A stay at Villa Borobudur is true cultural immersion, an opportunity to really experience authentic Javanese culture, food, architecture and traditions, and to step into the "real Java". This small, cozy 6-villa property is not what we'd consider "luxury villas", but rather a heritage hotel with a personal touch that leaves you with a feeling that you've really experienced Java by the time you sadly depart. The personal attention and devotion poured into this place by its onsite Dutch owner, Noelle, and manager Dina shine through every pore.
If you are looking for a place where you can be showered with the upmost luxury, private pools, plush air-conditioned Western style accommodations, ultra-trained "cookie cutter" staff, and gourmet Western food and wine, and are visiting the area for nothing more than a quick look at Borobudur or to relax in the spa for a weekend, Villa Borobudur is probably not for you. However, if you are visiting Java to experience the island, its culture, its people, its scenery, its traditions and history, want to sample real Javanese cuisine, and enjoy real people that honestly desire your absolute happiness and want you to bask in everything Javanese, then Villa Borobudur should definitely be on your itinerary. Don't just spend one night here to see Borobudur, spend a few nights and experience the area with some of their very nice excursions, gaze at the panoramic vistas from your front porch with a cup of tea, relax with a massage overlooking practically the entire Central Java, and most of all meet the local people.
LOCATION - Villa Borobudur is located about 10 minutes drive from Borobudur temple, halfway up a huge jungle-draped hillside, just outside a tiny village up a narrow, steep and winding driveway, all by itself, giving it towering panoramic views over the valley below.
THE VIEWS - Simply magnificent. Borobudur is always visible, but at a distance (you're not super close, it's small but you can always see it), with mighty Mt. Sumbing looming just beyond, creating a dramatic and truly stunning scene. As the dawn breaks, the scene you experience from your front porch is just spectacular. The valley is shrouded in mist, with Borobudur just emerging, the sky just starting to turn orange, the outline of Mt. Sumbing becoming clear, with not a sound but the birds and the morning prayer at the local mosque. A spiritual experience.
THE PROPERTY - Villa Borobudur consists of six villas, the best of which is the Siddharta Suite, which runs about $400.00 per night after taxes and service charge. Seems like a lot, but not compared to the nearby Aman, which will not only stun you with rates of $1200-$1400 per night, but then charge you huge money for everything from laundry, to drinks, to food, to excursions, on top of that, complete with service charge on everything. Villa Borobudur, on the other hand, includes everything for you - all-inclusive food, non-alcoholic drinks, free wi-fi internet, free laundry, even a free 1 hour massage with multiple night stays.
The villas are built on a hillside with stairs running between them, so if you have mobility issues, you may want to be sure to stay in the lower level of villas so the stairs are not as much. There are no elevators, and while the staff will take your bags, you still have to go up and down the stairs for meals and the pool. The Siddharta Suite is standalone, while the Borobudur suites share a common wall with one other suite. The villas are hand-carved out of teak wood, with magnificent carved designs. They are designed in traditional javanese "jogla" style, including the two joglas that have the dining and sitting areas. Gorgeous views from everywhere on the property, including the swimming pool. Everything is open-air, no A/C, which is fine due to the cool breeze that sweeps over you up on the hillside. More villas are under construction at the moment, but it does not disturb your stay.
THE ENVIRONMENT - The villas are surrounded by jungle, which means you will have birds singing in the morning, butterflies fluttering around the property, and also a few friendly critters like geckos and frogs, which due to the open air style sometimes find their way into your villa. Along with the friendly creatures we found quite a few mosquitoes, so plan on repellent. There are mosquito nets on the beds and coils in the villa, but we still met up with our share. Each morning at 4:00 AM, the village mosque will issue the call to prayer, and it is really loud in your villa, however they supply ear plugs, and after the first couple days you get used to it. The rest of the day the prayer is quite low volume, a spiritual backdrop that is quite enchanting actually. I found waking up at 4:00 AM to be great actually - watching dawn break over the valley from your bed or porch is really amazing. It's not like there's a lot to do at night after dinner, the early morning is the best time of day (coolest) and you're training yourself to get up for the magnificent Borobudur sunrise experience.
THE VILLAS - The hand-carved teakwood villas are not what I'd consider luxury, but comfortable and authentic, full of character and atmosphere. From the Javanese statues at the foot of the bed to the illuminated buddha on the headboard to the dragon shower and bath, with flower petals at their feet, it seems every detail has been attended to. The furnishings are hand-carved teak as well. There is a desk for working, which is nice, and plenty of space for your clothes. The bathroom is large with shower and bath (in the Siddharta suite at least), and a separate toilet. The room is quite dark with dim lighting, but you can open the many windows for more light, and if you feel you need more light they'll be happy to bring some to you. The bed and pillows are hard but comfortable, surrounded by mosquito netting at turndown, and offer great vistas over the valley below even from the bed! No A/C and no ceiling fans was a minus, but when the breeze is present, it blows through the unit and keeps it relatively cool. Not always present though, so we made a lot of use out of the portable floor fan.
BUSINESS - This is not a business hotel. We made do with the desk in the room, but it is dark to work, even with windows open and the extra lighting they willingly provided. You can move the desk onto your spacious front porch during the day, or sit down at one of the dining tables if necessary. The wi-fi was very slow and frustrating, but then they moved a router into our villa and it got way better, at least for the first day, then it slowed way down again - I think it's a Telkomsel hallmark to slow you down after short periods of use, and there is no landline internet available in this remote location yet. In the end it worked fine, but the focus of this hotel is not on business, so don't expect facilities for that, just enough to make do.
THE FOOD - Unlike Aman, where they have an "Indonesian dinner", Villa Borobudur is exclusively authentic Indonesian (Javanese) cuisine. I think we tried more Indonesian food on our first day here than we'd been able to find in the past three weeks put together. It is not luxury food - it's typical 3-star food like you'd get at a restaurant in the village - but it's authentic, you get to taste what Javanese food is, and the amount of different creations the chef can make with sticky rice and palm sugar is amazing. I'm sure they would make something special for you if you ask, it's that kind of place - nothing is too much trouble. We were so happy that they didn't "westernize" the menu here like everywhere else we went in Indonesia did (well, at least not much). I'd been complaining for weeks how hard it was to find anything but Nasi Goreng and Mei Goreng or Western food to eat in Indonesia - that all changed here. It's not all tasty, but mostly, and all interesting to try. There is a pretty big menu to choose from that changes daily, so you don't really get bored with the food, and it's all part of the experience.
THE STAFF - The highlight of Villa Borobudur, besides the view, has to be the staff. They are so genuine, so friendly, so cute and you just feel like an honored guest all the time. Nothing is too much trouble, always a smile, always polite and trying so hard to help you to enjoy your experience in Java and their culture. Owner Noelle is also present and pops in to check on you once in a while and chat which is a nice touch, always interested to hear what you think. Indonesia has got to be the friendliest country we've ever visited, and Villa Borobudur is no different.
THE EXCURSIONS - The highlight of course is Borobudur, the world's largest buddhist temple. It's about 10 minutes away, and well worth the extra to go at sunrise, both for the serenity, the magical scene (birds, orange sunrise, Merapi volcano, 7 mountains, mist-covered valley, jungle-draped hillsides, morning prayer from the village mosque), and to get there before the tour buses from Jogjakarta arrive. I think we had only about 12 people in the whole complex, absolutely worth it.
Prambanan is about 1.5 hours drive from the villa, so make a day out of that and combine with the sunset, dinner in the shadow of the lit-up temple, and the ballet. We did the Merapi biking tour - a nice combination of off-road and road biking through villages, forest, and town - quite an adventure (including standing in the bed of a farm truck on the way to the tour). See the "real Java". We met peanut farmers who posed for pictures with us, and visited a bird market and an antique shop as well as riding through rice fields and actually down riverbeds. We enjoyed the horse cart ride through the village, seeing how palm sugar was processed, watching tobacco being dried, meeting the ladies that make rice snacks for market, and seeing a very impressive (for this village) art gallery in the house of a very nice guy with great English. There is also rafting, other mountain biking trips, and sightseeing trips to the Dieng Valley and beyond.
We enjoyed our stay at Villa Borobudur tremendously, it was just the type of place we were hoping for - comfortable yet authentic, a true culture hotel in Central Java. And the views....ah, the views....I miss it already! Stay a few days here instead of the city...you'll be glad you did.
