Originally Posted by
clubeurope
Introduction Opened in 2015, Alila Solo is likely the most 'luxurious' and consequentially, the priciest hotel in the city. The city's only other hotel with a 5-star classification would be 'The Royal Surakarta Heritage MGallery Collection by Sofitel', which charges half the rate of Alila's. As its name suggests, the hotel is part of the upmarket Alila brand of hotels that now belongs to Hyatt. Like many chains, however, Alila has a very variable standard of hotels, from the high-end Alila Villas Uluwatu in Bali to the comparatively uninspiring Alila Bangsar in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Unlike many chains though, Alila does not have many hotels. We booked a standard room for around IDR1,100,000 (~£60) a night, including breakfast. As far as I could see, there isn't any discernible difference in size or design between standard and deluxe rooms, although the latter category includes nightly turn-down service. Location The hotel is easily identifiable, given its unusual architecture and being the tallest building in the city. That said, the hotel is actually located away from the city's central district and as such, further away from many of Solo's sites to see. The city centre is 15-20 minutes away by car, making the hotel not ideal for those wishing to explore the city on foot. There is, however, a bus stop in front of the hotel that goes into the city, but its timing isn't too convenient. Alila Solo exterior Check In There is a small security check upon arrival at the hotel's lobby. I thought the design of the lobby is quite interesting, featuring an enormous rolling artwork that spanned the entire lobby. I wasn't particularly fond of the design, but it was quite impressive nevertheless.Alila Solo lobbyThe hotel's many porters promptly took care of our luggage and whisked us to the reception. We were promptly checked in by the friendly agent and handed keys to our room on the 14th floor. As such, this was a very straightforward check-in experience.Alila Solo lobby Room We reached our room around the same time our luggage is delivered; I appreciated how quickly our luggage was delivered despite the lobby being rather busy. Our standard room is advertised to be 40sqm, although the space didn't seem very proportionally spaced. The design is bright and modern but I found it to be rather uninspiring in terms of design. Moreover, I thought that the use of wood veneer panels and furniture, and the wall print just cheapened the look of the room. Furthermore, at only 6 years old, wear and tear are a bit more obvious; there were a few small stains in the cloth wall panels, and small chips in the veneer furniture. Alila Solo standard roomThe room is otherwise, very clean, and modern touches like the sizeable smart television, as well as the numerous well-placed universal power outlets, made the room especially convenient. Unlike at the Yogyakarta Hyatt, however, the room was devoid of any welcome amenities (not that we expected any).Alila Solo standard roomAlila Solo standard roomThe bathroom is decently sized, but is dim and has a very oversized shower. The bathroom could legitimately benefit from more lamps, because should the shade be pulled down, the bathroom is rather dark. Alila Solo bathroomBath amenities were Alila-branded, although they appeared distinct from the Alila-living amenities offered at the pricier Alilas. Its fragrance is likewise different from those that we had at Alila Villas Uluwatu, and seemed much less pleasant in terms of quality.Alila Solo bathroomAlila Solo toiletAlila Solo view from room.There were multiple blackouts (we counted 11) on the first night of our stay, which made it hard to sleep that night. Disappointingly, there was a distinct lack of communication or proactive apology on the part of the hotel for this inconvenience. Likewise, the hotel's wifi is frustrating, given the need to log-in again whenever one gets disconnected from the network. Dining We only dined at the hotel for breakfast, which was served between 06.00 to 10.00 at Epice Restaurant at the lobby level. The selection consists of an extensive staffed buffet of Western and Asian food. I was very impressed with the multitude of food on offer; there was the usual egg station, as well as a wide selection of local and international food, with various types of rice dishes, soups, porridges, congee, dim sum, sandwiches, salads, and desserts (they surprisingly had ice cream as well, if that's your thing). The selection also rotates every day. Alila Solo Epice breakfast beverage stationAlila Solo Epice breakfast egg stationAlila Solo Epice breakfast congee and dim sum stationAlila Solo Epice breakfast rice dishes and fritters stationAlila Solo Epice breakfast porridge stationAlila Solo Epice breakfast noodles stationAlila Solo Epice breakfast pastriesAlila Solo Epice breakfast cakesAlila Solo Epice breakfast ice cream stationI sampled a few of the dishes, and they were edible and mostly tasted decent but not amazing. Everything I had mostly tasted mediocre, although their local fritters were very good. Alila Solo Epice breakfast noodlesAlila Solo Epice breakfast frittersWhat most surprised me was how crowded the restaurant was on both days of our stay, no matter how early we went. I frankly haven't seen a hotel restaurant so packed in the past two years. I hope this is an omen of the world's recovery from the pandemic. Amenities The hotel has a sizeable pool, as well as a large deck with many lounge chairs and sofas. Unfortunately, the pool didn't look very inviting, and many of the chairs didn't seem very well maintained. The view from the pool area was otherwise very nice though.Alila Solo poolAlila Solo poolAlila Solo pool furnitureThere is also a rather large gymnasium which looked to be in excellent condition, with many types of equipment to choose from. Overall, I think Alila's strongest point is definitely their gymnasiums, which are consistently very good at all of the hotels that I've visited.Alila Solo Gym AlilaAlila Solo Gym AlilaAlila Solo Gym Alil Service I can't comment much about service since our interactions with staff were limited (as is expected at a hotel of this size). However, the staff that we encountered were all friendly and respectful. Overall Overall, I thought that Alila Solo is objectively a nice hotel in Surakarta, although it isn't really anything special. I felt that the rooms, food, and facilities (apart from the gym) were pretty much mediocre; between the hotel's price premium and uncompetitive location, I wouldn't recommend staying here unless one is a Hyatt elite or is collecting nights to maintain/become an elite.