Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Travel: Hotel Plaza, Semarang


Hotel Plaza
Jl Setiabudi 101-103
Semarang 50263
Indonesia
Ph. 024-7473188

After estimating that we would not be able to pass Cirebon before midnight with the mudik rush traffic, my dad decided to stay at Semarang on our way home to Jakarta from Solo (October 27th, 2006). The hotel he chose was Hotel Plaza, located at Setiabudi Street.

The hotel was built with bungalows concept (little houses-like) complete with garages. The houses, the rooms, and garages' size differ, of course, depends on the rate. Our room consisted of one comfy king size bed, one cupboard, a sofa and an armchair, one big mirror, and a desk, a 17-20-inch TV, and a small fridge. The bathroom was with bathtub and hot water. It was fully satisfying for a mere Rp240.000 (felt like something more!). Don’t expect ESPN or CNN or Cartoon Network or cabels, though, the channels were strictly local. The room was clean, no funny odor on the sheets and pillows, nicely air-conditioned, bathroom’s appliances even looked new.

The downside was that you’ll have to climb the stairs from the garage to your room. But of course if your luggages were too heavy, you can always asked the bellboy to help. There was one more minor problem: getting breakfast. I found out that we have to walk for about five minutes or more (depends on whether you are a slow-walker or a fast-walker; I considered myself as a rather fast one) to get to the main building where the breakfast was served. I didn’t mind the walking, I kind of enjoyed it actually, but then I found out that the dining hall was better to be left unexplored.

The hall was too dark to bring out your appetite. After sitting a while, you’ll realize that the air was a bit damp and felt rather suffocating. I was not sure whether this was caused by bad air conditioner, or the drapes that were left un-open even though it was already eight o’clock of a hot and shiny morning (it looked rather filthy, or was it just because of its color?), or the gloomy and dirty covers that enveloped the tables and chairs (the table cloths were almost solid pink while the chairs’ were navy blue!). I caught a glimpse of a rusty folded chair under its depressing blue cover.

The food was nowhere from making you better, the food utensils made it worst. But thank God, there was this nice porridge made with santan (milk squeezed from coconut kernel white flesh) and hot tea. But I guess in this case, expecting anything else could be ungrateful. **Hey, with that rate, you already got a good night sleep and now you demand star hotel’s gourmet?

Over all, a recommended place if you want to crash, but as a place to eat… ummm, better find somewhere else.

Notes for pictures taken by chihiro Oct 28, 2006: 1) Front view of Hotel Plaza 2) Front view of our room 3)&4) Inside view of our room (sorry for the little mess ;-p)

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