Hotel Medan

The guidebook says accommodation options in Banda Aceh are limited, and this one looked the best of a mediocre bunch. Staff warm and friendly (to the point of walking us around the corner to show us Riverboat Independence Day celebrations — hospitality, not income-seeking). The room, though — the most expensive tier available short of a suite — was poor. Dilapidated. Urban river view pleasant, but curtains needed to be closed against the heat. (Not hotel’s fault!) Air conditioner worked, barely, but not well enough for the sweltering heat even with curtains closed/at night. Toilet cistern broken, despite a previous botched repair. No shower curtain. Mysterious bathroom overflow pipe dripping continuously onto floor. Breakfast ok. Wifi required repeated login (captive network, apparently without cookies) but otherwise ok. We could have requested another room but guessed that we’d likely be swapping one set of problems for another, and could work our way around the ones we had. Didn’t look like these problems had only just developed in an otherwise well-maintained hotel. Wouldn’t be in a hurry to stay there again. But thank you to the friendly staff.