Introduction
On the news of pre-flight testing being scrapped for domestic travel in Indonesia, we planned a last-minute trip to Central Java. In particular, we planned the trip to revolve around visiting the ancient temples of the province, including the famous temples of Borobudur and Prambanan.

The trip took us between three cities, namely, Yogyakarta, Magelang, and Surakarta (colloquially known as Solo), where we spent 2 nights each (plus 3 additional nights in Solo). We booked everything just 4 days before our first departure (with a quick overnight in Jakarta).

As such will be reviewing the following:

Garuda Indonesia Domestic Lounge Jakarta
Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta
Alila Solo
The Royal Surakarta Heritage - MGallery Collection by Sofitel
Amanjiwo

Deciding the Hotels

Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta has a surprisingly good amount of upscale hotel choices, including those affiliated with the three major hotel companies (Marriott, Hyatt, and Accor). We narrowed down the choices between the Royal Ambarrukmo (Yogyakarta’s most iconic hotel), the Melia Purosani, the Hyatt Regency, and the Sheraton Mustika. The Hyatt Bonus Journeys 2022 promotion, however, cemented our decision to stay at the Hyatt Regency of all those choices (although the Ambarrukmo did come a close second). Despite that, we are not Hyatt Elites. The Hyatt’s seemingly outdated rooms don’t give me much confidence about the place, although the unending amount of good reviews does leave me confused. Either way, I’m very excited to review this hotel (for better or worse).

Borobudur/Magelang
I don’t think a rationale is necessary to decide on Amanjiwo. Having said that, there are two other upscale accommodation options in proximity to Borobudur—the Plataran and the Plataran Heritage. Both are managed by the Indonesian operator, Plataran which operates hotels in several interesting destinations around the country. The former, however, is the more high-end of the two, being an all-villa resort that probably comes closest to rivalling the Aman. Whilst my heart was obviously set on Amanjiwo, I hope to review a Plataran resort at some point in the future.

Surakarta (Solo)
Unlike Yogyakarta, Solo has a lot fewer upscale hotel options, with the Alila and the Royal Surakarta Heritage MGallery Collection by Sofitel (what a long name!) being the only two hotels with a ‘five-star’ classification. There are a few other international branded hotels, including a Best Western, a Novotel, an Ibis, and a Swiss-Bel hotel, along with an Aston hotel (a local brand which apparently also operates resorts in Cuba?!). Frankly, it wasn’t hard to select the Alila, despite its significant premium over the MGallery.

I certainly hope you can enjoy reading this report!

Update: We decided to extend our stay in Solo given how lovely the place is, and as such I will also be reviewing The Royal Surakarta Heritage - MGallery Collection by Sofitel. Stay tuned!