I stayed in this hotel for four nights with my group, as part of an event in Pekanbaru. The accommodation was booked and paid for by the event, so I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth!

Nevertheless, staying at Sahid Raya was like entering some sort of horror movie. Seen Dark Water? It was like that. All the walls, ceilings and carpets were blotched with water stains. In the three rooms that we occupied, every bathroom tap and toilet dripped and ran continuously. The airconditioning units positioned above the entryway space near the doors leaked abominably -- one night we set out five plastic waterbottles to catch the drops, which made interesting noises all night long. Amazingly, the place didn't smell of mold, but the staff didn't seem at all perturbed by the puddles made by every aircon on the carpet and in the wooden wardrobes.

Sahid Raya has definitely seen better days. It's quite grandiose, with full marble bathrooms and swimming pools, but all the hallway carpets are stained, torn and covered with cigarette ash, and the swimming pool had a layer of silt at the bottom.

The cafe at the front serves decent breakfast, mostly Asian style. Their rice porridge and condiments quite edible. The hotel staff were friendly and helpful, although their English was limited. Ice was provided free of charge. There were numerous blackouts during our stay, but the hotel has a generator, so the blackouts only lasted a few seconds, which was a good thing, because considering the dripping cave-like atmosphere, it wouldn't have taken much to make us run out screaming!