Marante Hotel

6 October 2006

 
The Marante Hotel is at the top end of Toraja's meager hotel offerings. Located a short distance north of Rantepao, the hotel is rather basic in design, although there are a few local design touches employed to give it a bit of personality. Like most locally operated hotels throughout Southeast Asia, the hotel suffers a bit from lack of maintenance, but the situation is as yet far from dire.

The hotel's restaurant is rather good, which is important since there are no nearby restaurants to eat at in the evening. During most of my stay, there were only a few other guests, so the typical buffet dinners put one when the hotel is fuller were suspended in favor of a fixed menu which was very delicious every night.

Nights are generally cool all year round, so the hotel is not air conditioned at all. However, the rooms can be a bit stuffy in the early evening. Ceiling fans would be a nice addition. Fortunately, the pool and bar were both pleasant places to sit and read before dinner.

The staff of the hotel were all exceedingly friendly, although not as obsequious as at many other hotels. The friendliness generally felt quite genuine and was not obtrusive.

Hotel facilities include a swimming pool, spa and restaurant. Transportation and tour facilities are also available from the hotel directly.

Rooms feature hot and cold water, mini-bars, color televisions (only a few local channels) and IDD telephones. Note that rooms do not have air conditioning.

Pluses: Very friendly and helpful staff.

Minuses: Some distance from town. No restaurants or shops within walking distance.

Rooms at the Marante Hotel may be booked through HotelsCombined.