Sheraton Media Hotel opens in Chinatown

Sheraton Media Hotel opens in Chinatown

JAKARTA (JP): ITT Sheraton, an international hotel operator,
has opened its 10th hotel in Indonesia, the Sheraton Media Hotel
and Tower.

The 369-room hotel, on Jl. Gunung Sahari on the border of
Central Jakarta and North Jakarta, near the Mangga Dua business
district, is claimed to be the first five-star hotel in China
town.

It has a spa, health club and all the trappings of a five star
hotel.

The general manager, Chris Gorring, said Wednesday evening
after greeting the hotel's first guest that Sheraton Media was
scheduled to be fully operational by next March.

The hotel, which cost about US$55 million to build, is owned
by PT Grahasahari Surya Jaya, a private firm controlled by Surya
Paloh, the publisher of Media Indonesia daily.

The 19-story hotel, on a 2.5-hectare plot, will compete
against several nearby star-rated hotels including the Aquila,
Dusit Inn, Mercure, Travelodge and Horison.

Sheraton manages nine other hotels in Indonesia: in Jakarta,
Lombok, Timika in Irian Jaya, Bandung in West Java and Nusa Dua
in Bali, Lampung, Surakarta in Central Java and Surabaya in East
Java. The company plans to open two more hotels later this year
in Yogyakarta and in Bogor, West Java.

Sheraton Media has three restaurants offering Chinese food,
Thai cuisine and an international menu.

Recreation manager Michael Martin said the hotel's Acropolis
Spa and Fitness center would hold its own among the city's
leading fitness centers.

The 500-square-meter Acropolis Spa and Fitness center has a
whirlpool, sauna and spa, aerobic and gymnasium studio, two
tennis courts and a swimming pool.

Six staff will assist guests, visitors and members at the club
which has a Greco-Roman atmosphere.

Besides its high-tech equipment and unique interior, the
Acropolis Spa and Fitness center offers massage, body scrub
therapy, shaitsu, aromatheraphy, reflexology and foot therapy
services.

Martin, who has 15 years experience in sports club operations,
said an annual membership to the club would cost US$2,400.

Property consultants Procon Indah/Jones Land Wootton said in
its latest quarterly Property Market Outlook that nearly 3,000
star-rated hotel rooms would become available in Jakarta in 1997.

The company said that besides Sheraton Media, 12 other new,
extended or refurbished hotels were due to open later this year.

Among them are the five-star Borobudur Inter-Continental, Le
Medirien and Rosewood. The Rosewood hotel, owned by PT Binapuri
Lestari, is being built on Jl. Dharmawangsa, South Jakarta.

Other hotels

Other hotels slated to open this year include the four-star
Holiday Inn Airport, Park Lane on Jl. Casablanca, Park Plaza in
Kemayoran, the three-star Golden SunRoute on Jl. Gunung Sahari,
Ibis Mangga Dua, Alia II and Bhumi Cikini on Jl Cikini, Cipta II
on Jl. Warung Buncit and Sanno on Jl. Pluit Selatan.

Procon Indah/Jones Land Wootton said that construction of at
least 17 star-rated hotels began last year, including the Asia
Afrika on Jl. Asia Afrika, Bulevar Travelodge and Menara
Peninsula in Slipi, Novotel Gajah Mada on Jl. Gajah Mada, Mahakam
on Jl. Mahakam, Movenpick on Jl. Pecenongan, Musium on Jl. Medan
Merdeka and Swiss-bel and Peninsula on Jl. Satrio.

The company said that these properties, with more than 5,400
rooms, were expected to open between mid-1998 and late 1999.

According to Procon Indah/Jones Land Wootton, the Danamon
group is expected to start building two more hotels later this
year, the Sheraton Danamon Square and Traders.

The property consultancy firm said the general downward trend
in occupancy rates tempered slightly in 1996 because fewer hotels
opened than in previous years.

"This allowed hotels to establish a foothold in the market and
raise room rates. In 1996, average room rates climbed by
approximately $4 to $101. The best performance was observed in
the five-star market where room rates climbed by $4 to $125."

The property consultancy firm said that, while most top-end
hotels opened between 1992 and 1994, there would be a shift
towards more budget-oriented hotels between 1997 and 1998 to
cater for more business travelers. Between 1999 and 2000, the
pendulum would swing back towards the four and five-star class
hotels in terms of supply.

The prospects for the city's hotel industry are good because
many of the proposed hotels will not come onto the market until
the second half of the year, according to the company. (icn)