Indonesia offers without question the best value-for-money accommodations in all of S.E. Asia and the accommodations in Yogya are the best value in Indonesia. Where else in the world can you stay in a five-star hotel for sixty bucks a night? Top end properties like the Saphir and the Melia Purosani even advertise rooms for Rp260,000 and Rp300,000 net respectively - including breakfast!
The best time for plentiful affordable accommodations in Yogya is during the fasting month of Ramadan when all the hotels compete for the small number of domestic and international tourists available. Indonesians don’t travel during the fasting month as travel is too tiring, sticking mostly to home and expending as little energy as possible.
Before the Bali bomb, Yogya was more oriented towards foreign tourists, but now the market has shifted to domestic and Asean tourists. There are different rates for foreign walk-in guests (who are charged full published rates) and Indonesians and foreign residents (holding KITAB and KITAS visas). Check out rates on the Internet first (try wotif.com), or at least call the hotels and ask if there are any current rupiah packages (paket) available.
Since Yogya is the cultural heart of Java, the Dutch used to come in droves, spending the good part of the cold northern European winter here (there is even a Dutch word for it, “over-wintering”), but the introduction of the new short-sighted visa policy bars them from staying more than 30 days, so now Hollanders have become almost scarce.
High End
Hyatt Regency Jogyakarta, Jl. Palagan Tentara Pelajar, Yogyakarta 55581, tel: 0274-869-123, email: info@hyattJogya.com, website: www.hyatt.com. Modeled artistically after the famous Borobudur monument, this top class self-contained golf resort hotel on 24 hectares of beautifully landscaped gardens lies in the scenic outskirts of town. Special features are a 17-meter-long water slide, salt water swimming pool, unique plant life (explained in three languages) and spacious grounds to roam around. On clear days, Mt. Merapi is even visible. Published rates (plus 21%) are US$150 for garden view rooms, $180 for Regency Club rooms, but ask about their pesona rupiah packages for considerably less. Superb service, full amenities - the ultimate in comfort and sophistication.
Natour Garuda Hotel, Jl. Malioboro 72, tel. 0274-566-353, fax 0274-563-074, email: reservations@innagaruda.com, website: www.innagaruda.com. A grand colonial-style hotel near the train station. Built in 1911, rebuilt in 1938, this is Jogya’s most historic and prestigious hotel - in a class all its own. The location can’t be beat and the well-appointed rooms and baths are quite commodious. The lobby has been completely remodeled and the coffee shop has a handy free WI FI hot zone! Rooms in the new seven-story annex are only Rp 252,000-745,000, plus tennis courts, rooftop pool, shopping arcade, Chinese restaurant, cool karaoke lounge. A tip: for the same price you can rent rooms in the old wings that have twice the floor space, some with original colonial furnishings.
Hotel Saphir Yogyakarta, Jl. Laksda Adisucipto 38, tel. 0274-566-222, fax. 0274-566-220, email: saphiryk@indosat.net.id, website: www.saphirhotels.com <http://www.saphirhotels.com/> . Built at a time when hotel rooms were grander, the Saphir’s standard room size is the same as the Hyatt’s. Quite central with easy access, this property lies 10 minutes from the city center, 10 minutes from the airport and is just down the street from the Taman Wisata cultural complex which presents dance presentations. The architecture is an amalgam of ornate Chinese, art deco and classic European. Rooms are very comfortable, lots of rich wood, soundproofed, plus big pool, coffee shop, disco, shopping arcade, affordable reflexology clinic. The best value four-star hotel in all of Yogya.
Moderate
Puri Artha Hotel, Jl. Cendrawasih 36, tel: 0274-563-288, fax:
0274-562-765, email: puriarta@idola.net.id, website: www.puriartha.co.id. Now a part of the Choice Hotels chain, this traditionally designed accommodations, with rooms for Rp250,000 per night including breakfast, tax and service, is 10 minute by taxi from downtown. Balconies look out over a vast and well-maintained garden. Very quiet, peaceful environment feels far from the city.
The Jalan Prawirotaman area of south Yogya is a European enclave of guesthouses in a laid back neighborhood just 10 minutes by becak south of the kraton. The small guesthouses here, all about the same price, are generally better value than accommodations near the train station. Some of the best deals in Jogya, included in most room rates is a big breakfast. Often built around attractive gardens, these guesthouses are very comfortable, offering Western toilets, postal, laundry, taxi, tour and ticketing services. Nearly all take credit cards. During the high season, July-August, call or fax first to inquire after vacancies.
Duta Guesthouse, Jl. Prawirotman 26, tel/fax (0274) 372064, is the best hands-down amonst them. Although some of the highest published rates on the street, its 18 rooms spread around a 2200-meter property offer comfort and tranquility. Each has a/c, showers, Western-style toilets, a lovely courtyard, bridges over koi ponds, water falls and refreshing three-quarter size swimming pool. Clean and friendly. Free pickup from the airport if you book at least two nights. Fan rooms (incl. tax, service, breakfast) are Rp 65,000-Rp 175,000 single, Rp 75,000-Rp 200,000 double; a/c rooms Rp125,000 single to Rp 200,000 double. The management frequently gives discounts of 10-20% and even deeper for longer stays.
Duta Garden Hotel, Timuran MG III/103, tel. (0274) 373482, 388378, fax (0274) 372064, email: dutagh@indo.net.id, website: www.dutagardenhotel.com. This backstreet guesthouse is as comfortable as your own home. Heavenly peace and quiet; even the sounds of mosques and traffic are muffled. Plush gardens, extensive Indonesian room menu, transport services. For the price, you’d be hard-pressed to emulate these rooms in all of Yogya.
Budget
For backpackers and student travelers, the Jl. Sosrowijayan/Jl. Kembang area near Yogya’s busy Tugu Station, smack in the middle of town, Jl. Malioboro, is the epicenter of the city’s budget accommodations. Sosrowijayan is just one block from Yogya’s famous shopping street and a fifteen minute becak ride from the kraton.
If you’re in town just to visit Borobudur and Prambanan and other outlying sights, it doesn’t really matter where you stay.
E-mail : pakbill2003@yahoo.com
Copyright@2005 PakBill
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