During my stay in Semarang, I spent the night at Novotel Semarang, one of the hotels managed under the chain of Accor Hotels group.This is not my first time staying at the Novotel chain as I’ve stayed at several other locations before such as the Novotel Peace in Beijing. I was there for 1 night only because Semarang only acted as a gateway for my journey towards Karimunjawa. Bookings were made through Agoda’s website and I was lucky to get a good rate. I managed to snap the USD32 promotion rate for the superior room, which is considered cheap for a 4 star hotel.
Location
Strategically located at Jalan Pemuda and it is just opposite the Paragon, a large shopping mall. It only took me about 15 minutes to arrive at the hotel from the airport via taxi. Food is also not a problem because it is near Semawis, the night food center where u could enjoy the tasty local foods. There’s also a food court and a few restaurants inside Paragon.
Room
The room was clean, tidy and nicely decorated. I found it to be spacious and the bed is comfy. Bathroom was also nice and equipped with a bathtub. I could say that it does meet my expectation of a 4-star hotel room.
Facilities
The Accor website mentioned that it provides free internet access in the rooms and public areas and yes they do have it. However Wi-Fi is only available at the lobby area and u will need a LAN cable to connect to the internet in your room. A Mac computer is also available at the lobby for the usage of the guests for free. There’s a large swimming pool available for the guest and it offers a nice view from above.
Staffs
Staffs were friendly to me and I noticed that a few of them had good command of English too. At first the reception spoke to me in Indonesian but when I handed over my passport to him, he immediately changed to English. Maybe he thought that I do not understand Indonesian. While I was registering at the reception, another female staff approached me and offered me a welcome drink.
Overall
In my opinion, overall Novotel Semarang scores 4 out of 5 and it’s worth the amount I paid for. I would recommend those who visit Semarang to spend the night at this hotel. It’s suitable for both business and leisure travelers.
Map
View Novotel Semarang in a larger map
I stayed at Quest Hotel at Jalan Plampitan, a rather secluded location but ain’t that far from Paragon, about 15 minutes walk…Novotel Hotel is rather too expensive for my restricted budget but the price you paid for it was seriously quite cheap…
I was supposed to stay at Quest Hotel for 1 night before I flew back to KL, but due to some problems with the ferry, had to spend another night in Karimunjawa..
Nah, with the Novotel hotel level, why go for Quest?
actually I wanted to try out the experience staying in different hotels.. but unfortunately it didn’t came through
The room look very nice and clean. A good place to stay especially those who travel with family. Yup, $32 is consider cheap for a 4 star hotel in Indonesia.
Nice review. Good to know. I think the staff are the most important, so I’m glad you like the hospitality.