you can try Hotel Nikko (across the road from Grand Hyatt), but make sure to get the tower room (newer). The main building rooms are old and never renovated.

Traffic jam is a common sight in the city. Therefore, you need to plan your thing properly. Prepare at least 1 hour in advance if you%26#39;re going somewhere far and around 30mins if it%26#39;s only around the area. Also, if possible, avoid rush hours or if you need to travel within this hours, use the road that have %26#39;3 in 1%26#39; rules (at main protocol road).

Hi Cirque,

May I know when are the rush hours??

Which shopping malls are near Intercontinental Hotel?

Many thanks again for your advice here, cirque!

The shopping malls nearby InterContinental:

Plaza Indonesia and Grand Indonesia (the first Harvey Nichols open here) (both upscale malls, approx 10mins away from hotel).

Sarinah Department Store (for souvenirs, batiks, etc) and also sports depot (forgot the name) selling sportwear at cheap price opposite Sarinah (besides Starbucks/Burger King).

Going to malls at Senayan is also relatively near (20mins away), there are Plaza Senayan and Senayan City (upscale), Ratu Plaza (computer stuff), fX mall (restaurants, cafes, lifestyle shops), and Pacific Place Mall (spanking new upscale mall, adjacent to Ritz Carlton Pacific Place Hotel).

No need to worry much lar... There%26#39;s concierge at InterContinental, if you want any advice, you can consult them or watch the video first at ichotelsgroup.com/intercontinental/…jkthb

The rush hour is morning between 7AM to 10AM and afternoon around 4PM to 6 or 7PM. However, during these time, the main roads are having %26#39;3 in 1%26#39; (minimum 3 person per 1 car, except taxi and other public transport) rules. Also in the major road, sometimes during lunch break the road can be pretty packed.

hahaha. thanks alot lar!

coz i really quite worried and hopefully i will enjoy my stay there!

alright! will confirm to book intercontinental!

Oh ya, will they provide me disposable bedroom slippers? (sorry, silly question)

Hahaha... I don%26#39;t know... Btw, why do you need to wear slippers? Afraid the carpet is dirty or just laxy to bring extra sandals? You can request to them to provide one by the time you make booking...

Yeahhhhhhhhh, indeed ha-ha LOL and everything.

As a matter of fact they DO provide disposable slippers. Enjoy them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the closest shopping mall to Intercon now is Citywalk, distance is very walkable. Yet do it in day time.

Additionally I would add that location of Intercon is very wise as far as you can easily travel to both Sudirman directions from over there.