Novotel Suites Yogyakarta Malioboro — Hotel in Yogyakarta

We arrived at the hotel at 14.00, our luggage was dropped off first, and park in the basement. From the basement, we were asked to scan the barcode (which turned out to be impossible because there was no signal in the basement. The lobby interior is modern with dominant brown and white colors and there is a big screen behind the receptionist. In the lobby there is also a seating area, a business center and a concierge. The check-in process is fast. It turned out that we were informed that the room was not ready. The receptionist explained that the BNSL we used for 2 rooms included afternoon tea for 4 pax and dinner for 4 pax. It turns out that Novotel also has quick response with guests who have to wait for their rooms, we are welcome to wait in the waiting lounge on the 7th floor. They provides drinks (tea, coffee, mango juice) and snacks (elephant ears, pukis, banana cake and bikang Ambon). After 1 hour of waiting (at 15.00) we were given a room key for the first room, for the second room it was delivered to our room about half an hour later. The rooms are very spacious equipped with a microwave and sink. Modern interior with carpet floor finishing equipped with sofa bed, coffee table, work table and work chair. There are many sockets, the TV channels are very complete and the size of the TV is very large. Wifi speed is stable and very fast. The minus is that the table next to the mattress is very small so it's not enough for phones and cellphones. The mattress and pillows are very comfortable to sleep on. AC also works well. The shower is complete with a rain shower but towels are only provided with a body towel.

Hotel facilities include a spa, restaurant, pool bar, pool and gym. The gym is not too big and is located on the 10th floor. There are not too many gym equipment. The swimming pool has an adult pool and kids pool. When going to the pool there is a view that should be covered better so that guests do not see the water reservoir and water filter. We enjoyed afternoon tea at the pool bar. For tea, the use the brand twinnings with chamomile, English breakfast, peppermint, or jasmine green tea variants. For coffee there are a choice of espresso, Americano or cappuccino. For snacks provided pandan cake, chocolate cake and fried cassava. Later, we have dinner at the hotel and are offered a menu of Javanese fried noodles, podoromo pasta, beef sei rice, green Lombok chicken rice, kampong fried rice. We chose Lombok green chicken rice, fried noodles and beef sei. For the standard taste and there is a part of the menu, the papaya leaves are also very salty. The next morning we had breakfast at the restaurant on the 8th floor. At 8 am breakfast there are still many empty seats and at 9 am more even more empty. For taste, I think it's also standard but I quite enjoy it because the menu variants offered are complete. For western, there are sautéed long beans, pasta, potato lyonnaise, baked beans, chicken and beef sausage. Complete bakery pastry plus black glutinous rice porridge and green beans. Fresh slice fruit from pineapple, red watermelon, yellow watermelon, melon, papaya, dragon fruit, other fruits include salak, apples, bananas, oranges. Drinks include cappuccino, tea, kiwi juice, orange juice, soursop juice, guava juice, fresh infused water and coconut infused water, I also saw the waiter make fresh juice but it wasn't on the menu. Other menus include anchovies fried rice, Javanese fried noodles, cassava leaf curry, fried chicken, beef krengseng, green chili chicken, chili overlap, brown rice, white rice, chicken porridge, chicken soup, egg corner, pancakes, pukis, noodles flush, cake, gudeg jogja and kids corner (candy and chocolate in a...

Before I arrived the hotel contacted me via whatsapp asking my arrival time and I thought this was a good gesture. The check-in process went well, and I was very happy to be done at the priority check-in desk.

(Many of Accor's hotel priority check-in desks are currently not working, even before the Pandemic, so I as a platinum member are not satisfied with this situation.)

Road access (for car) is a bit problematic, because Malioboro street is closed between 6 pm - 9 pm or 10 pm and alternative road access is being repaired. However, if you are a hotel guest, you can still access via Malioboro st. during this period with a password, although it is a bit inconvenient as traffic to Malioboro is congested and you need to speak to the police/street officer.

The location itself is very strategic, a few steps to Jalan Malioboro, connected to a mall and in the same complex as the Ibis Hotel.

I got an upgrade to the executive room (I'm platinum member) and the room was spacious but had no view and the ac didn't work well, so they moved me to a junior suite which I think, even though it's one category under the executive room, it's better. This is due to the fact that the room has a window with a view (though not the best view). in the room there is a mini pantry where a chiller, coffee maker and microwave are available.

Moreover, the bathroom in the executive room is small when compared to the junior suite room, even in the junior suite room there is a bathtub. However the cleanliness of the duvet needs to be improved because it was full of old stains, it's a shame because the hotel is not even (seemingly) 3 years old.

The wifi is bad but luckily the cellphone signal from the room is quite good. The tv program is good enough, there are some of my favorite channels too.

Many choices of breakfast but the taste in my opinion is mediocre. Furthermore, I don't like the treatment one of the restaurant attendant who told me to wear gloves even though I wasn't taking food and only talked to the noodle station chef to place an order. The strange thing was that there were other hotel guests coughing in front of the food and some who don't wear masks when taking food but are not reprimanded by the staff.

Gym is too small and very little equipment. the pool is nice but I saw it was packed when they actually have a (if i don't mistaken) no more than 10 person rule during the pandemic.

They have a bar on the rooftop but unfortunately the view focuses on the swimming pool, it's a shame it should have been designed by optimizing the view...

We stayed 4 nights at Novotel Suites Yogyakarta Malioboro in the Superior Studio room with a King sized bed. This is a hotel that was built in 1997 and last renovated in 2019 so we were a little surprised by the condition of the hotel and the room.

Check-in was easy and the front desk staff were all very friendly and helpful (5 stars for all the staff).

The room was very spacious and the bed was comfortable. We had a view of the city which was nice. The bathroom had a weird layout which didn’t work well. But the biggest complaint was the mold in the corner of the room near the shower and along the edges of the carpet. Other aspects of the room seemed dated as well. The walls between room seem very thin and you can often hear your neighbors or sounds from the hallway. Overall the hotel seemed very dated for one that had supposedly been renovated in 2019.

Our room included a breakfast which was buffet style and located on the 8th floor. Unfortunately this is also the smoking floor so when you get off the elevator for breakfast you are confronted with the smell of cigarette smoke. You get used to it in Indonesia but still I think maybe the smoking rooms should be on a different floor for those sensitive to the smell of smoke.

The buffet breakfast was excellent (5 stars for the food and staff). Lots of options from traditional Indonesian dishes to Western food and a large dining area with outside seating for those that smoke and eat. Bayu was great at making omelets and the rest of the staff were also very friendly and helpful. Made in particular was super helpful and provided great service.

The drop off and pickup point of the hotel is odd. There is only a single way in and out so your driver has to turn around to go back out the same way and it’s quite tight especially when busy.

The best part of this hotel is the location to Malioboro street. You are literally right there and can enjoy the shops, restaurants and sights easily by foot. There is a shopping mall right there and oddly a disconnected mall on several of the lower floors of the hotel itself (Malioboro Mall). We stumbled upon it by accident and access seems to have been limited (closed off to the main mall) which unfortunately has affected all the businesses at this location.

Overall it was an OK stay and every staff member that we encountered was always super friendly and helpful. I’d probably stay here again just for the great location to Malioboro street and all the activities there but my wife said she would not...