MICE is nice: The top 4 meetings and events locations in Jakarta

Cited as the world’s most popular location per number of tagged stories and the eighth most posted city by Instagram in 2017, Jakarta’s tourism industry has traditionally been powered by the country’s domestic market, with the capital pulling visitors from all over Indonesia.

Until now the city has, perhaps, not had the appeal of Southeast Asian neighbours Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, however figures released at the end of 2017 show an uptick of 25 %in the number of foreign visitors to Indonesia, which can only be a good thing for Jakarta’s MICE market. That said, let’s take a look at some of the best meetings and events hotels found in the ‘Big Durian’.

Discovery Hotel & Convention Ancol

Found in the centre of Jakarta Bay’s Dreamland development, 25 minutes from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Discovery Hotel & Convention Ancol is adjacent to the Ancol ‘Dunia Fantasy’ and Eco Park.  Featuring rope courses, paintball range, jogging/cycling tracks and the Pasar Seni art village, which make it an ideal spot for team building exercises or unwind with a few well placed ‘splats’ to a friendly colleague.

The hotel has a solid selection of recently refurbished meeting and function rooms, great for weddings, banquets and parties. While the Discovery Convention Centre itself has a capacity of 2,500 people, spread over 13 sun-filled rooms over looking the centre’s pool and the Dunia Fantasy.

The highlight of the DCC is the high powered Kweni Boardroom above), where hotshot execs can talk shop, backed up by video conference facilities on an LED-TV wall, as well as an LCD screen-glassboard and its own reception room pantry and private bathrooms.

The Jakarta Convention Centre (JCC)

Also known as the Balai Sidang Jakarta Convention Centre, the JCC is one of the country’s most famous and impressive venues for…well, for everything. Whether it’s a conference, weddings, companywide AGMs or even fashion shows and concerts, the 13 function rooms and two exhibition halls are prepped for all eventualities.

Both of the exhibition halls each feature 1,000sqm reception lobbies and 9m-high ceilings, integrated telecoms and audio-visuals, single and three-phase power sources, plus compressed air on request. If needed, Hall A and Hall B (above) have direct access from the road for easy unloading.

Next are the 5,000-seat Plenary Hall, an in-the-round theatre space; the 3,921sqm Assembly Hall, which seats up to 2,500 seated guests and 4,500 standing, and last but not least, the 2,109sqm Cendrawasih Room, which is fitted with automated floor-to-ceiling partitions to customise the room space.

Linked to The Sultan Hotel & Residence Jakarta (formerly the Jakarta Hilton International) via the moving walkways of the air conditioned underground tunnel, the convenience and versatility of the JCC makes it my pick of Jakarta’s MICE venues.

Shangri La Jakarta

Another exceptional hotel, The Shangri-La, Hotel Jakarta is aimed squarely at the business traveller. Featuring 661 rooms and suites, 16 meeting and function rooms, a VIP lounge, satellite and teleconferencing and audio-visual equipment, all complimented by a responsive and highly efficient event team, it’s almost impossible to go wrong when MICE-ing here.

The standout however is the 1785sqm Grand Ballroom (above) which, with a maximum capacity of approximately 3000 people, has made quite a name for itself as one of the preeminent weddings venues in the Indonesian capital. But, with the help of the Shangri La team, it is easily adapted into a meeting, conference or awards space.

Grand Hyatt Jakarta

The Grand Hyatt is up there as one of my first choices to lay my head whenever I visit Jakarta, and its deserved reputation for excellence and comprehensive MICE set-up has made it a hard decision to not crown the luxury hotel as Jakarta’s leading meetings and events venue too.

Indeed, The Grand Ballroom is probably the first choice for most event planners, and has played host to many of the town’s swankier affairs. Able to cope with a range of different sized events with contrasting needs, the 702sqm space can be sectioned into three 34 sqm mini-ballrooms, so each individual event is pitched perfectly without being overwhelmed by too big an area.

Meeting rooms include the Krakatau 161sqm work area, which like the Grand Ballroom, can be divided into three smaller spaces; the Majapahit Suite and Plaza Suite Penthouse are for more intimate and social occasions with room for between 60 and 100 guests.

Newly available is the Residence ONFIVE which, like its name implies is a residential-style event facility, with communal living area, kitchen, lounge and  two multipurpose cabanas and three terraces overlooking the city. Marvellous.