Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
tion is supposed to be open from 7.45am to 4.30pm Monday to Thursday, and on call til
10pm otherwise, but staffing can be intermittent. If the office is locked, hang around and
someone should find you. The adjacent swimming pool costs B$1. May fill up with gov-
ernment guests on holidays and for sports events.
Terrace Hotel $$
( 224 3554, 224 3555, 224 3556, 224 3557;
www.terracebrunei.com
; Jln Tasek Lama;
d B$65-75; )
A classic tourist-class hotel whose 84 rooms are dowdy (think
1980s) but clean, and come with marble bathrooms. It also has a great little swimming
pool. In a good location just 800m north of the waterfront, near a hawker centre.
HOTEL
RESORT
Empire Hotel & Country Club $$$
( 241 8888;
www.theempirehotel.com
; Muara-Tutong Hwy, Kampung Jerudong; r incl
breakfast from B$400, villas B$1300-2900; )
Pharaonic (or perhaps Dubaian)
in its proportions and opulence, this 523-room extravaganza was commissioned by Prince
Jefri as lodging for guests of the royal family. To recoup some of the US$1.1 billion in-
vestment, the property was quickly transformed into an upscale resort. So what's it like in-
side? To paraphrase Dolly Parton, it takes a lot of money to look this cheap. Sorry, we're
just not ones for yards of marble and columned everything. Anyways, now anyone with a
thing for Las Vegas-style bling can hang out in the lobby and enjoy one of the
US$500,000 lamps made of gold and Baccarat crystal (the other one in the Emperor Suite
can be appreciated privately for around B$17,000 per night). Even the cheapest rooms
(except the recently opened Ocean rooms) have remote-control everything, hand-woven
carpets, gold-plated power points and enormous bathrooms with marble floors, but the de-
cor still somehow feels stodgy and unimaginative. But hey, worth a visit for the gilded
spectacle; tea in the Lobby Lounge costs a mere B$5 a pot and the enormous pool com-
plex outside is popular with expats and the wealthy. To get here, take bus 57 from the city
centre or Gadong (runs two or three times a day; on the way back, book at the Transport
desk), or a taxi (B$30 to B$35).
Radisson Hotel $$$
( 224 4272;
www.radisson.com/brunei
; Jln Tasek Lama; r from B$170; )
This Radisson chain hotel, plopped on the edge of the town centre, flies the flag for inter-
national standards. The sparkling lobby exudes comfort and wealth, as do the business-
HOTEL
