Jogja Trip - The Phoenix Hotel

TripAdvisor has been the best advisor when it comes to travelling - at least for me.

I got to know the site when I was planning itinerary for my Seoul trip last year, and it has been my go-to website for any travel-related stuff, and I can't agree more that it is an AWESOME community site!

So, of course while I was looking for hotels in Jogja, I once again turned to TripAdvisor for some advice, and there were 3 hotels that piqued my interest.

They are The Phoenix Hotel, Royal Ambarukmo Hotel, and Sheraton Mustika Resort and Spa; And this very post is dedicated for The Phoenix Hotel.

I've always been fond of 'old' and vintage stuff, whether it's a building, restaurant, cafe, furnitures, stationery, bags, etc - that's why I have a huge interest in history as well. So when I first saw the pictures posted in TripAdvisor or in the hotel's website, I immediately fell in love with this hotel...

The colonial-style building and the classic furnitures mixture of Dutch and traditional Javanese style... They were like calling and inviting me to come!

It was decided almost instantly that I had to stay in that hotel no matter what!

lounge next to the lobby - love the decor!

lounge next to the lobby - love the decor!

We were greeted by a very kind and polite receptionist, and when I asked to make sure that we got the Pool View room, he said that he would upgrade our deluxe room to a Junior Suite!

And my oh my, the room was very very nice! It's my first hotel room that I have ever stayed in that comes with a separate living room, 2 televisions (21" in the living room, and 32" in the bedroom), a bathroom with both bathtub and shower room, and a nice coffee machine.

living room - with 21" TV and coffee machine

2 wardrobes by the door - with a safety deposit box

bedroom

armchair, 32" TV, fridge (inside the cupboard)

bathroom - bathtub and vanity area

bathroom - shower room

view of the pool from our balcony

sunbed by the pool - towels provided on each of them

view of the pool at night

In the morning, we took a little walk to the pool before going to the restaurant for breakfast. There are few display cabinet with a classic collection of what I presumed from a private collection of the hotel's owner. The decor is classy, elegant, charming with a touch of Dutch-Javanese style which I can't seem to stop admiring.

pool terrace

outdoor seats in restaurant

The breakfast was pretty good too. There is a wide variety of breakfast meal available, from the traditional Javanese style, gudeg, jamu, green bean porridge, to Western-style pancake, waffle, toast, sausage, salad, etc. There's also gamelan playing nearby the fountain to entertain the guests. The restaurant employees were also friendly, polite and quick without making us feel rushed - I've met that kind of waiters and it irritated me to the point I wanted to tell him to back off and let us eat in peace.

After a hearty breakfast, we went back to our room to finish our packing and get ready to Ullen Sentalu. I've been interested to go there once I read the reviews in TripAdvisor - and because I am such a history-geek (the review of Ullen Sentalu will be up soon!).

Overall, I enjoyed our stay in The Phoenix Hotel, it's one of the best hotels I've ever stayed in, and mostly due to the different feeling - there's a feeling of "home" over there. There are a lot of open spaces that allow the air-flow to be fresher than the closed air-con room, it's not a high-rise building - it's a 3-storey building, and of course, because it's a colonial-style building, which I really really like! ^^

By the way, in early evening, there was a knock on our door, and since I didn't order any room service, I wasn't expecting any one at my door at all. It turned out it was a hotel employee checking if there was anything we need or if there was any problem with the room. I've stayed in few 4-5 star hotels before (during my trip to China, Middle-east and Hong Kong - never in Indonesia though), and this was the first time that a hotel takes a step further in making sure the guest enjoying the stay by actually knocking each room's door and checking if the guest is satisfied with their room. I am truly impressed!

Ah, The Phoenix Hotel, I think we will soon be meeting again...

The Phoenix Hotel

Jl Jenderal Sudirman 9
Yogyakarta 55233
Indonesia
Phone: (62)274-566617
Fax: (62)274-566856