Hotel Majapahit gets award

SURABAYA, East Java: Hotel Majapahit, a chain of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, has received an architectural award for the preservation of the historical values of its building.

The Architecture Preservation of a Historical Building award was presented by the mayor of Surabaya at a ceremony in conjunction with the city's 703rd anniversary on May 31.

The award, handed over to Harry Soesilo of Sekar Group, the Indonesian owner of the hotel, was established by the mayor in collaboration with the Association of Indonesian Architects in Surabaya and Paguyuban Surabaya, an association of Surabaya elders.

"With so many historical buildings in Surabaya, it is a great honor to win such recognition for the restoration of Hotel Majapahit," said Frank Stocek, general manager of the hotel.

The hotel, which was originally the city's social center, was built in 1910 by the Sarkies family, who also built Raffles, The Strand and The Eastern & Oriental hotels.

The building was also known as the site of Indonesia's "Flag Incident" which triggered the independence revolution in 1945. (24)