D

uring the Chinese New Year long weekend, a serviced apartment in Jakarta's Semanggi area was crowded with guests.

Most people consider a serviced apartment more comfortable than a hotel room due to the extras it has to offer, such as living room and kitchen.

"Many domestic and foreign tourists stay here, usually for three or four days. Some stay for a month," said the guest relations manager.

It was not long ago that Jakartans shied away from staying in what they called "extremely tall buildings", or apartments. However, these days apartments are not only for expatriates, but for many of the city's professionals and executives. Staying in an apartment, even just for a short period, has become a trend.

Even more so now that more apartments are being built for the middle- and lower-income segments. Price tags for the middle- and lower-income segments are between Rp 200 and Rp 400 million. Such apartments, for example Gading Mediterania Residence and Mediterania Garden Residence, have sold like hot cakes over the past two to three years.

Undoubtedly, more and more Jakartans will get used to living in apartments once the government's program of 1,000 subsidized towers of strata-title apartments is realized. Each apartment is planned to be sold at a maximum price of Rp 144 million. By then living in an apartment will be commonplace in the capital and other major cities.

More city people are becoming interested in apartments because they offer the most practical solution to traffic jams and long commutes to workplaces, as well as a comfortable and secure life.

In following the current trend it is only natural for developers to jump on the bandwagon of developing apartments. In former times they were busy building landed homes, but today the name of the game is developing high-rise apartments. Apartments also form the most essential element of a property complex like a super block.

Needless to say, numerous high-end apartments are also available in the city. One of them is Kem-pinski Private Residences, which is the first luxury apartment complex to be built by the Kempinski Group in Southeast Asia. It is strategically located in the heart of the capital overlooking the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.

Kempinski Private Residences has 58 floors, with three types of units, namely Penthouses (between 690 and 750 square meters), three-bedroom apartments (261 square meters) and two-bedroom units (162 square meters). All in all there are 260 apartments, including three penthouses.

The spacious apartments are designed based on the modern and dynamic city life concept. Most of the design was inspired by contemporary Indonesian art and style. The apartments come complete with high-end furniture and sophisticated gadgets. Naturally, each detail and aspect of the residences is ensured to be of the highest quality.

"Jakarta is a competitive international city, therefore, I am sure many jet-setter will appreciate the high standard of living available at the Kempinski Private Residences, whether for short or long stays," said Hotel Indonesia Kempinski general manager Gerhard E. Mitrovits.

Another luxury apartment complex is the Oakwood Premier Cozmo, belonging to Oakwood Asia Pacific. Some of its apartments are strata title while the rest are serviced apartments. The apartments are strategically located in Mega Kuningan business district. O-akwood provides exclusive five-star hotel service that includes 24-hour security, daily housekeeping services, laundry and dry cleaning, airport limousine pickup, on-site restaurant and room service.

Oakwood also has a swimming pool, a children's pool, a Jacuzzi, business and fitness centers. Oakwood combines comfort and luxury in all aspects of its apartments, including in the interior.

It is more than a combination of a hotel and an apartment as there are 16 retail outlets, such as a grocers, a drug store, banks, restaurants and cafes. For those who are unwilling to compromise with Jakarta's traffic congestion a helipad is also available.

In the sector of luxury apartments, Ascott International can be called a trendsetter in Indonesia. The group operates three serviced apartments, namely Ascott, Somerset Grand Citra and Somerset Berlian. Citadines serviced apartments will also open its doors in the not-too-distant future.

The Ascott Group has secured a contract to manage its first Citadines-branded serviced residences in Indonesia. Jakarta is the 14th city in Asia Pacific to have a Citadines property as part of Ascott's plan to continue to expand the Citadines brand in the region. The 120-apartment Citadines Jakarta is located in Menteng in the Central Business District and is scheduled to open by the second half of 2010. There are plans to add a further 100 apartments to Citadines Jakarta in the future.

Ascott Hospitality CEO Gerald Lee said: "Our Ascott and Somerset branded properties are performing favorably in Indonesia with year-to-date average occupancy of about 80 percent.

The introduction of the Citadines brand will enable us to capture a broader customer segment of business travelers. Citadines Jakarta o-ffers good value, great location and flexible services. The property is in a vibrant and trendy area and will be popular with young, independent travelers because of the easy access to various exciting amenities in the city."