“The hotel is stunning in its beauty. Really one of the most attractive- on- the- inside hotels I have ever been in, with light, rock, water, plantings and museum- quality antiques and artistic pieces which bring the history and culture of Java to life. There are non- Java items too, among them a 3,200 year- old Shang Dynasty sculpture.
After a very friendly check- in (there is nothing like an Indonesian smile), we were shown to room 222, a large room with a four- post bed adorned with beautiful wood carvings. There was an in- room safe, mini- fridge with Bintang beers and a large work desk with convenient desk- height power outlets. The room was rich with teak wood and the wood floors were nice underfoot. If you don’t like going barefoot they provide nice batik slippers. Plenty of closet / hanger space and room for luggage too, much appreciated.
The room was very quiet, except when the day- long procession of banner- waving motor scooters celebrating the local Arema football heroes went constantly past the hotel! It was great fun watching the procession from the coffee house and sipping on Bintangs..
The toilet was in a separate room from the shower room. The toilet had a built- in bidet feature, not exactly like the Toto Washlet you might be familiar with– this was rather a simple affair with a curved water tube and a manual faucet handle on the side. It worked just fine. There is also a small hands- washing sink there.
The shower / tub was huge, round, and of hammered metal. You could fit more than two adults in the tub (if you wished.) The sink was also hammered metal and had a ringing sound as the water dribbled in, very nice.
The bedding was very comfortable and we slept soundly.
The breakfast menu featured American, Indonesian, Chinese, Malang Street Food, Healthy and “Romantic” options. I enjoyed the fried egg covered with melted cheese on top of ham / croissant. The oatmeal included fresh fruit and crispy coconut on top, delicious. The coffee comes from their own Java coffee plantation. Service was great.
The restaurant was excellent. It was beautiful, with indoor / outdoor seating and separated from the pool by plants. The menu was extensive: 170 regular food items – not counting drinks – plus a special menu with another 12 or so items. Indonesian, Dutch, Italian, Malang Street Food, Chinese, sandwiches, salads, Aussie and local steaks, from Wagyu to basic. Our food was excellent. The restaurant is open 24 hours, so when we needed to have breakfast at 05:30 on our departure day, there was no issue at all. All the early Mt. Bromo hikers can fill up before the climb.
The location is very good, a short 450m from the train station (you can take the Malioboro Express from Jogja in comfort), 320m from the Bird Market / Flower Market and 1.4km from the very impressive and beautiful boulevard of Dutch Colonial houses (and many nice ones leading up to it. Malang is at 450m altitude and situated between mountains gets nice breezes channeled through which are cooler and less humid than central Java.
We took a hotel- sponsored bike tour. It was on a Sunday, and they close many of the most attractive boulevards to auto traffic, so we had a very pleasant ride through parts of Malang we would never have made it to on our own. The beautiful Dutch Colonial homes were something to see, nestled amongst palm trees and lush plantings. Our tour guide, Sigit, made sure that we were safe at all times (no small thing in Indo city traffic!) and knew the area very well. The bikes were in good condition and they had loaner helmets.
The hotel has my highest recommendation.”