Malya Bandung Hotel: Renamed and refreshed
The Chedi Bandung has been renamed the Malya Bandung Hotel. Along with its new name, the hotel has promised better service and ambience. The hotel's new management invited members of the media to experience a night at the four-star boutique hotel. The Jakarta Post's Maria Endah Hulupi has this report.
BANDUNG (JP): The Malya Bandung Hotel is located in the Punclut valley in the cool, hilly area of Ciumbuleuit in northern Bandung, about a 15-minute drive from the heart of the city.
The hotel offers a breathtaking view of the natural beauty surrounding it, and the scent of nature is always only a window away.
The new management is hoping to increase the popularity of the hotel among business travelers and holidaymakers, especially those from major cities like Jakarta.
Among the new services offered to make guests feel at home is an around-the-clock personal butler.
"This is part of our concept to entertain our guests, who are accustomed to working in an environment surrounded by high-rise buildings and working under stressful schedules," the hotel's general manager, Nandang Suryana, said.
The Sanskrit word for garland, "malya", has been adopted to represent the hospitality and natural beauty of the hotel.
The hotel, which has undergone some minor renovations, maintains its original architecture and art-deco details, inspired by the period when Bandung was known as the Paris of Java. It has seven suites, 10 deluxe rooms, 34 superior rooms overlooking the valley and a business center that has been redesigned and upgraded.
And to cope with the growing demand for improved services and facilities for business travelers, the hotel's management, Sekar Alliance Hotel Management (SAHM), plans to build an additional conference room.
"Aside from that, we also plan to set up a fitness center and a health spa by the pool for the convenience of weary guests," said SAHM's director of operations, Tjipjanto Soerjanto.
The hotel's services begin upon arrival at the airport or train station in Bandung, where guests are greeted and escorted to the hotel, being provided with a welcome drink and a refreshing cold towel.
In the afternoon, guests can enjoy hot local beverages bandrek and bajigur in the lobby. Also offered are traditional snacks such as rengginang, opak and kue lapis.
The main draw, though, is the make-your-own serabi (traditional pancake) station, with a choice of four toppings -- banana, chocolate, cheese and ham. A hotel employee, equipped with a small fan, will prepare your serabi in a traditional earthen toaster right before your eyes.
The hotel's restaurant has an exotic West Java touch, overlooking the valley with its landscape of trees and wild flowers, and the enchanting sounds of nature in the morning.
The room rates are set at between Rp 700,000 and Rp 1,300,000 per night from Sunday to Thursday, and between Rp 800,000 and Rp 1,500,000 per night on the weekend and public holidays.