Merdeka Palace is used as the official residence of the President of the Republic of Indonesia. It’s located in Central Jakarta, Indonesia right in front of Merdeka Square and the National Monument. It is built on a 6.5 hectare land at an altitude of nearly 5 meters above sea level. During the colonial era it served as the residence of the Governor – General of the Dutch East Indies Company. It was in 1949 that this palace was renamed as Merdeka Palace, which in Indonesian means ‘freedom’. Presidential Palace of Jakarta takes a neoclassic architectural style and was constructed back in 1873 by the architect Drossares. Merdeka Palace together with Negara Palace, Wisma Negara, Sekretariat Negara, Bina Graha buildings make up the Presidential Palace which is the centre of Indonesian executive authority. The building remains unchanged since its reconstruction in 1873. Following the Indonesian Independence, Merdeka Palace was extended to include the present day five buildings.
At present the Presidential Palace is used as a venue for official presidential activities, also as the office of the President of the Republic of Indonesia. Many state ceremonies, governmental activities, inaugurating high ranking officers, hosting state guests, inaugurating Indonesian ambassadors and many more activities are held at this premise. The official Presidential Palace has several rooms such as First Chamber, Residential Chamber, Guest Room, Banquet Room, Reception Hall, and Regalia Room, Office, Bed Chamber, Living room and the kitchen. The premises of the Jakarta Presidential Palace comprises of other buildings as well, the presidential office, state residence, the Baiturrahman mosque and the presidential palace museum.
The palace has several compartments, the front most room is known as the Ruang Kredential, this room is where president receives letters of credence from foreign ambassadors residing in Indonesia, Ruang Jepara room was once the study room of Sukamo and it is decorated with furniture with wood carvings from Jepara, Raden Saleh room was named after the Indonesian painter Raden Saleh Boestuman. The largest room is Ruang Resespi which is usually used for state banquets and gala dinners. The last room is Ruang Bendera Pusaka is where the heirloom Indonesian flag is stored. In order to explore these diverse attractions from a Hotel in Jakarta, one should make sure to stay at a centrally located setting, such as the Millennium Hotel Sirih Jakarta. What is more, the hotel has a number of Jakarta Hotel Packages to suit the needs of any traveller.