Highlight 2013: Trendy budget hotels boom

According to a recent UN-WTO World Tourism Barometer report, up to 298 million international tourists traveled worldwide in the first four months of 2013, which equals a 4.3 percent increase from the 286 million last year.

The report said that the challenging global economic environment hadn’t perturbed the growth of the industry. Southeast Asia saw a 12 percent increase in international visitors this year.

The global tourism boom has produced new budget hotels that are chic, clean and offer great services.

In Indonesia, the trend started flourishing perhaps three years ago when, according to Archipelago International VP sales and marketing head Nobert Vas. Archipelago International and Santika with its Amaris brand opened internationally branded budget hotels. Since then, word has spread fast and other hotel operators followed.

This year alone, Archipelago International opened eight Fave hotels and seven NEO hotels, its two budget brands.

Another company, Max One, whose tagline is "a value design hotel with feeling", has opened two new branches in Palembang and Bukit Jimbaran, Bali.

Meanwhile, Kagum Hotel group launched Zodiak Hotel to cater to the needs of modern budget hotel goers. So far, there are five Zodiak Hotels total with three branches in Bandung, one in Yogyakarta, and one in Surabaya.

According to Vas, the growth of chic budget hotels in Indonesia was driven by the increase in the country's middle class and also a change in customer demographics. Now more and more younger customers are demanding well-managed, clean and contemporary style establishments to be able to stay comfortably.

To cater to this market, Archipelago International focuses on the four Bs: bed, bath, breakfast and broadband. Vas believes if the four Bs are combined with friendly and motivated staff and a clean environment, the guests will be happy.

Clara Ng, famous Indonesian writer who travels frequently for work and holiday, said she was happy now that budget hotels were getting better. She shared her latest experience of staying at Max One Bukit Jimbaran, Bali.

“I got a booking mixed up and that night, I went to Ubud the whole day and only needed a place to crash at the area. Max One Hotels gave a friendly rate at only Rp 350,000 [US$28.70] when I checked in, almost midnight. At first, I did not expect too much but, to my surprise, the hotel was very pleasant,” she recalled.

Clara also said that nowadays budget hotels paid detailed attention to bed and shower.

“The beds are generally comfortable and the shower is clean and even sophisticated, unlike in the past where budget hotels' showers were often unbearable with no hot water running,” she said.

Clara added that she was also pleased that Max One gave 24-hour service and that the room was quite spacious too.

With people being more aware of architecture and design, Clara said this also boosted the growth of trendy budget hotels.

“Now design is getting affordable, and minimalism and modern style often translates into less furniture that cramps the room," she added.

What Clara experienced in Bali is one of the main reasons Kagum Hotel group is seriously developing the Zodiak brand.

According to Kagum Hotel marketing communication manager Bunga Faiti Putri, Zodiak is the company's answer to the rising demand for clean and comfortable hotels where guests can crash for the night.

“Now, with people often traveling for food, visiting tourism objects or shopping, they don’t want to spend a lot of time in the hotel relaxing. Mostly, they just need a place to rest at night and this is where budget hotels come in," Bunga explained.

At the moment, budget hotels in Indonesia are still largely occupied by domestic visitors. According to Vas, their hotels in Jakarta have the highest occupancy rate, above 90 percent, and all were driven by the domestic market, with the exception of Bali where they have large numbers of foreigners who are mainly from Australia, Japan and Russia.

Zodiak Hotels in Bandung, according to Bunga, also have high occupancy rates from the domestic market, with 60 percent of their guests coming from Jakarta for a weekend getaway. Its foreign guests mostly came from neighboring countries like Malaysia.

Next year, it looks like the flourishing trend in budget hotels in Indonesia will not slow down.

Kagum Hotel will add more Zodiak Hotels in Bali by February 2014, while Archipelago International is set to open 25 Fave Hotels and six more NEO Hotels. Max One Hotel also has plans to open at least eight more branches in several Indonesian cities.

With more and more budget hotels emerging, this means more competition, and luring customers with low rates will be an important strategy.

"This includes adjusting room prices and setting them based on availability," said Bunga.

Meanwhile, Vas said that staying focused on the basics and not compromising on standards was key for Archipelago International.

“Just the other day I spoke to a guest who gave us the compliment that we are getting better and better and our hotel looked fresh even after we have been open for two years," said Vas.

Fave Hotel: This year alone, Archipelago International opened eight Fave hotels and seven NEO hotels, its two budget brands

Zodiak Hotel: Kagum Hotel group launched Zodiak Hotel to cater to the needs of modern budget hotel goers. So far, there are five Zodiak Hotels total with three branches in Bandung, one in Yogyakarta, and one in Surabaya.

Amaris Hotel: The global tourism boom has produced new budget hotels that are chic, clean and offer great services.

Regional Tourism Promotion Board (BPPD) BPPD West Java and Bali will Synergize Increase Tourist Arrivals

BANDUNG. - Regional Tourism Promotion Board (BPPD) will sign an agreement with the West Java BPPD Bali in an effort to increase tourist visits to the two regions. The signing will be held in Bali, 24 November 2013 in Bali by Jabar BPPD Chairman Ir. H cecep Rukmana and Chairman BPPD Bali Dr.Ir. Tjok Oka Artha Sukawati Ardhana M.Sc. 

According to Executive Director BPPD Hilwan Jabar Saleh, the signing of this agreement is one way to promote the development of the tourism industry.Both sides agreed to support each other tourism promotion activities and participate in festival events, promotions and exhibitions organized by both parties. 

Moreover, Hilwan said, both parties will mutually encourage and recommend both places as tourist areas to achieve the target tourist market by calling and advised the agent to travel agent of the two places for each set and include both places as part of a travel package designed. 

Mentioned in the agreement, both parties will seek to enhance the role of local media and strengthen communication and participation of tourism information. "Both sides must take advantage of the resources of local media to promote the latest developments of the resources, products and industry of tourism in Bali and West Java. Visit each other or hold a tourism promotion activities at least once a year, '"added Hilwan.

Five spa options after shopping in Dago, Bandung

Dago has become more and more vibrant, especially on the weekend. Factory outlets and restaurants dominate the area but you can also find places of tranquility where you can relax and rejuvenate.

The Jakarta Post Travel has picked five relaxing spas where you can pamper yourself after a busy day of shopping.

Le Spa

Le Spa, located in The Luxton hotel’s East Wing, on Jl Ir. H. Juanda No. 18, offers many health and beauty treatments.

Krisdyan, for example, is a 60-minute body massage performed by two therapists at once to create balance on both sides of your body. The treatment is priced at Rp 480,000.

We tried its best-selling Kinasih treatment. Priced at Rp 380,000, the 75-minute massage combines Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian, and Swedish methods, and is said to boost vitality, virility and to refresh your body. The treatment used pure Indonesian ingredients. It started with a massage at the sole of the feet and nicely finished with a cup of a warm ginger drink.

We also sampled herbal bath, which is part of the Mutyasa Treatment, priced at Rp 695,000. Mutyasa consists of scrub, bust treatment, Indonesian massage, milk mask and herbal bath.

Two aromatherapy herbal essences were put inside the bathtub and slowly changed the warm water into a pale tea color. The herbal essences had soft, exotic smells, but we wished they were not instant aromatherapy placed in bath bags.

Le Spa is open daily from 8 a.m. until12 p.m. with last order at 11 p.m. The spa welcomes non-staying guests.

Tea Tree Spa

The Holiday Inn Bandung has gone the extra mile to offer delectable spa sensations, renovating its entire second floor and redesigning it into the Tea Tree spa. The spa has one spacious couple’s room and three large rooms for single guests, all impressively equipped with their own bath tub, toilet, shower and steam room with a panic button as a safety precaution. There is another room designated for hair blowouts and manicure-pedicure.

According to Nevi Rindrawati, Holiday Inn Bandung's recreation manager, the spa has adopted an international spa concept. The spa also claims to be environmentally friendly. "For example, our essential oil won't clog drains when thrown out,” said Nevi.

We tried Tea Tree’s signature spa treatment that includes a mini facial, body scrub and hot stone massage. The foot ritual consists of getting your feet washed and soaked inside water mixed with bath salts and flowers. We enjoyed the hot stone massage even though some people might find it a little too hot. We were pleased with this ritual. Our therapist said that the massage helps tackle insomnia.

Our full-body treatment sweetly ended with a glass of hot ginger tea.

Tea Tree Spa is located on the 2nd floor of the Holiday Inn Bandung on Jl. Ir.H.Juanda No. 31-33. The spa welcomes non-staying guest too and is open from 10 a.m. - 11 p.m. on weekdays, and from 8 a.m. on weekends.

Roger's Salon & Spa

Roger's is a one-stop beauty and wellness center. The spa, which has been around since the 1990s, is secluded and separated from the salon. "We have established loyal customers, especially from Malaysia and Singapore, who are very fond of our spa,” said Tita, Roger's operational manager. She added that Roger's best-selling treatments were the five-hour Spa Heaven, set at Rp 800,000 (US $ 70.99) and five-hour Cleopatra Spa, priced at Rp 1,050,000.

Both spa treatments, she said, comprised head-to-toe pampering of aromatherapy, body massage, scrub, mask and herbal bath, followed by a standard facial as well as a deep hair conditioning treatment (cream bath) and blowout. Customers who choose the Cleopatra spa treatment will also get a manicure and pedicure session.

"They usually come by after a shopping spree in Dago and book our treatment for the next day. We also have customers from abroad who just got off the plane and called us for an appointment immediately," Tita said.

We tried Roger's 90-minute candle massage; one of the latest editions to it’s the menu. The treatment, including a body scrub, was followed by a quick shower, after which the lomi-lomi massage commenced, which used the wax of a melting candle.

Our therapist advised us not to take a shower afterwards, as our skin would need some time to absorb the coconut oil and soybean, the main ingredients of the candle.

We really liked how it felt when the melting candle wax was poured onto our skin. It was warm and smelled good. However, we found our skin to be supple and unusually sticky after the treatment. But since we liked how we smelled, we decided to follow the therapist’s advice. We were relieved that the stickiness wore off after several hours.

Roger's Salon & Spa is located on Jl Ir.H Juanda No.97.

Akar Natural Spa

This spa shares its space –an old heritage building- with a shoe shop in Dago.

Our trepidation, however, vanished as soon as we entered its reception area. The green and cozy spa's waiting room set the mood for relaxation.

Climbing the stairs to the shop’s second floor, where the spa rooms are located, got us thinking that it was actually cool to have a spa session in one of architect A.F. Aalbers' legendary art deco heritage Drie Locomotif houses.

The spa has two couple’s rooms, 27 massage boards, and a pretty gazebo that would make perfect setting for a small group treatment.

According to Saraswati, Akar Natural Spa public relations staff, the spa uses 100 % organic and hand-made products. Some of the products have become must-have products for its customers, especially those from Malaysia and Singapore, who stock up the all-skin-types face wash and hair products.

During our visit, we tried the Pure Organic Body Scrub, one of the spa's best selling treatments. The two-hour treatment included an aromatherapy massage, herbal steam and organic scrub, herbal shower and ended with a complimentary soothing herbal drink.

“We make our scrubs by order. We have a whitening scrub made with jicama, anti-aging whitening with green tea , skin tightening and stretch mark treatments with coffee, skin moisturizer with hibiscus," said Saraswati.

The scrub we chose was made from mixture of green tea and plain yogurt. It smelled nice.

The only thing that was not convenient was the location of the bathroom, which was outside the treatment room. Other than that, we loved this spa for its value for money.

Akar Spa Natural Spa Health & Wellness on Jl Ir. H. Juanda No. 113, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays, and closes at 11 p.m. on weekends.

Laguna Spa Sheraton

The Laguna Spa at the Sheraton hotel Bandung is undergoing renovation. Nevertheless, the hotel still provides spa services in its temporary spa location. The renovation is set to be complete by the end of this year.

Despite the ongoing renovations and temporary location, the therapists will make sure that you get the best spa experience.

We especially loved this spa’s massage. It was so relaxing and soothing that we almost fell asleep. The therapists and other spa employees demonstrated top-notch hospitality too.

The spa offers various treatments such as body massages, back massages, body scrubs, face massages, reflexology and milk baths. The treatments are priced starting at Rp 100,000 for a 30-minute session.

Laguna Spa at the Sheraton hotel is located on Jl Ir. H.Juanda 390. The spa welcomes non-staying guests and is open daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Fun at Bandung Carnival Land

Bandung in West Java ticks lots of boxes for visitors with its seemingly endless list of eateries, shopping areas and facilities, but my recent visit to Bandung went beyond all that.

Instead of malls and cafes, my trip involved flying chairs and ghouls.

Enter Bandung Carnival Land amusement park, also known as BCL.

BCL is on Jl. Sirnagalih 15, in the Karansetra area next to Karangsetra Waterland, a recreational swimming pool which was established in Bandung more than 30-years ago.

The amusement park’s rides include the Mobil Gila bumper cars, the Sepeda Udara ride, which literally means “air bicycle”, the Kursi Terbang (flying chairs) and a haunted house (rumah hantu).

At night time, BCL basks in the light of its lantern garden, Taman Lampion, which is decorated by characters from famous bedtime stories and cartoons such as Snow White and the seven Dwarfs and The Flintstones.

Although BCL is smaller than the Dunia Fantasi amusement park in Ancol, Jakarta, and the attractions might look a bit weather worn adults and children will still enough there to make them laugh and maybe cry with delight.

Many grown-ups visit the park to soak up its atmosphere and watch while their kids play at the games station, which offers small prizes such as dolls for the victors.

BCL is open from 12 p.m. -7p.m. Monday-Thursday and closes at around 9 p.m. Friday-Sunday.

There are two types of tickets:

-Entrance ticket, available only to enter the park and for one attraction: Rp 20,000 (US$1.80)

-All-day pass ticket, which means you can go on any of the rides as many times as you want: Rp 35,000 or Rp 45,000 on high season.

How to get there

Aside from driving your own private vehicle, the Sukajadi-Ciroyom angkot (public minivan) passes BCL's main gate and the Cicaheum-Ledeng angkot stops the intersection between Jl. Setiabudi and Jl. Sindang Sirna, BCL is only 5 minutes walk from here.

Picking strawberries in Lembang

Small scissors and a woven bamboo basket are all you need to harvest ripe, red strawberries at Happy Farm, a strawberry garden in Lembang, West Java.

This back-to-nature activity is relaxing, fun and will keep everybody in the family engaged.

After collecting your own strawberries from the field, put them into a basket and take them to the cashier for payment. You can either bring them home to enjoy later, or ask the staff to blend them into a glass of fresh juice right on the spot.

Apart from strawberry picking, Happy Farm also provides several other outdoor activities for the whole family, including ATV excursions, horseback riding, a trampoline and an adrenaline-spiking flying fox.

If hungry for something more filling than strawberries, go to Dapur Bamboe, an onsite restaurant offering burgers, grilled chicken, soup, corn-on-the-cob and of course strawberry-based yogurt and jam.

Signature Sundanese handicrafts like the bamboo musical instrument Angklung or Wayang Golek puppets are available for purchase as souvenirs. You can get them at the farm's gift shop near the main entrance.

The farm, one of the main tourist attractions in Lembang, is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you visit on weekend, however, prepare for a traffic jam in the area.

Happy Farm (Jl Raya Lembang 175 D) is easy to find as it is located right on the side of the main road. Most visitors drive their own vehicles to get there, but public transportation, a minivan, is also available.