Grand Serela: A Luxurious Yet Affordable Hotel In Medan, Indonesia

Newly renovated Grand Serela Hotel

Grand Serela Hotel is actually an old hotel previously named ‘Hotel Grand Elite’, but looks new as it has been through a major renovation. Everything is relatively clean, with new furnishing. Although there is no swimming pool or and fitness center in this hotel, you will get all the amenities of a 4-star hotel, such as a delicious breakfast with many variants, lavish lobby with comfy sofas, along with a clean and neat room.

Great hospitality at Grand Serela Hotel

However, the best asset this hotel has is their employees, who are all hospitable, friendly and professional. You can notice this as you enter its cool, spacious, and spotlessly clean modern lobby. How many hotels give you a welcome drink upon your arrival, and have their receptionists greet you by name even on the 1st day of your stay (they might have learned your name from the guestbook?). You don’t have to worry if you are travelling with heavy luggage, as there are porters ready to help you carry your belongings. Also, if you are new to Medan, certainly you will need some directions on how to get somewhere in the city. Do not hesitate to ask the reception staff for directions, and if you are travelling with a group, you can ask the hotel to help you charter a car to take you to places around Medan.

Well-facilitated rooms

Rooms are clean and spacious (around 30 square meters or 322.92 square feet) for a superior room), and are facilitated with a firm mattress (it’s new!), TV with many international channels including CNN, BBC, and entertainment channels like HBO and MTV, a safe, and more amenities like the light brown, thick carpet with wiggly motifs, and comfy soft chairs.

Rates start from 630,000 IDR (48.29 USD), and although it’s located on a main road (‘Gatot Subroto’ Street), noise cannot be heard from most rooms due to the thick window glass, making it easier for you to have a good night’s sleep. Wi-Fi is for free, and the signal is strong in all rooms, but stay in a room on a higher floor for the even stronger signal. There are at least 3 electric sockets in a room, to make sure your gadgets are well charged with electricity. Although there is no bathtub in the bathroom, there is a hair dryer you to use.

Breakfast with great variety

There are many selections of food to choose from on their breakfast buffet (it comes with the rates) with tea, coffee, juices, and many options of Chinese and Western cuisines. It’s nice to eat congee in the morning, as it’s easy on your digestive system, and besides their ‘kwetiau goreng’ (fried chewy noodles), I love their sweet and sour gourami (gourami is a type of fleshy fish, but with less bones which can be easily found in many parts of Asia). The crispy, breaded gourami blends so nice with the red and thick sweet and sour sauce poured over the top, For the dessert, don’t miss a snack called ‘kueh lapis’, or ‘layer cake’. It’s a beautiful colorful jelly cake, which is sweet and soft. For Western options, there are waffles, pancakes, omelettes, croissants, donuts, and brownies.

Go to the Durian House for durian pancakes

Have you tried eating some durian? Durian is what Medan is famous for, and amazingly the hotel is just a 10-minute walk to one of the most famous cake houses in Medan named ‘Rumah Durian’, which literally means ‘the house of durian’. Although durian flesh is soft, aromatic, and sweet, its shell is pretty dangerous. While the surface of its green and football-sized shell is full of sharp spikes, a durian is indeed so much heavier than a football. Many of them weigh more than 4 kilograms (8.8 pounds), so they must be handled with great care (can you imagine if it falls onto your toes? haha!). Fortunately, this cake shop doesn’t sell durian with its shell (if you want to have this, go to a fruit stall called ‘Durian Ucok’, also not far from the hotel), so you don’t need to worry about getting injured. It is served to you in the form of pancakes. While eating durian, it is messy as you have to deal with the seeds and the sticky flesh. However, eating durian pancakes is quite an experience, because the flesh is stuffed inside the dough of the cake.