Chicken Coops: Where to Stay

My work in Indonesia has brought me to several places where I require to spend the night. There are good ones and then there are bad ones. I like to call these places chicken coops because they provide you with a place to stay and relax. Below is a list of "coops" that I have stayed in and have considered it my second home:

1. SURABAYA: HOTEL SOMERSET: Hotel Somerset is a good place to stay whenever you find yourself in Surabaya. Its clean and the rooms are spacious. The hotel personnel are friendly and courteous and they speak a little English. The front office personnel understand and speak good English, making the hotel very tourist friendly. Free breakfast is included in your rate and the food is average. There's a bar at the lobby with nightly singers and 2 billiard tables if you want tot unwind. Rate for a de luxe room is about IDR 470,000.00 nett/night. I will advise you to let a travel agency book for you because they get discounts (around 390,000 IDR). The only problem is that the Hotel is too far from the center of the city. (If you want to go to a mall and to Starbucks, taxi fare will be around IDR 20,000 to 25,000 one way)

2. PURWOKERTO: HOTEL WISATA: Hotel Wisata is a good enough place to stay if you just want to sleep and rest. The staff are friendly and accommodating, they serve breakfast for only 15,000 rupiahs. Rates are really cheap ranging from 126,000 rupiahs to 400,000 rupiahs. Rooms are clean and spacious and the towels are replaced everyday.

3. JOGYAKARTA: HOTEL MELIA: This hotel is very near Malioboro and is easily accessible. The hotel is really nice and they have a restaurant and several function rooms. The food is good but if your on a tight budget, better scoot down to Mall Malioboro, which is quite near the hotel. If you fancy to buy some souvenirs, walk down Malioboro Lane where you can buy cheap Jogya t shirts and not so cheap batik wear. Malioboro is like Quiapo without the smell and the snatchers. Rate for this hotel is about 600,000 rupiahs up. I am not really sure because I haven't stayed there yet.

More chicken coops next time......