Majapahit Mandarin, the boutique hotel of Surabaya

Majapahit Mandarin, the boutique hotel of Surabaya

By Sirikit Syah

SURABAYA, East Java (JP): If it is the Raffles in Singapore,
then it is the Majapahit in Indonesia. That's what people say
about the glamorous boutique hotel in Surabaya. Indeed, the
founders of both hotels were father and son, according to a hotel
officer.

During the Dutch colonial period, the Sarkies family from
Armenia was famous for its businesses across Southeast Asia. They
were called "The Sarkies Empire". Among their interests were the
Raffles Hotel in Singapore, the Strand Hotel in Burma, the
Eastern & Oriental in Penang, Malaysia, and the Sarkies and
Oranje hotels in Surabaya, Yudy Rizard, public relations and
marketing services manager of the Surabaya hotel said.

The Sarkies Hotel on Jl. Embong Malang, which was demolished
last year, has been replaced by the Surabaya Sheraton in the
Plaza Tunjungan UV complex, while the Oranje Hotel, or L.M.S.
(from Lucas Martin Sarkies, the founder), has been bought and
renovated by the Sekar Group, which appointed the Mandarin
Oriental Group to manage the property.

It is not only the Majapahit Hotel building which is
historical. The Oranje Hotel was built in 1910 in the heart of
Surabaya, known as Tunjungan. In 1936, the hotel's facade was
extended in the art deco style. In 1942, in the middle of World
War II, the hotel was occupied by the Japanese. They used it as a
military barracks and temporary prison camp for Dutch women and
children who were to be relocated to other camps in Central Java.
During the Japanese occupation, the hotel was named Yamato Hoteru
or Hotel Yamato.

Indonesia declared its independence on Aug. 17, 1945. But on
Sept. 19 of the same year, a Dutch red, white and blue flag was
raised at Hotel Yamato after being recaptured by the Dutch.

The flag-raising angered many Surabayans. By 6:30 a.m. the
following day, a hostile crowd had gathered in front of the
hotel. The people considered the raising of the Dutch flag an
insult to Indonesia after the proclamation of independence.
Eventually, they tore the blue stripe from the bottom of the
flag, turning it into Indonesia's red and white flag, and then
sang the national anthem Indonesia Raya.

The incident was the start of a revolution in Surabaya, which
ended heroically on Nov. 10, when Britain's General Malaby was
killed near Jembatan Merah. The young people of Surabaya, armed
only with sharpened bamboo sticks, managed to drive the Dutch
troops and their allies from Surabaya.

For the next few months, the hotel was called Hotel Merdeka or
Liberty Hotel.

After the chaos subsided in 1946, the hotel was again managed
by its original owners, the Sarkies family, and its name was
changed to L.M.S. In 1969, the hotel was bought by Mantrust
Holding Company, which renamed it the Majapahit Hotel.

On account of strong competition in the following years, and
perhaps because of a lack of commitment, the hotel was not well-
managed and became notorious for being a "short-time" hotel. In
1993, the Sekar Group, an Indonesian conglomerate specializing in
food production, bought the hotel and invested US$34 million in
its restoration.

The hotel is now 75 percent owned by the Sekar Group and 25
percent by Mandarin Oriental.

The most interesting story about the history of the hotel is
how the facts about it were collected.

Yudy Rizard, who spent five years in the Netherlands before
joining the Majapahit Hotel, said: "I collected the historical
data from 1994 backwards. I first met the person from Mantrust,
who previously owned the hotel. From him, I traced the
whereabouts of the Sarkies family. I investigated the hotel's
history and found out that it was built in 1910 by Lucas Martin
Sarkies."

Yudy then went to the Netherlands, this time as a historian.
There, he visited a library, logged onto the Net and entered the
name "Sarkies".

"It was hard to believe. Everything about the family and the
hotel was there," Yudy said excitedly.

He found out that the founder of the hotel had died and was
buried in Kembang Kuning Graveyard in Surabaya. When he visited
the graveyard, he felt sorry for the man because his grave was
uncared for and seemed to have been forgotten.

Yudy also traced the other Sarkies brother who founded the
demolished Sarkies Hotel in Surabaya. The man had died, but his
son was still alive. He was invited to the grand opening of the
Majapahit Mandarin Oriental last January.

Another son of the Sarkies lived with his family in Teheran.
"I visited them. Unfortunately, they couldn't come to Surabaya,"
Yudy said.

Yudy said he also found out that Kartika Wijaya, now a fine
hotel in Batu, a resort area in Malang, East Java, was a
recreation home owned by the Sarkies family.

Besides tracing the history, Yudy also succeeded in collecting
memorabilia related to the Majapahit. It has now become a very
valuable collection. "I want to write a book about this. The book
will be a history of the hotel business in Surabaya and about the
Sarkies family." said Yudy, aged 30, who recently won the Most
Outstanding Mandarin Oriental Group PR executive award of 1996.

Oasis

Don't be deceived by the look of the hotel's facade. It is not
very attractive. "We can't do much here. We want to preserve it
as it is," Yudy explained.

But once inside, you will take a deep breath. The hotel is
only two stories, with every room facing the large garden in the
center. No room faces another room or bare walls. It is very
refreshing and relaxing. The colonial architecture makes you feel
that you are not in Surabaya. It is as if you are somewhere in
Europe.

According to Yudy, from the hotel's total restoration cost of
US$34 million, $400,000 went to Sarkies, a seafood restaurant
designed as a 1920s Shanghai teahouse.

The hotel is a classic from top to bottom. It even has
colonial-style toilets. Most of the floors, and the colorful
glass in the windows, doors, partitions, ceiling and wood panels
have been preserved or restored to their original state. The
famous ballroom, with a majestic staircase in the center of the
room, remains as it always was, only more beautiful. "We can't
expand the room, since that would destroy its originality. It can
only accommodate 200 guests," explained Yudy.

The most breathtaking aspect of the hotel is the presidential
suite. It is the biggest suite in Asia (perhaps the world), at
about 800 square meters, with three big bedrooms, an office, a
large dining room, a meeting room with a 100-guest capacity, a
maid's corner, a kitchen, three bathrooms and triple-balconied
verandahs facing the greenery of the vast garden.

Among the guests who have already enjoyed the luxury are the
president of Singapore, Ong Teng Cheong, and businesswoman Siti
Hardiyanti Rukmana, better-known as Mbak Tutut.

Besides the antiques, the hotel also offers modernity. It has
a nice swimming pool, a fitness center complete with a whirlpool,
sauna and massage rooms. It has three fine restaurants -- Indigo,
Shima and Sarkies. A business center is now under construction.

"The most difficult thing for us is to gain back the hotel's
reputation after a short period of being a second-class hotel,"
said Yudy.

But the management should be happy because Minister of
Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave wrote in a guest
book about the hotel: "A star is born. Excellent for details."