It’s a story at October 2019, a few months before Pandemic Covid-19. My family and I were traveling to Istanbul, Turkey. Since we live in Gayo Highlands, we needed to go to our capital province (Banda Aceh), to take our flight to Istanbul, transit in Kuala Lumpur. I drove my car from Gayo Highlands to Banda Aceh for about seven hours. Upon arriving in Banda Aceh, we headed to Ayani Hotel that I have booked a room a few days earlier.
We stayed at the hotel for one day before departing to Istanbul. All documents and tickets were prepared already. Ayani Hotel is located at the heart of Banda Aceh City in Peunayong District. Peunayong is a “China Town” in Aceh Province. It was our first time to stay at the hotel as it’s a new hotel in the town.
The Lobby
The interior of lobby is pretty nice and spacious with some ornaments placed there. The ambient is good and peaceful.
There are some chairs and table at the lobby. But I think they need to place some more chairs there as it’s a 3-star hotel and many guests may be coming at the same time otherwise they will have lack of seats.
Another set of sofa is located just in front of Front Desk. It’s nice and minimalist. And an artistic table placed there with some framed pictures as the backdrop.
After checking in, we just headed for our room at 3rd floor. We took the lift. The lift is good and work well.
The Room
We entered our room. I had a good impression upon entering the room. It’s nice, pleasant and good smell. The bed is pretty comfort.
There is a set of table and chair at a corner. It’s well arranged.
However, the minibar is just on the table. I hope the minibar should be on different table. But the hotel looks to minimize the room space, so they just put the minibar on the working table.
I went to look inside the toilet. It’s clean and nite with some toiletries available. No bathtub, but it’s just s standing shower. That’s it enough for deluxe room that I’ve booked it.
The Restaurant and Breakfast
We slept well over one night there. Then, in the morning we prepared for having breakfast. We went down to the 1st floor where the restaurant is located. The restaurant is just next to main lobby.
The interior of restaurant is great with a perfect lighting. It’s really a cozy place to have breakfast.
They arrange everything in buffet. We may just take any food and drinks we like to.
My wife started to take some meals. They provide local and international dishes.
*Ayam Tangkap” is a famous local chicken menu. It’s chicken with curry leaves and other secret ingredients fried together. Ayam Tangkap is absolutely a special dish in Aceh. We usually eat Ayam Tangkap with rice. It may be with fried rice or normal rice.
There are also other main menus like fish fillet, and others.
I moved to other sides, and I found other menus for breakfast. There are some cakes and croissants.
And also some crackers. My kids love to eat cracker with milk for their breakfast.
Then, I moved to pancake corner. I took some pancakes for my own breakfast dish. I like pancakes.
I gave some jam, liquid chocolate and honey for my pancakes then I took them to our table. It’s really delicious as the pancakes are soft and tasty.
And for sure, I also take some salad. It’s just limited fruits and vegetables available at salad corner. But, it’s fine. It’s more than enough for our small breakfast.
Ayani Hotel Banda Aceh is a nice place to stay. They provide good hospitality with a perfect location in the center of city. It’s so close to Baiturrahman Great Mosque, the icon of Aceh Province. It’s just 5 minutes walk from Ayani Hotel.
However, the price of room is a bit expensive. I spent about Rp 700,000 or $49 for deluxe room of 3-stars hotel. It’s only a bit different price of room at Hermes Palace Hotel, the only five stars hotel in the province.
Overall, Ayani Hotel is a nice place to stay. After checking out, we were heading for Sultan Iskandar Muda International Airport to have our flight for Kuala Lumpur, then proceed to Istanbul, Turkey.
Warm regard: @razack-pulo