The Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta is probably best known within the Hyatt community as its best-value hotel. The hotel itself is old, having been built in 1997; as far as I am aware, it has never been subject to a refurbishment of any sort. As such, it is no surprise that the hotel’s pictures online didn’t give us much confidence about the state of the hotel when I booked it. Despite that, I was also puzzled by the constant and recent positive reviews of the hotel on most hotel review forums. 

Location

Being a so-called ‘city resort’, the Hyatt Regency isn’t actually located within the city limits of Yogyakarta. It is instead located within its outer ring, part of the town of Ngaglik in the Sleman Regency. As such, trips to central Yogyakarta will take around 30-40 minutes by car, and walking there is likely unrealistic. However, that makes the hotel very useful when heading to the Borobudur or Prambanan temples as one will not have to go through the traffic-ridden Yogyakarta city centre.  The reputable Blue Bird taxis are plentiful at the hotel and they cost around IDR40,000 (~GBP2, US$2.65) to the city.

Airport Transfer

Before arrival, we booked an airport transfer for IDR350,000 (~GBP18, US$23), which didn’t seem outrageous for a hotel car. After all, the new Yogyakarta International Airport is a long drive from the city, being 1.5 hours away from the hotel.

Sadly, once I exited the baggage claim and got to Arrivals, our driver was nowhere to be seen. We had to circle the arrivals area several times before relenting and contacting the hotel. It was then that we received a call from our driver who said he is waiting for us at the airport’s Golden Bird car rental booth. 

There, we found our driver tucked in a corner, barely holding up the paper Hyatt Regency sign, which was virtually impossible to see upon exiting the baggage claim. Only then did we realise that the hotel has outsourced all transportation to this company (without any advance notification). We thought this was a very poor start to our journey.

Arrival and Check-in

Upon arrival, our luggage was promptly taken care of by the hotel’s many porters. We were then walked down the exterior corridor inside to the reception desk where our agent processed our registration. Is it me or does this look a lot like Grand Hyatt Bali?

After signing a few forms, she invited us to take a seat and served a fruity, basil-seed-embedded welcome drink. Understandably, we were then told that the room was not ready, since we arrived before the check-in time. Yet, we were confusingly advised that early check-in is available for a fee.

Knowing, that we decided to leave the hotel to get lunch and thus, called for a taxi. Disappointingly, once we were in the taxi, another member of staff ran up to us to inform us that our room was suddenly available. Hmm… Coincidence or not, I didn’t think that our arrival experience was an especially pleasant one.

Our Regency Twin Room

After returning from the city, we went back to the reception and collected our keys before heading down a corridor to the lifts. For one, I really liked the hotel’s glass lifts, which viewed the hotel’s beautiful and sprawling atrium (the 90s was such a great decade for architecture!). 

Bedroom

Now, whereas the hotel’s lobby looked very nice and upmarket, the rooms looked a lot more outdated. For one, the hotel’s age started to show with the corridor leading to the room. The carpeting looked very old but was otherwise well-kept. We entered our room to find it likewise outdated but in pristine condition. 

Everything about the room was clean and there was surprisingly no obvious wear and tear. The room was bright during the day, I thought of it to be much nicer in real life than it looked in pictures. At its advertised 30 sqm, the Regency Room isn’t anything to write home about. The room features two beds facing a console and is equipped with a small desk and a flat-screen television.

Outside, we had a pleasant view of the hotel’s expansive gardens, as well as its unique facade inspired by the Borobudur Temple.

There was also a welcome amenity consisting of two wingkos, which is a local confection made from coconut. Interestingly, the hotel also left two cups of instant noodles as a complimentary offering – definitely the first time I’ve seen anything like this!

Bathroom

The room’s retro theme continued onto the glazed-tiled bathroom, which features a bathtub and shower combination popular in the 90s. Whilst the bathroom also looked very outdated, it was likewise very clean and well-maintained. However, I did find the bath amenities from ‘Budi Jaya Amenities’ to be poor in quality.

Dining

Dinner

Given the hotel’s distance from the city, we decided to take dinner at the hotel for one night. We went to the hotel’s all-day dining restaurant, Kemangi Bistro, which is also where breakfast is served.

We ordered a Lobster Hotstone (which was prominently advertised) for what seemed like great value IDR250,000 (~GBP13, US$17) and an anchovy pizza for IDR100,000 (~GBP5, US$6.6).

The lobster was rather chewy and pretty much devoid of meat apart from its tail. Furthermore, both the lobster’s accompanying butter sauce and the pizza were very salt-laden, sadly.

Breakfast

Breakfast wasn’t included in our rate, so we paid IDR118,000 (~GBP6, US$7.8) per person to partake in this meal. For what it’s worth, the price is an incredible value compared to what is offered. Interestingly booking a breakfast-inclusive rate would’ve cost more than simply paying for it at the hotel. Breakfast was likewise served at the Kemangi Bistro, and was essentially a staffed buffet offering.

The breakfast selection was expansive and the number of buffet stations flowed outdoors. As you would expect from a large and old multinational hotel, there was the typical spread of Continental Breakfast choices, as well as the mandatory egg and pancake stations.

In addition, however, were a lot more local options, so much so that it felt more like a brunch offering. These ranged from local Yogyakartan dishes like Gudeg, to other Indonesian dishes like Nasi Goreng, Soto Ayam, and more.

I tried several dishes and whilst they mostly tasted fine, most of them were sadly only kept lukewarm. In addition, there was someone who went around with a platter of warm croissants and offered it to guests. This was a nice touch, although it merely tasted okay. Regardless, I thought that the breakfast was of phenomenal value, given the relatively wide array of options. 

Hotel Grounds and Amenities

According to its website, the Hyatt Regency spans over 22 hectares, which I thought was very impressive for a hotel near the city. Of this, the hotel is home to an expansive pool, as well as a large and beautiful garden, and a golf course.

For one, I adore the sense of place imbued into the garden and landscaping of the hotel. In addition to the temple-like exterior of the hotel, its surrounding gardens also take many cues from many of the ancient temples scattered throughout Central Java.

In addition, there are also facilities for an ATV off-road quad-bike track, as well as a recreational fishing pond. Evidently, however, much of the 22 hectares is taken by the sprawling 9-hole golf course, as the hotel building and its facilities are limited to one corner.

Pool

Immediately behind the hotel is the pool complex, which includes multi-leveled pools that flow into each other. Like the gardens, the pool was equally beautiful and reminded me a lot of the pools at Grand Hyatt Bali and Hyatt Regency Bali. However, I did think that the bright blue pool tiles were already starting to look outdated.

For one, I really liked how the hotel’ temple ruins theme continued to the pool area. As a kid, this pool would probably have felt very fun and adventurous. To make things even better, families travelling with children would be delighted to know that the hotel has two waterslides. In particular, there’s a 70 metre water slide that goes through one of the ‘temple ruins’ into the pool.

Gymnasium

Finally, there is also a small gymnasium tucked at one backside corner behind the pool area. Like the rest of the hotel, the gymnasium looks very outdated, although its equipment still looked serviceable.

Service

The service at Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta was fine but nothing special. We had several communication mishaps with the hotel, like what happened during our arrival. Despite that, nothing was serious or bad. The staff were overall, well-intentioned and friendly, as one would expect in Java. What I liked was the staff’s promptness whenever we requested anything, like extra drinking water or whatnot. 

Verdict

Overall, despite the hotel’s shortcomings, I thought nothing could beat its value for a Hyatt hotel. Everything was reasonably priced, and for a clean and serviced room, I had no complaints. Note, however, that the hotel’s pool and restaurant areas are almost always packed with families during the day.

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