Silkwood Residences is a midrange residential complex that consists of two towers, Maple and Oak, each 20-floor high. Completed in 2014, it is owned by the conglomerate Agro Manunggal.

I stayed a few days in the residence and this is my full review about it.

Location

Position from Jakarta

Silkwood Residence is located in Alam Sutera, a private township within the city of South Tangerang (Banten Province). It is bordered by BSD at its south and by Tangerang at is North. Central Jakarta is 25 kilometers away, a 1 hour ride with normal traffic conditions on the highway.

Places of Interest Nearby

There are several places of interest near Silkwood Residences. Here are the most important ones:

– Mall Alam Sutera (500 meters away): an upper-market complex with a XXI cinema, a FoodHall supermarket, a Sogo department store, and a rather large array of shops and restaurants (Not as much choice as in Summarecon Mall Serpong, though).

– Binus University (across the street): one of the most expensive and reputed private universities in Indonesia (many of its students live in Silkwood actually).

– The Swiss German University (800 meters): The first international university in Indonesia

– The only IKEA store in Indonesia (2 km)

– The only Decathlon store in Indonesia (2km)

Transportation

The traffic in Alam Sutera is still very reasonable, and this is particularly true around Silkwood Residences. It is easy to get around by car to nearby shops and malls. You can also reach the toll road Merak-Jakarta within just a few minutes.

Walking is also possible, especially to go to Mall Alam Sutera, Binus University, or to the lake Danau Timur Alam Sutera. The air isn’t too polluted and the sidewalks are in good condition.

To go around Alam Sutera, you can use the shuttle bus “Sutera Loop” which consists of 4 lanes. The stop “Silkwood” is just outside in front of the residence.

Unfortunately, there are no convenient train stations nearby. You can use the line 11 of the TransJakarta network, going from Serpong to Grogol. The closest halt is at Warung Mangga.

Neighborhood

Alam Sutera is a recently developed area and, as such, it does not really have a strong identity yet. Most residents are new-comers, often young families from the Indonesian middle class, who have adopted a Western lifestyle. Few foreigners live there.

In the neighborhood around Silkwood Residences, you won’t find the usual Indonesian businesses like warungs, tokos, kaki limas, etc. Instead, all shops or restaurants are within either malls or rukos, therefore more expensive and less authentic. For me, that’s a negative point but some people might prefer things to be that way.

There are some benefits to that. I mentioned before the lack of traffic, but I should also add that Alam Sutera has less pollution, less noise and more green spaces. Since it is managed privately and not run by the government, you can also expect the streets to be rather clean and well-maintained.

Building Quality

Design and Architecture

There is nothing very original about the design or the architecture of Silkwood Residences. You have two massive concrete towers, each 30 floors high with an atrium in their center. The lobby and the apartments units are rather bland, more like a 3-star property. Only the swimming pool and garden area is more sophisticated, with a nice design as you can see on the pictures at the end of this post.

Building Materials

Materials used in the building of Silkwood Residences seems to be those offering the best value for money. No granite or marble but normal tiles. Walls are painted in white.

Finishes

From what I could observe, the finishes are fairly good. Few traces of paint on windows or tiles.

Comfort

Facilities

The facilities of Silkwood Residences consist of the following:

– A medium-sized swimming pool (including a kids’ pool): I thought it wasn’t long enough for real swimmers and that the water quality could be improved. Still, it is nice enough and there are a few sunbeds too.

– A gym with the essential equipment: Treadmill, bike, free weight, etc.

– A basketball court

– A meeting point in the atrium.

Available Services

All around the residence, there are several convenient services such as ATM, photocopy, minimarket, coffee shops, laundry, property agents, etc. The thing I missed the most was not having a proper restaurant (or even warung). For that, you will need to go to Alam Sutera Mall about 5 minutes away.

Atmosphere

Living in Silkwood might give you the impression that you are living in a student dorm. This is normal as most of its residents are pupils from Binus University. You will see them hang out in groups a bit everywhere: In nearby coffee shops, in the lobby, in the atrium, in the swimming pool. As far as I can tell, they are friendly, polite and they won’t disturb you with noise or parties. I would guess that the occupancy is close to 100%.

Management

Maintenance

The garden was taken care of, all equipment was functioning well, and the overall appearance of the property was satisfactory.

Cleanliness

Apart from the swimming pool, I found the cleanliness of Silkwood Residences to be good.

Security

I was surprised to see that you do not need a badge to access the floors of the residence. That said, there are two security controls, first at the gates and then in the lobby of each tower (both 24-hour), so I don’t think it is unsafe.

Hospitality

Everything went well with the staff.

Prices

Prices at Silkwood Residences may vary depending on the floor, the unit type, the room condition and the furnishings. On average, you will pay the following:

Studio Type (33m2) – Furnished:

• Rental 1 Year: IDR 3.5M per month
• Buy: IDR 700,000,000

1-Bedroom Type (48m2) – Furnished:

• Rental 1 Year: IDR 5.5M per month
• Buy: IDR 850,000,000

2-Bedroom Type (68m2) – Furnished

• Rental 1 Year: IDR 7M per month
• Buy: IDR 950,000,000