Hotel Horison Semarang, Semarang

in big cities, location is a very important issue. and location is actually one of the the Horison's biggest assets. compared to other hotels in town (several openings of 3-4 star hotels in the past two years), it is not the best value for money and the rooms need to be upgraded or re-furnished sooner or later. I particularly did not like the ugly run-down carpet with plenty of stains (but ALL Horison-Hotels in Indo have the same style of carpet). the room itself is big, the bathroom spotless and spacious. the breakfast was known to be the best in town, but other 4-star-hotels are making an effort to compete with the Horison these days. the Pool is nice too, big enough for a decent swim. the hotel is part of the biggest shopping-complex in Semarang, so whatever you want to buy, or want to eat/drink, you dont even have to leave the hotel for that, as several doors connect it directly with the two malls. free airport- or railway-station transfer is provided, which is a big plus (though a plethora of Taxis are waiting just a stonethrow away at the main entrance of the shopping-mall and they are cheap (and yes, they DO use the meter. if one doesnt, just get out and take the next one) another PLUS is the fact, that the local GARUDA-office is located at the ground floor of the hotel (around 8 flights a day to Jakarta), as well as the office of LINUS AIR (5th floor, in the unlikely event that you want to fly to Pangkalan Bun. they dont fly SRG - Jakarta anymore). the main reason for me to stay at the Horison several times already, is the fact that ALL Horison hotels now offer free in-room-WIFI (at least in the Deluxe rooms). A smart move ! without that, I would have probably tried another one of those recently opened hotels, or even the inexpensive IBIS in a good location which opened few months ago.