Sheraton Media hotel to open in Jakarta soon

JAKARTA (JP): ITT Sheraton Indonesia, an affiliate of the Boston-based ITT Sheraton Corporation, will open its five-star Sheraton Media hotel here Wednesday. This is its 10th hotel in Indonesia.

Sheraton spokesperson Cindy Bengardi said yesterday the 369- room hotel was owned by PT Grahasahari Surya Jaya, a private firm controlled by Surya Paloh, the publisher of the Media Indonesia daily.

The new 19-storey hotel is on a 2.5-hectare plot on Jl. Gunung Sahari, Central Jakarta, near the Mangga Dua business district and Ancol recreational zone.

Sheraton Media will compete with several star-rated hotels, including the Aquila, Mercure, Travelodge and Horison, in nearby Ancol.

Sheraton manages nine hotels in Indonesia including the Sheraton Bandara in Jakarta, Sheraton Senggigi in Lombok, Sheraton Timika in Irian Jaya, Sheraton Bandung in West Java and Sheraton Laguna and Sheraton Nusa Indah in Bali, Sheraton Lampung in Lampung, Sheraton Solo in Central Java and Sheraton Surabaya in East Java.

Bengardi said Sheraton would open later this year two more hotels, the Sheraton Mustika in Yogyakarta and Sheraton Bukit Pelangi in Bogor, West Java.

Meanwhile, Sedona Hotels International, a subsidiary of Singapore's Straits Steamship Land, will open next week the Sedona Makassar in Ujungpandang, the capital of South Sulawesi.

The 230-room Sedona Makassar is owned by PT Metropolitan Tatanugraha. The Lippo Group is one of its shareholders.

The 10-storey hotel is on a 4,655 square-meter plot on Jl. Somba Osu, near the popular Losari beach.

There are few star-rated hotels in Ujungpandang, which has been selected as an air gateway for overseas tourists.

Makassar Golden, Marannu and Radisson operate star-rated hotels in Unjungpandang. International hotel chains like Novotel and Sahid are planning to open hotels there in the next few years.

Sedona Hotels International is developing the Sedona Dive Resort in Manado, North Sulawesi, with the Salim Group of Indonesia and Singapore Airlines. Sedona, established in 1994, manages several other hotels in Padang in West Sumatra, Bintan in Riau and Sydney in Australia. (icn)