Sahid Resort brings oasis of luxury into heart of Kuta

Wasti Atmodjo, The Jakarta Post, Kuta | Thu, 12/30/2010 

An “oasis” will soon emerge in Bali’s most crowded tourist area offering holidaymakers a luxury hotel and lavish shopping paradise overlooking the pristine Kuta Beach.

World famous: Bali’s Kuta Beach, pictured here,
 is a favorite spot for holidaymakers around the world:
Courtesy PT Indonesia Paradise Island /
Sahid Kuta Lifestyle Resort

“This will be a perfect blend of contemporary and traditional, translated into a world-class hotel and shopping mall,” explained Hariyadi B. Sukamdani, president of PT Indonesian Paradise Island (IPI).

The planned project is expected to be completed mid 2011. IPI invested Rp 600 billion (US$70 million) into the Sahid Kuta Lifestyle Resort. Haryadi, however, was quick to add the amount of capital invested might change depending on the project design.

“We are still altering some of the designs here and there and these could affect the amount of capital invested,” he said.

Some might wonder whether the already crowded and often traffic congested Kuta really needs another multi-billion project. People will certainly be curious about the project’s structure and design especially when it comes to ecological issues brought about by the rapid growth of tourist-related development projects and the increasing number of visitors besieging Kuta.

Sukamdani Sahid Gitosardjono, the patriarch of the Sahid family, said his old property, the Sahid Hotel, was one of the pioneer hotels in the area.

“In the past, Kuta was quiet and beautiful. Only a few small guesthouses and hotels were operating, catering for local and foreign tourists,” Sukamdani said.

“In the past, the development of any five-star hotel was allowed provided developers applied designs in line with the island’s nature,” he said.

His son Hariyadi decided to follow this philosophy by developing an eco-friendly resort on the 5.2 hectares of land on the former site of the old Sahid Hotel.

“My plan is to revitalize the Kuta area into a green and people-friendly area by constructing an-integrated luxury resort, office complex and high-end shopping complex using an eco-friendly architectural concept.”

The buildings have been designed with world-class architectural standard using as much local materials as possible.

Spacious and lust gardens, water ponds and hanging gardens will surround the buildings, which will be lined with wide sidewalks to enable visitors to enjoy their promenade. Nowadays, it is still difficult for people to walk along the narrow streets of Kuta because of the limited pedestrian facilities.

The planned hotel will consist of 200 lavish rooms facing the great waves of Kuta Beach and will be operated under the brand Sheraton Bali Kuta Resort.

A new oasis: PT Indonesian Paradise Island is planning to build a multi-billion
 rupiah hotel project, currently designed to look like this picture, called the Sahid
 Kuta Lifestyle Resort. The resort will be completed mid 2011. Courtesy PT Indonesia
 Paradise Island/Sahid Kuta Lifestyle Resort

The shopping arcades, called the Beach Walk, will be designed in the Balinese traditional architectural style, adding a few touches to remind visitors of the daily lives of the Balinese agricultural society.

The project has been designed by architectural firm PT Enviro Tec Indonesia, according to Indonesia Design.

The Beach Walk will resemble the island’s rural landscape with its beautiful terraced contours and open-air walkways. It will house 200 top-notch boutiques and stores, restaurants, children playgrounds, music and dance stages.

“We will not cut any existing trees on this site and will use recycled wood and materials for the project,” said Hariyadi.

The company’s director of development, Patrick Rendradjaja, added that the company was also concerned about the existing traffic problems in Kuta.

“We have already incorporated a comprehensive parking site to ease traffic congestion,” Rendradjaja said.

Sahid Kuta Lifestyle Resort will have a two-level parking basement which can accommodate up to 1,000 vehicles at a time. The Sahid Kuta Lifestyle Resort will be next to the Harris Hotel, which also belongs to the Sahid family.

“They will complement each other. The Sheraton will cater to the high-end market, while the four-star Harris will continue to retain its own clientele,” Hariyadi said.

“I really expect the project will benefit hotels and businesses in this area as it will rejuvenate the area into a green and beautiful one,” he added.

Those eager to stay at this luxury and tranquil hotel in the hustle-bustle Kuta will have to wait until its completion, sometime in 2011.

Happy Holidays.

ILO organizes hotel training to support Sail Banda

Antara News, Wednesday, July 28, 2010 16:51 WIB

Ambon, Maluku (ANTARA News) - Some 60 youths here are taking part in a three-month hotel training as part of the ongoing Sail Banda 2010.

The training is organized by the International Labor Organization (ILO) representative office in Maluku in its bid to support the international marine event of Sail Banda.

ILO organizes the hotel training in cooperation with six star hotels in Ambon, namely Aston, Swiss Bell, Amans, Manise, Amaris, and Mutiara which were officiated on Monday by local Manpower and Transmigration Office chief Jeri Uweubun.

ILO education and training program coordinator Lucky Lumingkewas said here on Wednesday there were as yet few trained horel workers in Maluku , and therefore the training was necessary.

Lumingkewas said the hotel training, organized by ILO in cooperation with the six star hotels here, was intended to create job opportunity and skilled workers for hotels.

"This three-month training in the form of theory and internships is expected to create skilled hotel workers because we use standard syllabus referring to Indonesian National Working Standard," Lumingkewas said.

Asked why such a training was carried out late while Sail Banda has already started hotel guests start trickling in, Lumingkewas said it was part of their contribution to make the international marine event a success.

"We know that hotel industry in Ambon has just grown following Sail Banda event, and therefore we will continue to contribute to make it a success," he added.

The 60 youngsters participating in the training are taking internship program at Aston Hotel, Swiss Bell Hotel, Amans Hotel, Manise Hotel, Amaris Hotel, and Mutiara Hotel.

Lumingkewas expressed hope that the training would yield skilled manpower in hotel affairs in Maluku, especially in the provincial city of Ambon.

Mercy visit: The US Navy's USNS Mercy hospital ship docks in the Gulf of Jakarta on Wednesday. The ship will take part in the Sail Banda 2010, which is scheduled to run from late July to August.Antara/Fanny Octavianus

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RI tourism not yet exploited maximally

Antara News, Thursday, July 1, 2010 21:47 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (IRHA) Yanti B Sukamdani said the tourism sector in Indonesia had not yet been maximally exploited.

"Based on data available at the Ministry of Tourism and Culture the number of foreign tourist arrivals in the country in 2008 was about 6.4 million. This is still small if compared with those arriving in Malaysia which reached 22.5 million," she said here on Thursday.

She made the statement at the launch of a book titled: "Angelina Sondakh`s Window of Tourism."

Yanti said that the visits of foreign tourists to Malaysia sharply increased if compared with those in Indonesia. About 15 years ago the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Malaysia was far smaller than that in Indonesia.

She said that seen from the variety of its tourism objects, Indonesia was for more attractive than Malaysia. The tourism sector development in Indonesia lagged far behind that of Malaysia because Indonesia had not yet tapped it maximally, she said.

Besides, she said, tourism polices adopted by the central government and regional administrations were not yet comprehensively synchronized.

The tourism sector will develop optimally if its supporting infrastructures and promotions were also carried out maximally, she said.

Bali hotels association: "green" for everyone

Antara News, Tuesday, May 25, 2010 00:30 WIB

Denpasar (ANTARA News) - The Bali Hotels Association (BHA),a group of over 100 star-rated hotels in Bali held an environment workshop at Kuta`s Hard Rock Hotel, as a part of series to provide a new concept of green for everyone.

"The workshop contributes to BHA`s endeavors to furthermore educate and train its employees as part of its social responsibility to provide a better and cleaner future for all local communities", Gareth Warne, BHA Director of Environment, and GM of Nusa Lembongan Resort & Sail Sensations Catamaran, said in Denpasar, Monday.

The workshop covered an unusually wide range of green subjects from solar water heating to biofuel production, from kitchen oil to consultancy on sustainable development.

During eight lectures over 100 participants had been informed of practical hands on solutions on saving energy, water management, recycling, carbon offset, and green corporate social responsibility programs.

The available choice of green technologies and solutions such as LED lighting run on just 20 percent of conventional energy consumption.

Also, biodegradable plastic products dissolving into virtually nothing after about one year amazed experts and laymen alike.

Certificates of appreciation were given out to 30 BHA hotels participating in EcoBali`s and Tetra Pak`s `Environmental Awareness and Recycling of Beverage Cartons Program`.

The very successful initiative is a major promoter of environmental good practice and education within Bali`s hotel industry.

An MoU signed between BHA, Tetra Pack Indonesia, and EcoBali is cementing future cooperation in the recycling and green education sector.

Presentations were given by Contained Energy, Caritas Switzerland, Plant a Tree Today (PATT), Little Tree, Eco-Leadership, Gadjah Tunggal Plastindo (OXO12), Tetra Pack Indonesia, as well as EcoBali. The event itself was sponsored by Gadjah Tunggal Plastindo and Tetra Pack Indonesia.

Another BHA workshop on energy and waste management is planned for the end of 2010.

The Bali Hotels Association is a professional organization star-rated hotels and resorts in Bali. Members include general managers from 100 hotels and resorts, representing 14,500 hotel rooms and 22,000 employees in Bali.