Kartika Chandra hotel's service

I was one of the nominees to receive an award for "ASEAN Executive Cooperation Development Golden Award 2002 and International Human Rights Golden Award 2002", held on April 26, 2002, in Kirana Ballroom Kartika Chandra Hotel, Jakarta. Many candidates from various countries were entitled to receive the awards.

The committee for the event had reserved a room for each candidate. My wife and I arrived at the hotel on that date at about 1 p.m. We were asked to register ourselves at the front desk and wait for the designated room, which was in preparation.

To my dismay and disappointment, we were required to deposit money corresponding to the hotel room tariff, even though the committee had obviously reserved the rooms. We did as we were told and gave the money (in Rp 100,000 banknotes) to the waitress at the counter. More offensive still, the banknotes were checked under ultraviolet light to make sure that they were not fake.

The room telephone was blocked without prior notice, so that I had to go to the telephone booth at the business center of the hotel to make phone calls.

The following morning when all guests including my wife and I were to have breakfast, my wife was not allowed to enter the restaurant because we had only one meal ticket. After convincing the waiter that we occupied a double-bedded room we were allowed to have breakfast together.

H.M. HADI S.

Cimahi, West Java