Surabaya is East Java’s biggest metropolis, its provincial capital, and Indonesia‚s second largest city. Although a major business and financial centre, the city doesn’t have the more rigid business culture of Jakarta. The pace is less frantic and the people friendlier, more outspoken. It’s also smaller than Jakarta, without the capital’s horrendous traffic jams, so it’s easier to get around.
Transportation, food, hotels, household goods and clothing are also cheaper in Surabaya. Second only to Jakarta, shopping is a major indoor sport with malls open from 10am to 9:30pm every day.
A mere eight minutes walk from the Mariott, or even closer from the Sheraton, the mammoth Tunjungan Plaza (I, II & III) on Jl. Basuki Rachmat is the epicenter for shopping diverse and high quality eateries, cafes, cinemas, pharmacies, supermarkets, boutiques, book shops. Like a Singapore mall, on weekends Tanjungan’s environs are crammed with tens of thousands of teenagers. Sections II and IV are best for lower cost shopping (good quality clothes), while the attached Sogo Department Store is the city’s premier emporium for chic imported goods.
Appealing more to the local market and easier to handle, the Plaza Surabaya on Jl. Pemuda is the hot spot for clothes, cosmetics, and particularly well-priced electronics handphones, computers, cameras. The entertainment complexes of Taman Remaja (for little kids) and Surabaya’s THR (more for families) are just next door, the perfect place for families to relax between shopping sprees.
A popular shopping center for clothes, shoes and sandals is the Jembatan Merah Plaza (or simply JMP), a huge wholesale market. Labyrinthine Pasar Turi on Jl. Semarang is a crowded traditional market in the inner city selling clothes, electronics, housewares and good deals on used books. Shoe shops are concentrated in the Pasar Blauron area. For tailoring and dressmaking, the two-storey Pasar Atum is the place.
The super mall outside Marga Dua south of the city on Jl. Wonokromon consists of fleets of shops under one roof. The city also boasts a giant branch of the big box hyper-store Carrefour, actually a collection of hundreds of concessions with Carrefour (high-end shopping) occupying the top floor. Mal Galaxi, 20 minute taxi from the city center on Jl. Raya Kertajaya Indah Timur in an affluent Chinese neighborhood offers quality shops and a multitude of international brands.
Hilton Surabaya
Like a resort hotel in Bali, rooms are arranged in a semi-circle around an immense pool (the largest in Surabaya) and tropical garden which makes it both family and business-friendly at the same time. Located outside the city on the way to the airport, the whole complex consists of low-rise buildings in a park-like setting of six hectare with not a skyscraper in sight. The reception hall and ballroom are executed in the grand style of a central Javanese ceremonial pavilion (pendopo) with elaborate painted carvings. Spacious and sumptuous rooms have wooden floors, area rugs, and all the amenities you’d expect for a five star hotel. Catering mostly to corporate clients, villas in back are for long-term residence who enjoy the relaxing holiday environment, the 1.5 km jogging track, and the WI FI hot zone (sign up for very reasonable Rp 50,000 per hour). Net tariffs (including breakfast): Deluxe $60, Suite $79. Contact: Surabaya Hilton International, Jl. Gunungsari, tel. (031) 568-2703, fax. (031) 568-2081, toll free: 0800-140-4444, email: surabaya@hiltonindonesia.com, website: www. hiltonindonesia.com.
Mariott Surabaya
This 412-room 25 floor property in the city’s central business district offers unbelievable five-star luxury that is affordable. Rooms are quite spacious and offer magnificent views over kampung stretching to the horizon. A free-form swimming pool occupies an artificial multi-terraced park and big lawn. Six food and beverage outlets catering to all nationalities, plus JJ’s - the biggest pub in town. During the Dim Sum Sunday brunch and on public holidays a free children’s activities program is offered to kids in the play center. Included in the price is a compact and well-equipped fitness center with sauna and steam rooms (massages are extra). Outstanding and prompt personalized service with genuinely friendly smiles. Free “shopping shuttles” from 11am to 8:40pm; also free airport transfers during peak hours. Great value at $82++ for deluxe or $68++ if more than one night. Contact: JW Marriott Hotel Surabaya, Jl. Embong Malang 85-89, East Java, tel. (031) 545-8888, fax. (031) 546-8888, toll free: 0800-1831-800, email: reservation@jwmarriott-surabaya.com, website: www.marriotthotels.com.
Sheraton Surabaya
Built ten years ago, this is a mature hotel with large rooms and carpeted hallways offering excellent and friendly service. For kids, there’s a superb outside pool surrounded by foliage and near the ground floor restaurant there’s a play room. They also have the biggest and best buffet in Surabaya with a different culinary theme consisting of 40 different dishes presented each night. The red-haired staff at Hugo’s Disco Pub next door does a dance number each time they serve a drink. Magnificent marble entranceway and lobby with two sweeping staircases leading up to the mezzanine where the Lung Yuan serves classic Chinese dishes (Rp 60,000++ Rp 80,000), occasionally featuring Dim Sum, Shark Fin Soup, and Claypot specials. On the same floor is the Kawi Lounge relax to the mellow sounds of live vocalists. What is truly distinctive from a shopper’s point of view is the hotel’s location right next to the Tanjungan Shopping Plaza. Ask about the “Rupiah Package” for only Rp 625,000++-Rp 650,000++ with breakfast. Contact: Sheraton Surabaya Hotel & Towers, Jl. Embong Malang 25-31, tel. (031) 546-8000, fax: (031) 546-7000, toll free: 803-654074,
email: Reservation.00164@sheraton.com,
website: www.sheraton.com/surabaya.
E-mail : pakbill2003@yahoo.com
Copyright@2005 PakBill
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