Hotel mixes old and modern touches
Hotel mixes old and modern touches
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
While tourism in Yogyakarta has yet to return to its pre-1998
peaks, a four-star hotel is ready to open its doors on Sunday --
and give visitors the experience of an entirely different age.
Located in the heart of the city, close to the ancient Tugu
crossroads, the Mercure Grand Phoenix Yogyakarta mixes history
with modern technology.
The building retains its original front wing and the early
20th century European architecture of its rear wing. The hotel is
furnished with modern facilities including Internet connections
in each of its 143 rooms.
The interior design continues the concept, says Xavier
Cappelut, the hotel's general manager.
"We use a lot of traditional ornaments, such as batik cloth,
canting (a small textile waxer used in batik-making), and batik
stamps to decorate the rooms, while at the same time we offer
modern facilities and services."
The hotel's heritage areas sit at its heart where its business
activities are also centralized. There is an open-air terraced
lounge offering Javanese traditional drinks and snacks, a
restaurant offering Asian fusion food, boutiques, and a bar.
Since taking over the ownership of the hotel, previously known
as the Yogyakarta Phoenix Heritage, Mercure has spent six months
renovating most of the interiors, Cappelut says.
A total of 78 additional rooms were made by utilizing existing
areas never used by the old management.
He expressed optimism the hotel would be able to achieve a
target of 62 percent occupancy when it was fully operational.
"We are very optimistic with the target because this hotel is
designed for the domestic market."
Domestic visitors were a good market for Yogyakarta,
especially since the ancient city was developing and becoming a
nicer place for doing business, he said.
"Yogya is becoming a famous city for banquets, for meetings.
It offers a lot of tourist attractions and destinations including
the Prambanan and Borobudur temples, and the palace. It has also
become more and more reachable with flight connections."
Yogyakarta's Adisucipto Airport will have its first
international connection to Kuala Lumpur with national flag
carrier Garuda starting on Feb. 21.
On March 7, Malaysian carrier Malaysian Airlines will begin
flying from Kuala Lumpur. On the same day, Garuda will make its
first Yogyakarta-Singapore flight.
It is expected more tourists, especially foreigners, will
come to the city for holidays and business.
Yogyakarta had earlier depended on Bali and Jakarta for its
foreign tourists, which meant it was affected when these
destinations experienced downturns.
The grand opening of the Mercure Grand Phoenix will take place
in April.
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
While tourism in Yogyakarta has yet to return to its pre-1998
peaks, a four-star hotel is ready to open its doors on Sunday --
and give visitors the experience of an entirely different age.
Located in the heart of the city, close to the ancient Tugu
crossroads, the Mercure Grand Phoenix Yogyakarta mixes history
with modern technology.
The building retains its original front wing and the early
20th century European architecture of its rear wing. The hotel is
furnished with modern facilities including Internet connections
in each of its 143 rooms.
The interior design continues the concept, says Xavier
Cappelut, the hotel's general manager.
"We use a lot of traditional ornaments, such as batik cloth,
canting (a small textile waxer used in batik-making), and batik
stamps to decorate the rooms, while at the same time we offer
modern facilities and services."
The hotel's heritage areas sit at its heart where its business
activities are also centralized. There is an open-air terraced
lounge offering Javanese traditional drinks and snacks, a
restaurant offering Asian fusion food, boutiques, and a bar.
Since taking over the ownership of the hotel, previously known
as the Yogyakarta Phoenix Heritage, Mercure has spent six months
renovating most of the interiors, Cappelut says.
A total of 78 additional rooms were made by utilizing existing
areas never used by the old management.
He expressed optimism the hotel would be able to achieve a
target of 62 percent occupancy when it was fully operational.
"We are very optimistic with the target because this hotel is
designed for the domestic market."
Domestic visitors were a good market for Yogyakarta,
especially since the ancient city was developing and becoming a
nicer place for doing business, he said.
"Yogya is becoming a famous city for banquets, for meetings.
It offers a lot of tourist attractions and destinations including
the Prambanan and Borobudur temples, and the palace. It has also
become more and more reachable with flight connections."
Yogyakarta's Adisucipto Airport will have its first
international connection to Kuala Lumpur with national flag
carrier Garuda starting on Feb. 21.
On March 7, Malaysian carrier Malaysian Airlines will begin
flying from Kuala Lumpur. On the same day, Garuda will make its
first Yogyakarta-Singapore flight.
It is expected more tourists, especially foreigners, will
come to the city for holidays and business.
Yogyakarta had earlier depended on Bali and Jakarta for its
foreign tourists, which meant it was affected when these
destinations experienced downturns.
The grand opening of the Mercure Grand Phoenix will take place
in April.