Efata Homestay — Hotel in Java

Efata Homestay is just less than 5 mins walk from Borobudur temple entrance with all the necessary conveniences and lots of restaurants (and street food stalls) a stroll away. My air-conditioned room was clean and comfortable with a private porch overlooking their beautifully maintained garden. ||Just by reading through all their guest reviews on both Tripadvisor and Airbnb would give you an idea of how awesome and fantastic Ika and Yani are as the hosts. From the moment I contacted Ika via whatsapp to enquire about possibility of staying at their place to the end of my stay, my experience has been nothing short of professionalism yet with genuine warmth of heart. ||Ika, Yani and their son Karel greeted me with such a warm welcome and made me feel very comfortable. Through our chat over a cup of tea, Ika tried to find out my itinerary and/or activities that I had planned or had in mind for my stay in Borobudur. I didn’t plan much apart from visiting Borobudur temple and I was more than appreciative that he provided me all the information regarding the local attractions around Borobudur, without any hint or attempt to sell any of the services he could offer.||I mentioned a couple of places that I might be interested in and said that I would leave it to him. I am glad I did! As I was by myself and it was a nice (cloudy) weather, with his motorbike he brought me to visit the local coconut sugar making place, pottery village (you can get your hands dirty and try to make one), local tofu factory and one of his friend’s community free training centre for local village kids - places that one wouldn’t get to experience from those mainstream tourist packages. Of course along the way, with many opportunities to take pictures of real local life and breathtaking scenery of Menoreh hills and paddy fields.||Not much further need mentioning as one can read all the fantastic reviews of Efata Homestay on the web. One thing is certain - Ika is extremely passionate about ensuring that their guests have the best of time during their stay in Borobodur. They do not just offer a room to sleep, but most importantly, a genuine local experience and hospitality.. ||I am really grateful for their open hearts sharing a part of their life (and the local community) with me while I was...

Overall, for those who only read the first two sentences of the review:

If you are looking for a genuine Indonesian experience and not another touristy stay to visit Borobudur, EFATA HOMESTAY IS THE PLACE TO GO!

Personally, I would give 6 stars, if possible.

My girlfriend and me stayed at Efata Homestay for 3 nights to visit Candi Borobudur and the surrounding area.

Ika and his family opened their home and let us be part of an excellent local experience.

Ika was available at all times and not only provided useful tips on sights and places to visit, but also personally showed us around the town of Borobudur. He even drove us to Borobudur Temple at 4am and handled all administrative tasks (e.g. tickets etc.).

Every morning we woke up to a healthy breakfast with local specialties prepared by Ika‘s wife so that we could start the day off fresh.

Room and bathroom were in squeaky clean state, nothing was left to be asked for.

Overall, such an amazing experience!!!

Thank you so much for making our stay in Borobudur...

Ika and Yani, the owners of Efata Homestay, made us incredibly welcome during our recent visit. We first stayed at Efata in November 2018 and were so impressed with the homeliness of the place that we were keen to return but, alas, Covid got in the way, so it has been 5-years since our initial visit. Ika and Yani don't look a day older and the place is just as welcoming as it was on our first visit. Yani cooks a delicious breakfast - all local recipes (none of the staple 'banana pancakes' that seem ubiquitous at many homestays. Ika always has somewhere off the beaten track to take guests and we always feel part of the family.

Worth noting that there is a mosque close by, so there is the inevitable call to morning prayer at 4am, but this is common across Indonesia and Malaysia and, for us at least, is part of the cultural difference that makes SE Asia so...