Fairmont Jakarta

Though they’re nobody’s idea of a cutting-edge boutique outfit, Fairmont has earned its following by offering a consistently high-end luxury experience that’s both tastefully rendered and classic in its aesthetics. And a hotel like the Fairmont Jakarta is proof that this is no less true in a financial-district skyscraper than in a grand old Canadian railway hotel. The location in Senayan, next to the stock exchange and close by to the convention center, is as central as it gets, and the hotel, naturally, is equally well equipped for business and leisure travelers.

The Fairmont’s 488 rooms and suites are a reminder of the power of understated elegance — no matter how busy the street life (and central Jakarta is busy indeed), you can’t help but be calmed by fifty (or more) square meters of hardwood and marble. The suites are more than twice as large, and at all levels you’re treated to top-flight comforts as well as elevated views of the capital. Add the Willow Stream Spa and a couple of restaurants, including the upscale Indonesian kitchen 1945, and you’ve got all the makings of a properly luxe urban escape.