JW Marriott Hotel Medan
Sumatra is an excellent choice for vegan travel with the opportunity to visit endangered wildlife, trek in rainforests and eat some of the best vegan food in Indonesia. If you are planning to explore Indonesia’s largest island, then chances are you’ll be passing through the capital, Medan, where the best option for some 5 star vegan luxury than the JW Marriott Hotel Medan.
Excellent location in the heart of Medan
With a rail link to the airport just 5 minutes away, plus plenty of taxis and ‘becaks’ (a local, 3 wheeler transport) the JW Marriott Hotel Medan is well located to reach all the regular tourist destinations as well as some of the best vegan restaurants in town.
Well appointed rooms with views to write home about
With 287 rooms and suites over 29 floors there’s a good range of room choices, all of which offer a comfortble bed with plush linens, hi-speed wi-fi, a rain shower and a flat screen TV amongst other things.
Our Deluxe Executive Corner Room featured floor to ceiling windows on 2 elevations providing far reaching views over the city. This was a spectacular feature which made our room wonderfully light and offered an ever changing backdrop of the bustling city below.
Our room also included access to the Executive Lounge where we enjoyed evening cocktails and light snacks, as well as soft drinks throughout the day (see the Vegan Food section below for further details).
Great open air infinity pool
One of our favourite areas of the hotel was the open air infinity pool, a huge pool which was perfect for swimming laps or just for relaxing poolside, enjoying the view. Complimentary towels and loungers were available too.
The Vegan Food
Adept customer service resulting in delicious vegan food
We were more than well catered for during our stay at JW Marriott Hotel Medan with hotel staff making sure they prepared special food for us that was guaranteed vegan. This made our stay really comfortable and we felt very looked after as vegan guests. Without their help it would have been hard to enjoy the wonderful food that the hotel chefs make because even the dishes that looked like they might be vegan had hidden animal products like chicken stock or cream and butter in.
A lavish breakfast full of classic Indonesian food
We ate breakfast at the Marriott Café on the ground floor of the hotel, a spacious dining area with floor to ceiling glass windows that filled the area with light. There was a busy morning hum as diners gathered their breakfast choices from the buffet selection and staff ferried coffees and tea to waiting tables; a nice gentle way to start the day.
Delicious tempe and tofu
Because of our dietary requirements, Chef Erni had prepared a range of special dishes for us including the most delicious ‘Tempe Goreng’ we’ve had in a long time. Slices of fresh tempe, a fermented soya bean savoury ‘cake’, which was sliced thinly before being coated in a light batter and deep fried to crispy perfection.
There was also a vegan version of ‘Gado-Gado’, the Indonesian classic, laden with a richly spiced (and spicy, as is common in Sumatran food) peanut sauce.
Add to that a healthy dose of delicious tofu stir-fried with mixed veg AND sweet and sour tofu, and we were full to the brim of heavenly vegan food. Well nearly, there’s always room to squeeze a sweet local delight so we picked from the selection of ‘jajan pasar’ or ‘market snacks’ which were made from rice flour, coconut milk and palm sugar. All washed down with cups of sweet warm spiced ‘bandrek’ tea.
Executive Lounge specials
During the evening we were well looked after in the executive lounge with vegan sushi, a rich vegetable curry and flatbread, vegetable fried rice and delectable dim sum platters. It’s well worth booking a room grade with Executive Lounge access to enjoy the evening sipping drinks served by the excellent staff, watching the sun set over the city skyline and trying out all the wonderful vegan food.
The Vegan Essentials
There were already feather-free vegan pillows on our bed and the bathroom amenities were JW Marriott’s in-house brand and we were unable to tell is they were vegan so we just used our own.
The Quan Spa had a range of massage treatments which would be suitable for vegans.
The Vegan Food Quest Verdict
Check in to JW Marriott Hotel Medan for a vegan friendly stay where you’ll get to try delectable Sumatran food whilst enjoying the best 5 star luxury in town.
Treat yourself to a room with Executive Lounge access to enjoy the excellent service, evening cocktail hour and more specially prepared vegan food.
We were guests of JW Marriott Hotel Medan but please rest assured that their generosity in hosting us didn’t influence our views
JW Marriott Hotel Medan
Jalan Putri Hijau No. 10
Medan, 20111
Sumatra
Indonesia
Telephone: +62-61-455 3333
Cost From: £45 / $55 per night (May 2017)