Where to stay in Jakarta: the 5 neighborhoods to know in 2026
Photo : IsahSairen
In Jakarta, you choose your neighbourhood with a watch. Five kilometres take ten minutes at dawn and a full hour when the offices let out: the macet, the traffic jam, is the measure of all things. Two lines escape it, the MRT line that runs south from Bundaran HI and the bus corridor that links the old town of Kota to Blok M: sleeping on them means taking back control of your days.
Allow $9 to $34* for a capsule or a bed, $40 to $79* for a well-rated 3- or 4-star, and from $169 to $240* for the grand hotels of Thamrin and Kuningan. Five neighbourhoods and their places, fifteen hotel listings opened one by one, and the single member review of the city, put at the top because it says why you sleep here for a night or two.
Indonesia is a beautiful country, but I don't find its capital very welcoming.
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At a glance: our picks by traveller type
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The neighborhood map in Jakarta
Get your bearings on the neighborhoods and must-see sights before choosing where to drop your bags. Click a name to jump to its description.
Thamrin, Menteng and Cikini Centre: Bundaran HI, Monas, National Museum, Sarinah, Jalan Sabang, Menteng, Cikini
for a first night, the Monas and the MRT line at the foot of the bed
Everything starts at the Bundaran HI roundabout, its fountain and its welcome statue: to the north, Thamrin avenue leads to the Monas, the independence obelisk planted in the middle of the city's largest square, with the National Museum and its bronzes to one side, then the cathedral and the Istiqlal mosque facing each other. South of the roundabout, the Grand Indonesia and Plaza Indonesia malls; to the east, Menteng, the villas of the thirties, the trees of Taman Suropati, and Cikini with its arts centre and its station. Sabang street lines up satay grills in the evening. The Bundaran HI MRT station is at the foot of the hotels. The downside: the avenue is a twelve-lane trench, and you walk along it more than you cross it.
Where to stay in this neighborhood
Hotel Indonesia Kempinski Jakarta Luxury
On the Bundaran HI roundabout: the country's first grand hotel, opened in 1962 for the Asian Games, connected to the Grand Indonesia mall, with a pool, a spa and the MRT station outside the door.
Kosenda Hotel Mid-range
At 127 Wahid Hasyim, five minutes from Sarinah and the grills of Sabang street: a small hotel with a careful décor, a rooftop bar, and a staff that nearly five hundred reviews mention first.
Six Degrees Budget
On Cikini Raya street, next to Cikini station: the city's historic hostel, dorms and rooms, a rooftop bar, bicycles on loan, and the Taman Ismail Marzuki arts centre at the end of the street.
Pros
- The Monas, the National Museum and the Istiqlal mosque on foot or two stops away
- The Bundaran HI MRT station and the bus corridor under the windows
Cons
- A twelve-lane avenue to cross to change pavements
- The grand hotels are expensive; the small ones are in the streets behind
Kota Tua and Glodok North-west: Fatahillah square, History Museum, Wayang Museum, Glodok, Sunda Kelapa
for the Dutch city when you wake up and Chinatown on foot
Kota Tua, the old town, is the Dutch Batavia: the cobbled Fatahillah square, the former town hall turned History Museum, the Wayang puppet museum and the ceramics museum on the sides, repainted shuttered façades and brightly coloured rental bicycles. To the north, the old port of Sunda Kelapa still lines up its wooden schooners; to the south, Glodok, Chinatown, its herbalists, its Petak Sembilan market and the Jin De Yuan temple under the incense. The bus corridor leaves from Kota station towards the centre. The downside: in the evening the square empties, the surrounding streets are dark, and the well-kept hotels can be counted on one hand.
Where to stay in this neighborhood
Mercure Jakarta Batavia Luxury
Ten minutes' walk from Fatahillah square: a four-star chain hotel with a pool and a staff that sixteen hundred reviews praise, the only one of this size in the old town.
Hotel Santika Premiere Hayam Wuruk Mid-range
On Hayam Wuruk avenue, between Glodok and the centre: a clean Indonesian chain with no surprises, five minutes by taxi from the square and from Chinatown.
Wonderloft Hostel Kota Tua Budget
On Bank street, two steps from the square: dorms in a former office building, a shared kitchen, a billiard table, and Kota station five minutes' walk away.
Pros
- Fatahillah square and its three museums on foot, Glodok ten minutes away
- The terminus of the bus corridor and Kota station for the airport
Cons
- A neighbourhood that switches off at night, and few well-rated hotels
- An hour's drive to Kuningan or Senayan at rush hour
Sudirman, Senayan and the SCBD South of the centre: Sudirman avenue, Bung Karno stadium, Plaza Senayan, SCBD, Senopati
for the towers, the malls, the stadium and the restaurants of Senopati
Sudirman avenue is the backbone of the modern city: glass towers, the MRT stations lined up beneath, and on Sunday morning, closed to cars, thousands of runners and cyclists. To the south, the Bung Karno stadium complex, its parks and its tracks, framed by the Plaza Senayan and Senayan City malls; east of Senayan station, the SCBD, the business district, and the streets of Senopati where the city dines and goes out. The downside: outside the malls and the towers, pavements are rare, and every trip off the MRT axis is made by car.
Where to stay in this neighborhood
Fairmont Jakarta Luxury
Against the Senayan complex, connected to the mall: a pool above the trees of the stadium, a spa, and rooms that the reviews mention for their size.
HARRIS Suites fX Sudirman Mid-range
Above the fX mall, facing the stadium and the Senayan MRT station: suites with a kitchenette, a pool, and free parking, rare on the avenue.
Posto Dormire Sudirman Budget
In Bendungan Hilir, behind the towers of Sudirman: simple, neat rooms, two restaurants, and the MRT station ten minutes' walk away through the lanes of the neighbourhood.
Pros
- The MRT stations in a row and the car-free Sunday
- The restaurants of Senopati and the malls on foot
Cons
- No monument: towers, malls and a stadium
- Few pavements off the avenue
Kuningan and Setiabudi South-east: Mega Kuningan, Kuningan City, Epicentrum, Setiabudi, Rasuna Said
for the embassies, the grand hotels at sensible prices and the malls
Kuningan is the city's second business district, the one of embassies and head offices: Rasuna Said avenue, the Mega Kuningan roundabout with its grand hotels, and malls at every junction, Kuningan City, Epicentrum, Setiabudi One. The hotels are often cheaper here than in Thamrin for the same brand, because the clientele is weekday. The downside: no MRT, so a taxi for everything, and a neighbourhood that lives Monday to Friday and switches off at the weekend.
Where to stay in this neighborhood
The Ritz-Carlton Jakarta, Mega Kuningan Luxury
On the Mega Kuningan roundabout: rooms among the largest in the city, a rooftop pool that the reviews describe at length, and weekend rates that come down.
Mercure Jakarta Gatot Subroto Mid-range
On Gatot Subroto avenue, on the western edge of Kuningan: a chain with a breakfast the reviews praise, a pool, and the towers of Sudirman ten minutes away by car.
Bobopod ITC Kuningan Budget
Capsules inside the ITC Kuningan mall, soundproofed, with showers and a desk: only some thirty reviews, but good ones, and the malls of the neighbourhood on foot.
Pros
- The grand hotels cheaper than in Thamrin, especially at weekends
- Malls and restaurants on foot, the embassies next door
Cons
- No MRT station: everything is done by car
- An office district, empty on Sundays
Ancol, Kelapa Gading and the north North: Ancol Dreamland, the Thousand Islands marina, Kemayoran, Mangga Dua, Kelapa Gading
for the children, the sea and the boat to the Thousand Islands
The north of the city touches the Java Sea, and that is where Jakarta relaxes: Ancol Dreamland, the amusement park, its aquarium and its artificial beach, and the marina from which the boats for the Thousand Islands, the national park offshore, leave in the early morning. Further east, Kelapa Gading is a district of malls and restaurants where the city's families spend their Saturdays; between the two, Kemayoran and its exhibition centre. The hotels here are made for children, pools and family rooms. The downside: an hour by car to the centre at rush hour, and budget addresses less well rated than elsewhere.
Where to stay in this neighborhood
Putri Duyung Ancol Luxury
Wooden cottages in a garden by the sea, inside the Ancol grounds: an indoor pool, a playground, and the amusement park a quarter of an hour on foot.
HARRIS Hotel and Conventions Kelapa Gading Mid-range
Connected to the Mal Kelapa Gading, one of the largest in the city: a pool, rooms that the reviews describe as clean and spacious, and the restaurants of the district without going outside.
POP! Hotel Kelapa Gading Budget
Attached to the neighbouring mall, at dorm prices for a double room: small, functional rooms, free parking, and an average score that owes most to the location.
Pros
- The park, the beach and the aquarium on foot; the boats to the Thousand Islands
- Hotels with pools and family rooms
Cons
- An hour's drive to the centre at rush hour
- The budget hotels of the north are less well rated
Our tips for booking the right place
- The airport train, then the MRT: From Soekarno-Hatta, the train reaches BNI City station, on Sudirman avenue, in under an hour whatever the state of the roads; from there, the MRT or a taxi finishes the journey. By car, allow forty minutes at night and twice that in the daytime. The motorbike-taxi apps weave through the macet for a short ride, provided you have little luggage.
- Reading an address with a watch: Two hotels five kilometres apart can be an hour's drive from each other. Before booking, look at the distance to an MRT station or a stop on the Blok M-Kota bus corridor, not the distance to the Monas. And plan the morning appointments in the neighbourhood where you sleep.
- The rainy season and Lebaran: From November to March, the late-afternoon storms flood whole streets and block the city for two hours: a hotel near the MRT is then worth gold. At Lebaran, the end of Ramadan, half the city leaves for the village and Jakarta becomes fluid and silent for a week; hotel rates drop, many restaurants close.
- The car-free Sunday morning: From six to eleven, Sudirman avenue and Thamrin are closed to cars from Senayan to the Monas: the whole city runs, cycles and breakfasts on bubur ayam on the pavement there. Sleeping on the axis that weekend means seeing Jakarta on foot once during the stay.
- An airport hotel in Cengkareng for anything other than a stopover: the train puts the centre under an hour away, the hotel puts it two hours away.
- The towers of Pondok Indah or Bintaro, in the south-west, for a first stay: pleasant residential districts, an hour from everything that is visited.
- A room facing Jalan Jaksa if you sleep early: the former backpackers' street has kept its bars, not its hostels.
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