Ritz-Carlton is known for its incredible club lounges, which serve food five times a day. The catch is that these clubs are usually very exclusive and often cost hundreds of dollars more per day than a standard room (you don’t get access if you have Marriott Bonvoy elite status).
In this context, I find it interesting that there is actually a Ritz-Carlton in the world where all guests have access to the club lounge.
The pure club hotel Ritz-Carlton Jakarta Pacific Place
Jakarta in Indonesia is one of the best value cities for luxury hotels. There are all kinds of top-notch hotels and they usually cost between $200 and $300 per night. When I recently wrote about an upcoming hotel opening in Jakarta, a reader alerted me to something very interesting about another property.
The Ritz-Carlton Jakarta Pacific Place is a boutique hotel with just 62 rooms, occupying four floors of a larger building. It may not be the most modern Ritz-Carlton, as it opened in 2007 and doesn’t look particularly modern.
However, there is something that makes this property unique – it is the only pure Club Ritz-Carlton in the world. That’s right, the hotel has a Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge, but this is open to all hotel guests. There are five food presentations per day, including breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and dessert.
Of course, there are many all-inclusive resorts that people love to visit precisely because they have everything included. But how fascinating it is to have a business hotel in a city that essentially has an all-inclusive concept. The Keraton at Plaza Jakarta will soon become part of the Hyatt Unbound Collection and is also a pure club hotel. However, there is something we don’t see very often.
From a business perspective, I find this quite interesting. On the one hand, having a club lounge for all guests is a major differentiator from most other hotels. Moreover, providing food and drinks is not that expensive relative to what many people value. On the other hand, this concept probably massively cannibalizes the spending on hotel guests, which is an important source of income for hotels.
Rates and Points Requirements for The Ritz-Carlton Jakarta Pacific Place
So what are the prices like at the Ritz-Carlton Jakarta Pacific Place? I see prices starting at around $300 per night. That’s on the higher end of city prices, but that’s fair enough since it includes a lot more than other hotels.
You can also book through a program like Marriott STARS to get additional perks, including an additional $100 hotel credit. I’d probably struggle to spend money on food that’s not available at the club, but I guess there are always spa treatments.
You can also redeem Marriott Bonvoy points here, and in some cases I’m seeing rates starting at 37,000 points per night. It’s so cool to be able to redeem points for a room with Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge access without having to make a huge cash payment.
I definitely plan on checking this place out next time I’m in Jakarta because it’s such a cool concept and I love club lounges more than I should.
I’m curious: Is the hotel really as good as it sounds? Is the Club Lounge as high-quality as other Ritz-Carltons? Does the fact that everyone has access diminish the experience?
Conclusion
The Ritz-Carlton Jakarta Pacific Place is unique as it is the brand’s only pure club hotel in the world. All-inclusive resorts are common, but a city hotel with this level of food and drink is much rarer. What a great concept and I’m excited to try it out…
What do you think about the concept of a pure club at the Ritz-Carlton?
