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Why not celebrate the festive season with a hotel staycation?
For the holiday season, Le Meridien Jakarta and Hotel Mulia Jakarta in Central Jakarta have prepared a number of activities.
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Some Jakartans opt to spend the year-end holiday in a hotel instead of traveling overseas or to other cities. (Shutterstock/Herdik Herlambang)
O
nly a few days are left until the year 2020. As the holiday season is here, Jakarta’s hotels have geared up with special packages to attract guests.
Le Meridien Jakarta and Hotel Mulia Jakarta in Central Jakarta, for example, have prepared a number of activities.
The former is offering an exclusive and intimate dinner at Sasono Mulyo Ballroom and a New Year countdown at Tiga Puluh Music Bar + Lounge with a special performance by Indonesian singer Afgansyah Reza.
Meanwhile, Hotel Mulia Jakarta has decorated its restaurants with holiday-themed ornaments while offering a variety of promotions, such as a family getaway for two adults and child, which includes a buffet breakfast and seasonal children’s activities.
Le Meridien Jakarta assistant director of marketing communications Arditiya Chandra Putra said the hotel was targeting Jakarta residents who chose to stay in the city for the New Year celebration, as well as visitors from other cities and neighboring countries, such as Singapore and Malaysia.
He said the property had kept in touch with trends to provide special experiences for guests while celebrating New Year’s Eve in Jakarta, particularly at the hotel.
For many Jakartans, a hotel staycation during the holiday season is an attractive option.
Fitriana Zulfikar, 32, told The Jakarta Post that her family preferred to book a room in a hotel than travel overseas for the year-end holiday.
“Usually, my family members are busy during the working days. The holiday season is an occasion for us to gather,” she said. She added that in a hotel, their children could play inside the room or a restaurant while the adults caught up on each other's lives.
Read also: City in Aceh bans all New Year celebrations
Fitriana also said the high cost of airline tickets and hotels prevented them from traveling overseas.
“The only time I went abroad for a year-end holiday was in 2012. I celebrated New Year’s Eve in New York, but I regretted it as I was trapped a few blocks away from Times Square,” she recalled, adding that it was better to see the celebration on television instead of going to the area.
Ina Marelina, 55, also prefers to spend the holiday season in a hotel. Similar to Fitriana, she had an unpleasant experience when spending one New Year’s Eve in Bali. Since many roads were closed, she had to walk back to the hotel before the celebration even started.
“I [used to celebrate] New Year’s Eve in other cities or overseas, but [there was nothing] special, only crowded roads and fireworks. It made us feel tired,” said Ina.
For the past two years, Ina and her family have booked rooms in hotels near the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta. With the location being the center of celebration, it allowed them to have dinner and enjoy the activities, such as watching fireworks.
Following the birth of her granddaughter last year, she spent New Year’s Eve in a hotel room. “We could not leave the baby, but wanted to gather around in a different ambience,” Ina said.
Ernest Dimitria, 33, said he considered hotel staycations for the festive season to be a convenient choice for his family, who did not fancy crowded places yet sought a different atmosphere.
“Last year, we stayed at Hotel Borobudur Jakarta as they had special children's activities,” he said, adding that staying in a hotel made them feel like going on vacation. (wng)
