I stayed with the hotel for two nights last week. It was located in a very run down area of Jakarta and I was warned by reception staff not to venture out on foot as it is very dangerous. The hotel is located very far from commercial activities in the hotel. You need to take a cab for at least 10 minutes to somewhere to get food or basic amenities. That i find highly inconvenient.

I was initially given a room on the members' floor. The room had a foul smell that was musty and mouldy. It gave me a headache after 5 minutes. I was upgraded to executives' floor after contacting the front desk. It was slightly better but the basic stench was still there. The lifts too smelt as foul as the rooms. The funrniture in the room very uncomfortable, one simply sank into the bed, chair and couch.

On the second night the stench returned, a full can of deodorizer bought specially to act against the stench barely covered the smell. It became very hot and stuffy on the second night. I could only walk around the lobby where it was cooler till near midnight. I was only informed upon enquiry that the air-conditioning broke down for the whole hotel and there was nothing they could do. No fans, mobile cooling units nor relocating the guests were offered. Just a sorry. Failure by the hotel to inform guests of such an important problem is unacceptable. How can anyone expect to be fresh for appointments after a night in a room without aircon and windows? The bathroom had cockroaches crawling around and TV remote control did not work. The breakfast on the 6th floor was lousy breakfast with minimal selection. A USD50~USD60 3 star hotel along Silom in Bangkok did better in this apsect.

The Thai restaurant was alright but charged for ice water. Public areas looked alright but rooms were very run down. There was smoking all round in the executive lounge that had no smoking sign atop every table.

The hotel is a shame to the Starwood name and completely shatters any impression on so called 5 star hotels.It deserves to be delisted from the alliance. The staff were polite and eager to please. They deserve a better place to work. Still, I will never return and advise against staying with them. They are a huge disappointment.

The Sheraton Media is a good safe base in North Jakarta, still central to downtown, but close to marine area.
There is a huge new shopping mall just down the road.
The hotel is located on it's own grounds off the main busy road outside and it has a large fence around it with good security.
What I also like is it has it's own secure aircon ATM in the gardens inside the entrance - so you can feel safe withdrawing out large amounts of cash.
There is a nice outside pool with views across smoggy Jakarta.
Downstairs there is an excellent spa/sauna/steam/massage area which is great to chill out - just make sure to turn the usually blaring tv down.
The hotel also has one of the most beautiful Thai restaurants I have ever been in, very traditional, great service, with beautiful nightime views of the lights of Jakarta over the outside water garden.
The Chinese Restaurant has a fabulous cheap as chips Yum Cha at lunchtimes.
The hotel also has it's own pub/disco downstairs which is good for a drink but otherwise fairly boring, although the live music was ok.
Room service was fantastic, fast, & very cheap.
On the downside the rooms are starting to get a little frayed around the edges, & it is definitely time for a refurb of the soft furnishings.
Having said that, they are still clean, & comfortable, & in good working order.
The staff are absolutely gorgeous, very courteous, & nothing seems to be too much trouble for them - including finding the best airline fares & ordering the tickets for you down at concierge.
I have stayed here twice, & will definitely stay here again!

Sheraton Media Hotel is located near the Suntar area of the capital, which is pretty decent though not in the posh downtown area. It is however near to the popular Mangga Dua shopping complexes which will offer some decent shopping (if that's your cup of tea). Carrefour hypermart is 15-min walk away, though the hotel does provide 4x a day transport to and fro the shopping complex. It is situated by a busy main road, though the designer was smart to locate the rooms at back of the compound so traffic noise is not a problem.

The hotel facility itself is however no real big deal. It has a smallish swimming pool, 6 eating places, 2 small bland lobbies and the usual amenities for a Sheraton. The staffs are friendly and helpful. We particularly enjoyed the Thai restaurant, which has very good food as well as friendly and patient staffs. The decent-sized room itself has selective cable channels, some complimentary drinking water and coffee maker, but otherwise just like any other uninspiring but clean and livable hotel room. The complimentary breakfast at the coffee bar is pretty good, though from my experience this is common in higher-class hotels in the Southeast Asian region.

On the overall, I do like the place. But for its class, the basic facilities are fuss-free and predictable. Overall a rather average hotel.