April. 2025 |

• Jakarta features top golf courses like Cengkareng, Jagorawi, and Royale Jakarta.

• Ayana Midplaza offers a stay-and-paly golf experience at Riverside Golf Club.

• The Four Seasons’ brunch at Alto is a must-try for its premium buffet and à la carte menu.

The first hole at Jogorawi Golf and Country is a real test.

BY DAVID BOWDEN

While Jakarta’ s traffic is notorious, I’ ve noticed that with the right timing and the use of public transport in the city centre, life is considerably more tolerable, especially with the right choice of hotel.

A TRIO OF COURSES

A few years ago, friends introduced me to the Ayana Midplaza Jakarta, part of a small hotel group with other properties in Bali and Komodo. When I last stayed at their Jakarta property, the concierge told me that the hotel was connected to Riverside Golf Club and that the hotel offered stay-and-play packages.

Therefore, the decision was made to stay at the Ayana and play Riverside, an 18-hole par 72 course located an hour to the south of the Ayana on the way to Bogor and the hills. Greg Norman designed the scenic layout, located beside the Cikeas River in what was once forested land. This venture was his first foray into the archipelago and required him to move heaven and earth to create the course.

Bicycles on Fatahillah Square.

EXPLORING JAKARTA

Jakarta was initially known as Batavia by the Dutch traders who used the port to transship valuable spices to Europe. On a previous visit to Jakarta, I visited Sunda Kepala, which still operates as a port for small vessels that service the outer islands off Java.

While not much time was allocated to sightseeing on this trip, I can highly recommend allocating a day or two to explore the city’ s cultural and historic assets. My suggestion is to stay centrally and use TransJakarta buses( especially the Kota route) to identify and visit the places of interest along the route. I would rarely recommend a bus to explore a city like Jakarta, but many buses operate along dedicated bus lanes and cover

Relax in the tropical weather in the outdoor section of the JimBARan Lounge.

the distance much faster than taxis that can get stuck in traffic. The traffic is always a consideration for destinations away from public transport.

RESORT LIVING

There are many possibilities for enjoying the Jakarta evening, but with early starts for golf, we chose more subdued nightlife while enjoying Ayana’ s executive privileges. We were happy to pull up a comfortable lounge chair at JimBARan in the Ayana lobby each evening. JimBARan is one of the city’ s more stylish bars with coffee during the day and stronger beverages in the evening. It’ s a warm and welcoming meeting place, and I just loved the ambiance, the extensive beverage menu, snacks and the magazines and books that were available.

THE BEST BRUNCH

My travel informants had suggested that I should enjoy a weekend buffet served in one of the many hotels in Jakarta. Brunch is more than a meal for many in Jakarta; it’ s a ritual. The Four Seasons came highly recommended, so after a Sunday morning of exercising and sightseeing, we headed to Alto, located on the 20th floor of this very plush hotel.

We had been told that this was arguably Jakarta’ s finest Sunday brunch, featuring quality imported produce offered as a compact buffet with some excellent à la carte dishes on the menu. Chef Marco Violano and his team deliver quality over quantity. –