Kumala Hotel

Don’t book here. The room looked nothing like the photo, and the bedding was dirty. The bed was collapsing underneath, a cupboard door was hanging from a broken hinge, and the walls had damp and mould. The bathroom was filthy, with hair coming out of the plug. There was no Wi-Fi unless you sat at reception. This is an honest review, and you can find much better for the same price. Book here and you’ll be disappointed.

The only thing I liked was the city-center location. The hotel itself was the worst, and I felt fooled by the reviews. There were cigarette-smelling rooms, and the facilities need maintenance. At check-in, the receptionist handled the early check-in charge unprofessionally and gave me deluxe room 212, where the AC started having trouble after an hour. We moved to room 216, but its AC also wouldn’t cool. The flush water in the room was black, very dirty, and smelly. On the first night I asked for an extra pillow, and the receptionist said I had to pay Rp. 10.000 in cash to the room maid who brought it, with no bill. Weird. Don’t expect much from breakfast. They served a very limited selection: rice, 2 main course, soup, tea, coffee, cold bread, and unfresh salad and fruit. Breakfast was supposed to start at 7 AM, but on Sunday the restaurant was still locked at 07.10, with the excuse that the food wasn’t ready.

The rooms are the weak point: they smelled of cigarettes, felt old, and had old furniture. There were no slippers, cooler, or safety box. The hotel itself looks like a heritage building from more than 50 years ago. It’s cheap, under 20 dollars a night with breakfast, and the service was good. Parking was adequate, though some spaces are behind the hotel. The location in Asia Afrika is great, with Lengkong street food just 20 meter away, food nearby, and some museum, downtown, and Bandung market (pasar baru) close by. They also sell mie tek tek next door at a cheap price, which I recommend trying.

I booked through WhatsApp chat, and the staff responded quickly. The location is strategic, right in the heart of Bandung city as they say on instagram. We stayed 4-5 May’22, and the high-season price didn’t rise much compared with similar hotels: 350K for a deluxe room, versus a regular rate around 250K. The room was quite large, about 30msq, more than I needed on my own, and all the rooms have the bath tube. Breakfast had nasi goreng, mie goreng, sop kimlo, and roti tawar, with taste OK for a 2 star hotel. For improvement, some rooms still smelled of cigarettes, and the facilities would be better if they were updated.