In a world filled with extremes that juggle between chaos and routine, peace of mind can be a difficult balance to restore. A retreat to a tranquil city like Yogyakarta might offer a glimpse of hope in the quest to find peaceful conditions in which to remedy the weary souls stuck on the hamster-wheel that is life.
Hotel Tentrem, which is located at the north of Malioboro area, the most renowned strip in this province, promises the perfect getaway a midst a homey ambiance that is enclosed within a lavish and sophisticated modern Colonial design.
PHOTO BY Hotel Tentrem
Clearly visible from every major direction of the city, from the North Ring Road, West Ring Road, Jenderal Sudirman road in the south and Kaliurang road in the east, Hotel Tentrem stands proud, boasting a stately 9-storey tower. Physically and architecturally, the five-star establishment has quickly turned into an icon of Yogyakarta, aided by its strategic location. Convenient access and location makes it the most coveted new destination in town, both for holiday makers and business people alike, local as well as from abroad.
The Colonial style of the hotel, which is owned by Sido Muncul Group, is clearly evident from the design’s straight patterns and orderly grids. Designed by Denny Gondo, an architect with a keen eye for orderliness and details, Hotel Tentrem truly offers a familiar sense of home complete with the feelings associated with it: comfort, tranquility and heartfelt. It comes as no surprise, considering the name of the hotel, ‘Tentrem’ is the Javanese word for peace and tranquility. In a broader sense, the hotel’s tagline, ‘tentrem in your heart’ refers to a feeling of inner serenity and peacefulness.
The homey atmosphere is one of the main concepts of the design, and was used as the master guideline by Gondo, an architect celebrated for his private home designs. In order to create the homey ambience requested by the client, the architect made sure that all of the exterior and interior details have a humane approach while still appearing grand and lavish. Proportion and measurement of the rooms are made bigger to avoid any cramped feelings. “In term of scale, we intentionally make it large with high ceilings and more concrete space. This is done to avoid overcrowding. Then within the available space, we arranged the furniture pieces so that the room wouldn’t look barren but we also made sure not to make it overly crowded,” explains Gondo.
The Wijaya Kusuma flower is the prevailing symbol found throughout the hotel. The silhouette of a golden flower with a single bloom and surrounded by four leaves tells of a philosophical significance and is used as Hotel Tentrem’s logo. Every aspect of the flower can be seen majestically adorning every corner of the hotel, both as the main ornament or accent. The logo is found everywhere from the façade, lobby, reception areas’ background and ceiling, swimming pool, the hotel’s 274 rooms and is even found embroidered on the pillow and bed sheet in each bedroom. True enough, philosophical values are strongly felt in almost all of the aspects of the hotel. Irwan Hidayat as the hotel’s owner stresses on the pride of having Indonesian traditions and characteristics and these points are translated into strong and amazing details in each part of the building.
The grand lobby is not unlike a house’s living room, and although it is vast in size, the area still exudes comfort. The access directly meets the reception area which is located on the left side of the main entrance. Hotel Tentrem’s reception area occupies an elongated space adorned with a Wijaya Kusuma ornament made of gold-colored metal with mirror at the back, which adds to the spacious feel of the room. The beautiful pattern continues throughout the reception area, covering the ceilings and walls. There is no partition to obstruct views and movements, and from the reception area guests can use the elevator to take them to their room, visit the Eboni Bar & Lounge on their right or return to the lobby area to check in on the hotel’s art gallery and meeting room, which are located on the same floor.
The interior design of Hotel Tentrem is impeccable. No expense is spared in creating the details, which are designed to ensure guests enjoy their stay and return there the next time they visit the city. The details are applied in the private areas, such as the suite corridor and guest rooms. Wallpaper made of stingray skin in these areas is one example of the details that can hardly be found anywhere else. There are 8 kinds of room, 5 of which are suite rooms. Deluxe room is the smallest offering of the hotel, but with a dimension of 40 sqm and luxurious amenities, it is difficult to refer to the room as ‘small.’ All suite rooms are placed on the same floor, encompassing the 81 sqm Junior Suite and the ultra-private and lusciously opulent Tentrem Presidential Suite, which measures a total of 273 sqm.
As an upscale five-star accommodation, Hotel Tentrem comes with three restaurants under its roof: Kayumanis Coffee Shop, Eboni Bar & Lounge and The Grand Duck King Chinese Restaurant. Other supporting facilities include Gaharu Spa and Fitness which is located on the ground floor adjacent to the swimming pool, Kids Playground, Executive Lounge, Lumpang Art Gallery and 9 meeting rooms. There is a plan to add a state-of-the-art ballroom, measuring a cool 2,000 sqm, which is slated to open at the end of this year.
Abound with opulence and glamour and decked with various facilities on hand, Hotel Tentrem truly provides a calming and peaceful ambience for its patrons. A home away from home feeling is profoundly felt throughout the compound and is hard to forget after a stay here. Accents of modernised colonial architecture merge with Indonesian traditional elements to successfully provide guests with strings of awe-inspiring experience, enticing them to leave the rush and agitation of the outside world at the front door, and enter into a homey, peaceful realm.
More of this article from the March/April 2014 issue