Worthless HCI Card

Before I became a member of Hotel Club Indonesia (HCI), I was told that the HCI Card, at Rp 350,000 per year, entitles me to among others, special benefits, discounts and privileges at Natour's chain of hotels.

This proved to be a big lie. In May, I made repeated reservations at Ambarukmo Hotel, Yogyakarta, but as soon as I mentioned HCI, they closed their door saying the hotel was fully occupied. This was not true as the hotel was in fact very much deserted. On later inquiries to the hotel staff, I was told the occupancy rate at the hotel was never higher than 15 percent. Only when I stopped mentioning HCI, did rooms became available, and I was welcomed with wide open doors and a big smile. Nevertheless, the service and facilities of the hotel are poor. The hotel is dilapidated. It has barely any hot water. Many of its telephone handsets and electronics equipment are broken, and the rooms and corridors are smelly. A very sad hotel, indeed.

HCI is not a privilege card, it is a junk card.

A. KUSUMA

Jakarta