The main draw for staying in this hotel is its location. This is the only hotel in this area that is located inside the grounds of Borobudur. It also means guests staying in this hotel gets unlimited entry to Borobudur Temple at any time of the day as long as the temple is open. Other then the proximity to the temple, there is no other incentive of staying here. The hotel is rather far from restaurants and the main town of Magelang. This means patrons who stay here would need to make their arrangements for transport to the town. Otherwise one would have to dine in the hotel. The hotel also has an auditorium that shows a film that educates patrons of the Borobudur temple and the carvings on it.
Hotel Signage
Gardens in the hotel grounds
One can see Borobudur Temple from the hotel grounds
There are several such statues around in the hotel grounds
The Room
All the rooms in the hotel are located on the ground floor. The rooms do not come with a card reader and key cards, they used traditional keys to lock the door. The room that we were assigned is room 19.
Room number on the door of the room
Sleeping Area
Upon entering the room, a huge sleeping place greeted us. The decoration of the room looks pretty aged but functional. The room in this hotel is rather simply decorated and all the furniture shout of functionality. There isn’t any piece that is placed inside the room just for decoration, other than a pictorial book which introduces Borobudur. The room we were assigned is a 3 bedded room, which can accommodate up to 3 persons. 2 beds were placed side by side, located to the right of the main door, and the other right in front of the door. There are side tables beside each bed and power points are plentiful in the room. The sleep quality on the bed is decent and is good enough for the guest to rest for the night. Just before the lone bed opposite the front door, a TV was placed for some basic entertainment for guests.
Single bed in the room
Main door and TV in the room
The 2 single beds on the right of the main door
Bathroom
The bathroom is simply furnished as well. Other then the toilet bowl, there is a small bathtub in the bathroom, with shower head. The bathtub doubles up as the showering area in the bathroom. Beside the bathroom is a small sink.
Aged but functional bathroom
Bath amenities are provided by the hotel, which is stowed on an oldish looking shelf by the door to the bathroom. The hotel provides the standard shower gel, shampoo and conditioner as well as toothbrush and toothpaste for the convenience of guests.
Bath amenities
Rear Porch
To the left of the lone bed is another door that leads to the rear porch of the room. This is a small area for guests to relax out in the open. This area is where one would find 2 wooden chairs and a small coffee table. This area also doubles up as a smoking area for guests and opens up to a shared garden in the hotel grounds.
Rear Porch of the room
Rear entrance to the room
As this is a 4-star hotel, it does not come with a swimming pool for guests to relax in.
Service
The service in the hotel is reasonable, however, one would not be accorded with the standards of a 5-star hotel. The staffs are responsive but do not seem to go all out to make sure that guests’ needs are being taken care of. Having said that, guests would be served with a welcome drink upon arrival on the hotel grounds, while the staffs prepare to check one in.
Welcome drink for guests checking in
Overall
The rooms in the hotel are aged but functional. Despite the aged furnishings, there is nothing in the room that is broken or malfunction. The sleep quality on the bed is decent and does its job of providing guests rest for nights. The service is decent but not impressive. It seems that the selling point of this hotel is not on the hardware or the service, but its proximity to Borobudur Temple. If being close to the temple is a primary consideration, this hotel will be a perfect choice. However if one is particular about comfort and the decor of the room as well as service, one should look elsewhere.
