Food priced in dollars<\/p>\n
My family and I left for a five-day vacation on the beautiful
\nisland of Bali on Jan. 28. We were booked in to the Melia Sol
\nHotel on Nusa Dua Beach. My choice of hotel was based on two
\nreasons. First, we wanted to be in the Nusa Dua Area and second,
\nthis was one of the hotels offering all Indonesian citizens rooms
\npriced in rupiah. Little did I know that I was in for a shock.<\/p>\n
We checked into the hotel and almost had a heart attack. The
\nfood and beverages on the room service and restaurant menus had
\nprices charged in U.S. dollars. Unbelievable. Were they importing
\ntheir food from Spain?<\/p>\n
I decided to go and see the manager, Mr. Frederick Arul, who
\nvery firmly told me it was \"Management Policy\". He assured me
\nthat all the hotels in the Nusa Dua area applied the same policy
\nand particularly referred to the Hyatt and restaurants in the
\nGalleria area. Anyway, I had no response thinking I was outdated,
\nsince my last trip to Nusa Dua was five years ago. Once again, my
\nmind raised the question -- how can management (the brains behind
\nthe business) sell you a room in rupiah and charge for food and
\nbeverages in U.S. dollars? Or is it a dirty trick designed to
\nfill the rooms and to hell with the guests -- let them eat in a
\nwarung!<\/p>\n
There was no way I was going to pay U.S. dollars (equivalent
\nto Rp 70,875 based on their book-keeping exchange rate of Rp
\n14,175 to one U.S. dollar) for a measly plate of lumpia. We
\ndecided to go and eat at the Galleria. And to my surprise we
\ncould not find even one restaurant that was charging in U.S.
\ndollar.<\/p>\n
The next day, out of curiosity, I decided to call a few hotels
\nin the Nusa Dua area, and again was shocked to find quite the
\nopposite of what I had been told by the manager of my hotel. The
\nGrand Hyatt, Aman Nusa, Nikko and Aston all charge for food and
\nbeverages in rupiah.<\/p>\n
What's going on? This hotel is 12 years old. Surely all their
\nU.S. dollar loans must have been paid off by now. How can a
\nforeign establishment come to Indonesia, sell rooms to the
\ncitizens in rupiah yet charge the same people for food grown in
\nIndonesia by Indonesians in U.S. dollars? It's a mad, mad, mad
\nworld!<\/p>\n
While the country drives on with the \"I Love Rupiah\" campaign,
\nthe management of the Melia Sol probably have their own campaign
\n\"I Love Rupiah but I prefer Dollars.\"<\/p>\n
L. MAHTANI<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/food-priced-in-dollars-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }