Charming Colonial aura
everything about it — the building, layout, setting and furniture.
What I like the most is the long, narrow walkway that takes us to a room from the main building. The warm light, black-andwhite tiles, arches and columns make the walkway a good location for photos.
The first night at Majapahit is as wonderful as I’ve expected. I take it as a good sign that tomorrow is going to be a good day for us.
We wake up early so that we don’t have to rush our breakfast. As expected, the buffet spread is delightful. It’s not a big spread but it has everything to represent both the hotel’s history and city’s culinary heritage.
After breakfast, we set off on our first stop — House of Sampoerna Cigarette Factory. It sounds unattractive but don’t let the name fool you like how it did me.
The cigarette factory visit turns out to be a half-day affair. The small but wellpresented museum tells thel rags to riches story of founder Liem Seeng Tee, who started his business with an old bicycle.
Things get more interesting when we go up to the viewing gallery. The glass walls of the gallery give a full view of the cigarette production lines, from rolling and cutting to packing. All is done manually!
What amazes me is the speed of these workers’ hands at their task. At times, I am almost breathless and dizzy looking at the speed of their hands.
After the museum, we hop on the Surabaya Heritage Tour Bus. It’s free! The bus has three departures daily, each takes differentroutes—TheHeroesCity,TheTrading City and The Dutch Occupation.
The one-hour route we’re taking is The Heroes City that takes us to Heroes Monument, a war monument on Tembaan Street and a Dutch building built in 1924.
Along the way to and from the factory, a guide tells us stories. He even entertains questions on food and shopping.
Lunch time is my favourite part of the day. Our driver Danny again asks us what do we want for lunch. My answer, “Something spicy and special.”
“If you’re okay to wait for another 40 minutes or so, I know where to take you,” he replies. So we head out of the city and cross Suramadu National Bridge connecting Madura Island with mainland Surabaya.
It’s worth the wait. Our lunch is a simple rice dish — white rice, slices of cucumber, deep-fried duck and a huge dollop of levelfive sambal at Kedai Makan Bebek Sinjaya.
This perfect lunch plate paired with a glass of ice-blended avocado juice on Madura Island deserves two thumbs up from us. Madura was not even in our plan!
With full tummies, we’re now up for shopping. Maybe we didn’t go to the right malls, but our plan to shop till we drop is reduced to shopping for souvenirs. Thank God, we had a fulfilling first half of the day to make up for the let-down.
We have one more half a day in Surabaya before we fly home. We take this opportunity to stay in and enjoy the hotel. The best way to sign up for the hotel’s historic tour. Mind you, this tour is open to non-staying guests too.
The tour gives an insight into its history and significance in Indonesian history, and offers a peek into its luxurious Presidential Suite.
Before we leave the hotel, we go for a quick last-minute shopping at Pasar Genteng, located five minutes away.
There’s a row of shops selling local delicacies like crackers and chips, cakes and cookies, and smoked freshwater fish. But my favourite purchase is a bottle of super hot sambal. It’s how I want to remember Surabaya. Now, who says there’s nothing in Surabaya? HOTEL Majapahit Surabaya was first founded as Hotel Oranje by Lucas Martin Sarkies, one of the four Armenian brothers famously known as Sarkies brothers, in 1910.
During the Japanese Occupation, its name was changed to Hotel Yamato and used as the headquarters of the Japanese forces in East Java.
It is here where the famous Hotel Yamato Incident that saw pronationalist Indonesian youth revolutionaries tore away the blue portion of Dutch flag flown at the hotel and changed it to the red-and-white Indonesian flag. This led to the Battle of Surabaya which gave the city its name — City of Heroes.
Following this incident, the hotel took a new name — Hotel Merdeka — but only to change to Lucas Martin Sarkies Hotel the following year when the Sarkies Brothers returned.
Then, in 1969, a new owner took over and named it after the historic kingdom of Majapahit. The hotel was restored from 1996-1998 by Harry Susilo, a prominent local ethnic Chinese businessman.
It reopened and managed by the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group as Mandarin Oriental Hotel Majapahit Surabaya.
In 2014, Hotel Majapahit was recognised as a cultural heritage landmark by the Ministry of Education and Culture.
Today it is called Hotel Majapahit Surabaya. Managed by Accor Hotels, it still maintains its charming colonial aura. No.65, Tunjungan Street, Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia +62 31 5454333 www.hotel-majapahit. com
There are 143 rooms and suites, categorised in classic room, heritage suite, Majapahit Legendary suite and Presidential Suite. The rooms and suites are homely and lavishly well-appointed at the same time that give a mixed feeling of familiarity and affluent indulgence. Loved the plush bed and adored the colonial copper bathroom fittings.
There are seven outlets — Executive Lounge, Roof Garden, Indigo Restaurant, Toko
Deli, Lobby Lounge, Sarkies Restaurant and The Maj Pub & Dine.
Do NOT miss the hotel tour. Thisshouldbeatthetopof your list of things to do at the hotel. Even if you don’t stay at the hotel, this tour should also be one of the things you must do in Surabaya. Complete the tour with an afternoon tea at Lobby Lounge. Then, there is a swimming pool hidden at the far end of the hotel’s huge property that you won’t feel that you’re in the middle of a city. Close to it is a spa managed by Indonesian renowned beauty brand, Martha Tilaar.
Shopping of course. The hotel is situated between by a mega mall, Tunjungan Plaza (made of six complexes offering 16 shopping floors!) and a street packed with shops selling local tidbits.
Colonial feel and warm Indonesian hospitality.
The room is not equipped with USB wall outlet.