After landing and grabbing my luggage, I went outside only
to be greeted by a mass of people. Now, I usually don’t pre-book airport
transportation, but with the huge surge of tourists I didn’t want to risk
getting stuck at the airport. Luckily my wonderful tour guide and driver from
Malia Tours were right in the front; turns out they had been waiting for me for
over three hours!
We had delicious Indonesian food at a local restaurant and
headed to the Mercure Palu.
The agent welcomed me and confirmed my complimentary upgrade
to the Deluxe Room and informed me that breakfast was complimentary. On top of
the standard benefits, I was given complimentary solar eclipse glasses, which
were not going cheap in this remote town!
The room was clean and reasonably sized, with a huge picture
of the Palu Bridge as the background.
The room featured a see through shower, but you have the
option of rolling down curtains.
The toilet was located separately from the
shower, which is quite normal in Asia but may make the bathroom seem a bit
cramped for those used to the toilet and shower being in the same room.
You do see a few stains here and there, but given this hotel
in Palu, I’d say the room was superb, especially for the price being paid.
The next day I checked out the swimming pool which featured
a nice view of the mountains in the distance and a mini oriental garden.
Curiously, no one was
actually swimming in the pool and hotel guests seemed to just enjoy having a
drink while lounging under the shade.
The lobby featured plenty of seating area and functional.
More importantly, the air conditioning was fantastic, and offered a respite
from the tropical heat.
The service was excellent although much of the staff did not
speak much English. The check in agents did however speak excellent English and
quickly arraigned anything I needed.
On the day of Eclipse, the hotel even set up breakfast at
3:30 AM to accommodate those waking up early to watch the eclipse!
Overall I enjoyed my stay at the Mercure Palu, which
features first rate accommodations that no other hotel can replicate in this
provincial city. I would definitely stay there again.
Rates at the Mercure
Palu start at $37. I paid $70 a night, which was the rack rate of the Hotel
since I was using the Room Guarantee benefit of my Accor Platinum status.
