Citylofts Sudirman is an upscale, 28-floor residential and office tower located just above the lifestyle mall Citywalk, in Central Jakarta. The 514-unit building was inaugurated in 2008 by its developer, Duta Anggada, a group which was also behind projects like Chase Plaza, Bapindo Plaza or The Pavilion Apartments. They are also currently building Citylofts Gajah Mada.

The central location, close to many offices, malls, restaurants, bars, makes Citylofts Sudirman a very popular choice among young professionals, particularly expatriates.

I stayed there for a couple nights and this is my review of it:

Location

Neighborhood

The location of Citylofts Sudirman is excellent, especially if your office is in Jalan Sudirman or Jalan Thamrin. It is near from so many points of interest that it would be impossible to list all of them here. Here are just a few:

– Citywalk Sudirman (direct access through a private door): This is a boutique mall, with many affordable restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries and a bar. There is also a supermarket Papaya (a Japanese brand, quite expensive), a Gold’s Gym, three hairdressers, an ATM center, a private school (Raffles Institute) and a function hall. Note that there are no retail shops. At lunchtime, Citywalk is always packed with office workers, but it is quieter in the evening. If you enjoy street food, there are at least 30 stalls just outside the mall.

Street Food Outside Citiwalk Sudirman

Citywalk Sudirman

– Some major office towers: MidPlaza, Sahid Sudirman, Intiland, Mayapada, Indofood, IFC, BNI 46, Sampoerna Strategic Square, and many more.

– Some universities and schools: London School of Public Relations, Lasalle College, Atma Jaya Catholic University, STP Sahid.

– Siloam Hospital (one of the best private hospitals in Jakarta)

– Many malls within 10-15 minutes: Grand Indonesia, Plaza Indonesia, Pacific Place, Lotte Avenue, Ambassador, ITC Kuningan

– 5-star hotels with good bars and restaurants: Intercontinental, Shangri-La, Le Méridien.

Transportation

Citylofts Sudirman is near from an important interchange that allows you to go easily to Senayan, Tebet, Thamrin and Tanah Abang. There are often traffic jams around this area, notably near the U-turn in front of Cassis Restaurant. This can be a problem when you want to go back home especially. Experienced drivers can help you by taking the smaller streets behind Citylofts.

Traffic in Front of Citywalk Sudirman

You could reasonably walk to a small number of places from Citylofts (The Intercontinental, Hotel Sahid, MidPlaza, Cassis Restaurant). However, the sidewalks are not in a good condition and anyway, street vendors will probably occupy them.

The closest Transjakarta station, Setiabudi, is 15 minutes away by foot and it is connected to the lines 1, 2A and 3A. That’s a long distance to walk in Jakarta and it’s not very practical.

Building Quality

Design and Architecture

Citylofts Sudirman Architecture

Citylofts Citywalk Sudirman

Design Citylofts Sudirman

One of the reasons Citylofts Sudirman is so popular is because it has a modern, urban design that fits well with the vibe of Jakarta.

An interesting feature is the large, floor-to-ceiling glass windows in every apartment. They bring in a lot of natural light and they offer amazing views of the skyline. Another relatively rare characteristic is that most apartments within Citylofts are duplexes i.e. the living room and the bedroom are on two separate floors linked by a staircase.

View from Bedroom Citylofts

There were also some aspects that I didn’t like. The lobby is rather small, with no space to sit down, and it doesn’t look very impressive. The corridors are dark and uninviting. The swimming pool area is not private and comfortable enough.

Lobby Citylofts Sudirman

Building Materials and Finishes

From what I could see, the quality of materials used in the construction was decent enough. It corresponds to what you could expect in a 3-star or a 4-star hotel.

Comfort

Facilities and Services

The facilities of Citylofts Sudirman, apart from the mall, are disappointing in my opinion.

– The swimming pool is long enough for swimmers, but I didn’t find the area very relaxing. The lounge chairs were not comfortable, there was no shade, and I didn’t like the fact that office workers would pass by every now and then.

Pool Citylofts Sudirman

Pool Citylofts Above Citywalk

– There is no gym. Even though it is easy to go to Gold’s Gym within Citywalk, it is a big minus for me.

– What saves the day is that you can find quite a lot of services in Citywalk: ATMs, small Papaya supermarket, salons, coffee shops, restaurants (Indonesian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean)… That said, it is a small mall with no retail shops and no department stores. It is also not a luxury place so there won’t be stylish restaurants and cafés inside.

Atmosphere

While I really enjoyed my apartment, the atmosphere in Citylofts was not very nice. The main issue is that more than half of the tenants are actually small companies who use the space as an office. They call them SOHO for Small Office Home Office. During working hours, the lobby is very crowded and the lifts will take forever to reach your floor (up to 15 minutes, seriously). Overall, you don’t feel at all as if you were living in an exclusive residence.

After office hours, things get better. I would say that over 50% of the residents are foreigners, usually in their 30s. I imagine it must be quite easy to make some friends if you are a bit chatty.

Management

Maintenance

The maintenance of Citylofts was satisfactory, but I saw some issues. For instance, the deck at the swimming pool area had quite a few holes. I also thought they could repaint the corridors.

Damaged Wood at Pool Area

Cleanliness

As a whole, the common areas were clean.

Security

The lobby is guarded 24 hours. There are CCTV cameras in key locations. You need an access card to go to the lift area, and then to push your floor number.

Hospitality

I had limited interactions with the staff but the few times I talk to them, they were friendly and helpful.

Rooms and Prices

Prices at Citylofts Sudirman may vary depending on the floor, the unit type, the room condition and the furnishings. Be aware that you may also need to pay the service charge, the IPL (Iuran Pemeliharaan Lingkungan), the parking, the electricity, the water, etc.

On average, you will pay the following:

1-Bedroom Type (60m2) – Furnished:

• Rental 1 Year: IDR 15M per month
• Buy: IDR 2.700.000.000

1-Bedroom Type (86m2) – Furnished:

• Rental 1 Year: IDR 19M per month
• Buy: IDR 3.100.000.000

1-Bedroom Type (106m2) – Furnished:

• Rental 1 Year: IDR 22M per month
• Buy: IDR 3.300.000.000

Which units are the best?
 I personally prefer the duplex apartment, but they are more expensive. As I mentioned before, the lifts are very slow so it can be strategic to rent on a lower floor. Of course, if you do that, your view won’t be as nice. Your choice!

Investment Potential

The ratio Buying Price / Rental Price is around 15 (you need 15 years of rent to cover the price of buying). That’s a gross rental yield of about 6,5%, which is rather low for Jakarta.

The reason for this is that it is a relatively secure investment. The location is great and it will only get better. The demand will always be strong, coming from either individuals or companies.

There are better opportunities to make money with apartments in Jakarta at the moment, but if you want safety, Citylofts is not a bad choice.