TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Bali's new grandeur awaits APEC leaders
Only the best: Staff at the Sofitel Hotel in Nusa Dua, Bali, prepare the retreat room where 21 world leaders are scheduled to meet in next weekâs APEC Summit
Change Size
Only the best: Staff at the Sofitel Hotel in Nusa Dua, Bali, prepare the retreat room where 21 world leaders are scheduled to meet in next weekâs APEC Summit. (JP/Jerry Adiguna) (JP/Jerry Adiguna)
O
span class="inline inline-none">Only the best: Staff at the Sofitel Hotel in Nusa Dua, Bali, prepare the retreat room where 21 world leaders are scheduled to meet in next week's APEC Summit. (JP/Jerry Adiguna)
A fusion of French luxury and genuine Balinese opulence will pamper leaders of 21 Pacific-rim economies in their retreat sessions during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on Oct. 7 and 8 in the posh tourist area of Nusa Dua, Bali.
The Agung Podomoro property group, owned by tycoon Trihatma Haliman, in cooperation with luxury hotel chains French Accor SA and Sofitel Hotel, have the rare opportunity of hosting the prestigious retreat sessions that will be attended by US President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
President Susilo Bambang Yu-dhoyono and his delegation of key officials are also slated to stay in the hotel, which has cost more than Rp 1 trillion (US$100 million) to construct, according to an official.
'We've invested a lot for this construction project. It's our contribution toward the success of the summit,' said Agung Podomoro executive Handaka on Thursday.
Handaka said the construction of the hotel, which will have 350 rooms and 17 villas, commenced in November last year. The timing, he said, coincided with efforts by officials to find a suitable retreat location that would strongly represent Indonesia.
Based on this standard, Sofitel has managed to meet most of the criteria.
Upon entering the hotel, visitors are welcomed with various lavish ornaments and scores of traditional Balinese relief carvings along the walls, doors and ceilings.
'Even the floors are special as they are made from rare stones. That's why we still cover them with plastic so that it will not be dirty when the leaders arrived,' said businessman Chairul Tanjung, the vice chairman of the APEC summit organizing committee, who accompanied journalists on a tour inside
the hotel.
'Other special ornaments are undoubtedly the Balinese reliefs. If you look at them, they tell stories, some of them about reincarnation.'
The meeting rooms of the hotel are named after heroes and heroines from the Ramayana Hindu epic, such as Rama, Shinta and Laksamana.
But nothing can compare to the exalted part of the Sofitel that will be used as the retreat room where APEC leaders will convene to discuss the outcomes of the summit.
The room, which has yet to be named, is located at the back of the resort hotel, less than 50 meters from the beach.
The laid-back nuance of the meeting room will provide comfort for the leaders and provide them with a clear ocean view through the glass wall of the room while discussing the future course of global trade.
The leather seats provided in the room are exceptionally comfortable and arranged in a circle.
Yudhoyono's seat is positioned against the ocean view.
'The President wants prominent leaders to sit while viewing him and the ocean so that they will not get bored and can enjoy the beauty of the beach,' said Chairul.
As Yudhoyono aims to leave a lasting legacy in the summit, he has ordered all officials to outshine the grandeur of previous APEC summits, and if possible also outclass next year's summit in China.
'We've been ordered since last year to organize the APEC summit with long-lasting lavishness that will always be remembered by leaders and officials who attended it,' said Chairul, who proudly boasted the preparation of the summit.
