The Wave (Coral & Sand) is a midrange apartment complex featuring 2 towers, Coral (41 floors) and Sand (42 floors) with a total capacity of approximately 700 units. It is part of the 53.5 hectare-Rasuna Epicentrum superblock, which is partially owned by Bakrieland.

I stayed there for a few days and this is my honest review of it.

If you know about this property, please add your own comment and rating at the end of the article.

Location:

Neighborhood

In which neighborhood of Jakarta is the complex located?
The Wave (Coral & Sand) is in the Rasuna Epicentrum superblock, a large mixed-use development located off Jalan Rasuna Said. In the same complex, you also have Taman Rasuna, Epicentrum Mall, Club Rasuna, Plaza Festival, etc.

By car, with normal traffic conditions, how far is the complex from:
– Jakarta Airport: 60 minutes
– Grand Indonesia Mall: 25 minutes
– Kota Tua: 40 minutes
– Kemang: 40 minutes

How does it look like around the apartments?
Rasuna Epicentrum is a modern area of Jakarta, with wide roads and little traffic. Many plots of lands are still empty and waiting to be developed so the immediate neighborhood is quite boring:

Across the Street of The Wave

You will need to walk (or take a free shuttle) if you want to go to more interesting places like the Mall Epicentrum or Pasar Festival.

Shuttle Bus Stops in Epicentrum

What are the important landmarks nearby?

Nearby, there are a few landmarks you can go to:

Malls:
Epicentrum Walk: A modern shopping center, quite small, with some affordable restaurants (Asian food), a bar, a well-stocked supermarket (Farmer’s Market), and an XXI cinema.

Plaza Festival: A middle-class mall with a variety of cheap shops, a Matahari department store, cafés and restaurants (including fast food like McDonald’s, A&W, Pizza Hut).

A bit further (10 minutes by car), there are some larger malls like Kota Kasablanka, Ambassador, Kuningan City and Lotte Avenue.

Supermarkets:
Farmer’s Market in Epicentrum Walk (expensive)
Lotte Mart in Kuningan City (average)
Transmart Carrefour in ITC Kuningan (cheaper)

Restaurants:
The closest restaurants are located within Epicentrum Walk and Pasar Festival. Most serve Indonesian food, for a decent price (around IDR80,000 for a meal). For Western food, I recommend Aphrodite, a 5-minute car ride from the Wave (Coral & Sand). A finer option is Bluegrass, in the ground floor of Bakrie tower.

Further away, you can go to Setiabudi One. It is a food court with a large variety of restaurants and coffee shops: Gula Merah, Dapur Sunda, Burger King, Starbucks, Duck King, etc.

Finally, there is a line of cheap warungs near the apartments. Most customers are men working on nearby projects.

Warung Near The Wave Kuningan

Bars and Nightlife:
Two expat bars are located near The Wave (Coral & Sand): Aphrodite and Liquid Exchange. Both are quite popular and they belong to the same owner.

Another option, more sophisticated, is the trendy Bluegrass that specializes in steaks and grilled meat.

Universities:
Bakrie University

Junior/High Schools:
Royal Primary Academy (Sekolah Royal Tunas Mulia)

Preschools:
ISEC preschool in Epicentrum Mall.

Hospitals:
MMC Hospital

Parks:
About 10 minutes away by car, you have small parks like Taman Menteng or Taman Tangkuban Perahu

Offices:
Many office towers are nearby: Bakrie, Cyber 2, Menara Karya, etc.

Embassies:
Many within easy reach: Australia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, India, Holland, India, UK, Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Belarus, Hungary, etc.

Transportation

What are the main roads or highways nearby?
The Wave (Coral & Sand) is about 5 minutes away from Jalan Rasuna Said, one of the main thoroughfares of Jakarta. From there, you can go rather easily to South, Central or North Jakarta. You can also catch Jalan Gatot Subroto to go West or East.

What is the traffic situation near the apartment?
Rasuna Said is congested most of the day, and particularly in the morning and evening, at rush hours.

Is it easy for taxis/Uber/Grab to find the location?
The Epicentrum complex is famous, but not The Wave. Some taxis may have troubles finding it.

Is there a Transjakarta bus stop nearby?
The closest one is in front of Plaza Festival. You can go there by foot in 10 minutes, or use the free shuttle.

The station name is GOR Sumantri and it is served by the lines 6A, 6M, 6F, 6H and 4D. You can go directly to Ragunan, Dukuh Atas, Senen, Lebak Bulus, Manggarai, and TU Gas.

Is there a train station nearby?
Not really. The closest ones are Manggarai and Sudirman but they are at least 5 kilometers away.

How about the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) or LRT (Light Rapid Transit)?
An LRT station should be located near Plaza Festival at GOR Sumantri.

Are there sidewalks? Is it possible to walk around?
Yes, but nowhere to go to.

Building Quality

Building and Architecture

What is the reputation of the developer?
The Wave (Coral & Sand) was built by PT Bakrieland Development Tbk, through its subsidiary PT Bumi Daya Makmur. It is behind most of the projects in the Epicentrum superblock, such as the Bakrie Tower, Taman Rasuna Apartments, The Grove Suites, Aston Rasuna, Plaza Festival, Epicentrum Walk and the 18th Residence Apartment.

The Bakrie Group is behind many controversies in Indonesia and it is not particularly known for its integrity.

The development of The Wave was plagued with issues. The initial project was supposed to feature 9 towers, but it changed mid-course to 2 towers only. It was supposed to last for 3 years, but the apartments were delivered more than 2 years late.

Who is the architect?
The Wave was designed by architect firm Airmas Asri. They are quite reputed and have worked on several high-end projects such as Pakubowono View and the Capital Building.

Who is the contractor?
The contractor was PT Pembangunan Perumahan (PP), a public company with a rather large experience in building public projects (roads, bridges, plants, etc).

What is the situation with the land certificate?
The developer has a Hak Guna Bangunan Murni, which means the property was built on its own land. As an apartment owner, you get a Strata Title di atas HGB Murni.

Are there issues with the electricity supply?
None that I know of.

Are their issues with parking?
None that I know of.

How many lifts are there in each tower?
There are 2 residents’ lifts per tower and 1 service lift.

Residents Lifts The Wave Jakarta

Lift Service The Wave Jakarta

Design and Appearance

How does the building look like?

From outside:
The towers look like a rusunami projects (subsidized towers). I don’t find them particularly stylish or elegant with their tiny windows and balconies.

The Wave Apartments Jakarta (on the right) with Ocea Condotel (on the left)

The Wave Coral and Sand Towers

Towers Coral and Sand

The Wave Jakarta

Reception:
Each tower has its own reception. They are rather spacious, with a comfortable sitting area, but the design is old-fashioned and not really luxurious.

Reception Sand Tower The Wave

Entrance:
The entrance is rather pleasant, with a road bordered by trees and plants.

Entrance The Wave Jakarta

Entrance Lobby The Wave

Landscaping:
It is not so sophisticated, but there are nicely shaped gardens and a long swimming pool in the common areas.

Garden The Wave Jakarta

Pool Area The Wave

Corridors:
Clean and neat, but basic, just like any other budget apartment complexes.

Corridors The Wave

Corridors in The Wave Jakarta

Doors in The Wave Jakarta

How spacious are the apartments?
The apartments are quite small, in line with the standards of a budget property:

– 1-bedroom units start at 40m2 until 47m2 (1 bathroom)
– 2-bedroom units start at 60m2 until 85m2 (1 bathroom)
– 3-bedroom units start at 90m2 (2 bathrooms)

Materials, Equipment, and Finishes

What is the quality of the materials, furniture, and equipment used in the construction?
This is an evaluation of the quality I observed (ranked from 1 – worst – to 10 – best):

Tiles: 3
Painting: 4
Doors: 4
Ceiling: 5
Elevator: 5
Gym equipment: 5 (professional machines but old and some were damaged)
Pool equipment: 5
Furniture: 5
Artwork: None

Overall Quality: 4.5/10

What is the quality of the finishes?
Average quality. You can see some traces of paint in windows and around doors.

Comfort

Facilities and Services

What are the facilities provided in the property?

– Swimming pool: Maybe the best part of The Wave (Coral & Sand) Apartments, it is rather large, perfect for swimming. Its water is warm and you have trees all around it, with a few sunbeds to relax. A kid’s pool is attached to it.

Swimming Pool in The Wave Jakarta

Kids Pool in The Wave Kuningan

– Gym: Located on the ground floor, next to the reception, it is medium-sized, with a decent equipment. The treadmill machine was not working well.

Fitness Jakarta The Wave

Gym in The Wave

– Kids playground: Not very attractive but better than nothing.

Kid’s Playground The Wave

– Sandbox:

Sandbox for Kids Jakarta

What are the services available within the property?

– There is a pharmacy, a convenience store, a laundry and an ATM in the ground floor of the apartments. If you need something else, you will need to take the shuttle to Epicentrum Walk or Plaza Festival.

Atmosphere

How busy is the property?
The occupancy of The Wave seems high as I saw quite many people in the lifts, in the parking and in the reception.

Is it noisy?
There are two mosques nearby which can be quite noisy.

What is the background (ethnicity, social status) and attitude of residents?
I observe that most residents were Indonesian “pribumi”. There are a few expats as well and short-term residents (from Airbnb for instance).

Management

Maintenance

How old is the property?
It was completed in 2013.

Are there visible damages?
Yes, I saw a few issues, for instance, the sunbeds at the swimming pool or a fence bordering the property:

Fence Damaged in The Wave

Lounge Chair The Wave Jakarta

The painting of the building facade is also showing signs of age already.

Cleanliness

I found the property to be clean enough.

Security

– Guards on duty at the gates and reception: 24/7
– CCTV cameras: Few
– Access card: Yes, you need an access card to enter the lift area.

Hospitality

The staff was friendly and professional.

Rooms and Prices

Prices at The Wave (Coral & Sand) Apartments may vary depending on many factors such as the floor, the unit type, the room condition and the furnishings.

Be aware that you may also need to pay for additional fees: Service charge, parking fee, electricity and water bills, etc. Here are a few examples of prices and ratios for this property:

1-Bedroom Type (40m2) – Well-furnished:

• Rental 1 Year: IDR 84 million (or 7 million per month)
• Buy: IDR 1,100,000,000
• Break Even Point (Buying Price/Gross Annual Rental): 13.09 years
• Average buying price/m2: IDR 27.5 million/m2

2-Bedroom Type (60m2) – Well-furnished:

• Rental 1 Year: IDR 102 million (or 8.5 million per month)
• Buy: IDR 1,500,000,000
• Break Even Point (Buying Price/Gross Annual Rental): 14.7 years
• Average buying price/m2: IDR 25 million/m2

Which units are the best?
The units facing the swimming pool are probably the quietest at the moment as they are further away from the mosques. Also, avoid units facing empty plots of lands as it is likely that new towers will be built in the future, blocking your view and disturbing you with construction works.

Investment Potential

Is there a potential for a price increase in the future?

A normal price increase would be around 5% per year. Here are some of the factors that may affect this rate:

– Factors pushing the prices up:

• Location relatively near from the Central Business District of Jakarta

– Factors pushing the prices down:

• Average maintenance
• Empty plots of lands nearby, meaning there is still potential for new towers to be developed
• The poor reputation of Bakrieland as a developer

Overall evaluation of the price: Would I buy here?
The buying prices in The Wave (Coral & Sand) Apartments are quite high compared to the rental value. I don’t feel it is a worthy investment and personally, I would pass on the opportunity.