Yogyakarta hotels gear up for year-end festivities

Yogyakarta hotels gear up for year-end festivities

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

As the new year, 2004, is looming, star-rated hotels in
Yogyakarta are busy preparing programs for year-end festivities,
hoping to attract as many guests as possible during the holiday
season.

Five-star rated Yogyakarta Hyatt Regency on Jl.
Palagan Tentara Pelajar, for example, is offering a
selection of New Year celebration programs for the
whole week, ahead and after New Year's day, under the theme
Touches of Flowers.

"We will decorate every corner of the hotel with glorious
colorful fresh flowers for the whole week, starting from Dec. 29,
2003 until the end of the first week of 2004," the hotel's public
relations officer Jeni Handayani Ratnasari said.

To make the decorations around the hotel unique, imported
flowers Point Sentiak and Kastuba from the Netherlands will be
included in their arrangements.

Special themes, according to Jeni, have also been prepared for
the buffet menus from Dec. 29, 2003 to Jan. 4, 2004. They include
Sumatra Food Fair, Taste of Asia Buffet, New Year's Buffet,
International Buffet, Mongolian Buffet, Night Market
with Touches of Flowers, and Spice Route of Java-Bali.

Yogyakarta Sheraton Mustika Resort and Spa, similarly,
is offering a special gala dinner and entertainment
under the central theme of Sense of Zen at its Grand Mataram
Ballroom with Ferrari red and black as the dominating colors for
the celebration.

Unlike Hyatt, the flower decorations at Sheraton will be
pulled back to a minimum during the New Year's Eve celebration.

According to Sheraton Mustika's public relations manager
Bambang WS, the simplicity of the arrangements will in fact match
the celebration's central theme that incorporates elements of
purity, harmony, simplicity, serenity, and peace.

Other New Year's Eve programs at Sheraton Mustika include the
Midnight Countdown program at Sasono Suko Lounge from 10 p.m. to
1.30 p.m., and New Year's Eve dinner at Sasono Hondrowino
Restaurant offering an international style buffet. The former is
offered for Rp 45,000++ per person (plus a free soft drink or
draught beer), while the later is offered for Rp 175,000++ per
adult or Rp 99,000 per child (under 12 years of age).

A Vegetarian Buffet Corner will also be available at the
Sasono Hondrowino for Rp 100,000++ per person.

A New Year's Eve celebration of a different nature is
on offer at the city's four-star rated Yogyakarta
Saphir Hotel. Located on Jl. Laksda Adisucipto, the
hotel is offering a New Year's celebration program under
the theme of Let's Get the Soul of Country on Country Fiesta.

"What we offer is completely different from other hotels
because everything, including the venue, the food, the band,
the boot-dancers, and the decorations, are all to be
arranged to match with the very soul of country music,"
Yogyakarta Saphir's public relations officer Ike Wahyu
said.

The venue, for example, which is the hotel's Malioboro
Ballroom, will be turned into a cowboy bar.

Upon entering the venue guests will be given the opportunity
to engage in various cowboy-style activities like panco
(arm-wrestling), pinball, "shoot the sheriff", or getting a
temporary tattoo.

For the gala dinner, which will be served at the Promenade
Coffee Shop, the hotel will prepare a Mexican style buffet. The
dishes on offer, according to Ike, will include Sopa de tortilla,
Holy Guacamole, Mexican rice, Chicken enchiladas with chile
conguesto, Steak ranchero, and Chili Con carne.

Novotel, another four-star rated hotel on Jl. Jend.
Sudirman, has also prepared a special program to
celebrate the coming of the 2004 new year titled
Pirates of the Caribbean.

According to Yogyakarta Novotel's public relations
manager Erny Kusmastuti, the entertainment program would be held
on a stage set up over the hotel's swimming pool to create
Caribbean scenery, along with its tropical garden, "exotic sea
and pirates". Dynamic music will enhance the atmosphere with
noted local master of ceremonies Gareng
Rakasiwi to ensure that the party is a roaring success.

Novotel is also offering a special package of Rp
1,550,000 for two people, including two-night's stay
at its Superior Room, breakfast, gala dinner, and the
New Year's Eve party. Another package of Rp 735,000 is
also offered for two people. The package will include
one-night's stay at the hotel's Superior Room,
breakfast, and gala dinner.