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Amanjiwo
Hotel Facilities

FOOD AND DINING

The Rotunda Bar is a circular salon, with columns and drop fans, a coconut-wood bar and acid-etched bronze-drum tables.

The Dining Room, with its silver-leaf ceiling swirling with muted colours, is defined by a double row of stone columns. At either end, gold-leaf murals recreate scenes from the Hindu epic Mahabharata. The tables are of black terrazzo, the chairs silver-painted rattan with batik cushions. Indonesian and Western cuisine is served in an open-air setting with panoramic views over the rice fields to Borobudur and its surrounding volcanoes. The specialty of the house is makan malan, a series of classic Javanese selections served in brass dishes.

The Dining Room looks out onto the crescent-shaped Terrace, with its banquette seating, black terrazzo-topped brass tables, teakwood chairs and Yogya batik cushions. The view from the Terrace is particularly arresting at dawn and twilight, or after a cleansing rain, when the views open up over the Kedu Plain. Borobudur is directly ahead. Drinks, snacks and light lunches are also available at the colonnaded Pool Club that stretches into the rice fields. From the deck or from the 40-metre, green-stone pool itself, guests can enjoy views to Mt. Merapi.

OTHER FACILITIES

Library: The library is large and bright, with a black terrazzo table and daybeds for two at either end. A selection of books on Indonesia is available in several languages, including Japanese and German. A variety of CDs, tapes and games can be borrowed.

Art Gallery and Studio: Regular exhibitions are held in the art gallery. Amanjiwo's informal artist-in-residence is available for private sketching sessions in his studio nearby or for guided field trips into the surrounding countryside. For those inspired by the views from Amanjiwo, a box of watercolours is provided in each suite.

Swimming Pool: A 40m infinity swimming pool, lined with green tiles and overlooked by banyan trees, is set into the rice paddies below the resort. It is surrounded by loungers and umbrellas and lies adjacent to a raised, colonnaded semicircular deck with tables and chairs for poolside snacks and drinks available from 8am to 8pm.

Tennis Centre: Amanjiwo has two tennis courts located just above the resort nestled into the Menoreh Hills. There is also a thatched-roof kubuk for shaded breaks and refreshments.

Massage: A range of Javanese and traditional beauty treatments are available at Amanjiwo, some of which incorporate the ancient holistic jamu method of healing. These can be enjoyed in the privacy of guest suites or in the specially-designed spa suite which has twin massage tables and an outdoor kubuk for relaxing afterwards with spicy ginger tea. The two-hour Mandi Lulur is a highlight, the traditional Javanese preparation of a princess on the eve of her wedding. Facials, massages and cream baths as well as a masculine version of Mandi Lulur are also available.

Boutique: A wide variety of Javanese clothing and textiles, both antique and new, is available at the Boutique, which also features gamelan instruments, shadow puppets, old ceremonial baskets, jewellery and other Javanese craft and antiques.

Gallery: Exquisite hand-woven, hand-dyed and painted silk scarves, shawls and other pieces are featured here.

 

EXCURSIONS

The great temples and the glittering arts of Java sprang not from Jakarta but from Central Java. Make your own personal discoveries of art galleries, royal palaces or local kampungs (villages) - by car, open-air jeep, bicycle, horse or elephant - or trek through the picturesque countryside and its lush terraced rice fields to hidden temples and secluded kubuks (pavilions). Guests can enjoy the silence of Borobudur at dawn followed by a panoramic picnic breakfast, sundowners in a private kubuk located high in the Menoreh Hills with a bird's eye view over the Kedu plains and Amanjiwo below, a guided trek up volcanic Mount Merapi at midnight or experience the hustle and bustle of a local market in the early morning.

TEMPLE TOURS

From Borobudur and Gedong Songo to Prambanan and the Dieng Plateau, many of the most ancient and important of Asia's religious monuments and temples are on the plains and volcanic slopes of Central Java. The 8th century Buddhist wonder known as Borobudur is among the best-preserved ancient monuments in the world. The sanctuary, with its million and more cut-stone blocks, 1,460 stone relief panels and 504 life-size Buddha statues, each sculpted from a single stone, occupies a modest plateau. From the top gallery of Borobudur, Central Java reveals itself. A highlight of the experience is to return to Amanjiwo atop a Sumatran elephant, on a private, one-and-a-half hour safari through the rustic kampungs set into the jungle, up streams and across rice terraces, all the way greeted with smiles and waves by villagers.

Legend has it that 2,000 temples once graced the plains of the Kedu Valley. Among those that still stand, a few are particularly notable, including Candi Pawon, with its carvings of pot-bellied dwarves dispensing riches. The 8th century Mahayana Buddhist temple of Mendut rises in a park-like setting where guests can enjoy a private semadi meditation session. Guests can also meditate with the monks from the neighbouring monastery.

Northwest of Borobudur, beyond the volcanic peaks of Sumbing and Sundoro, lies the Dieng Plateau, an area of great natural beauty. The marshy, windswept plateau harbours time- weathered Hindu temples.

Only a few kilometres east of Yogyakarta, Prambanan is an ancient Hindu complex containing hundreds of temples strewn across the plains. Its central attraction is the elegant and dramatic Loro Jonggrang temple, with its many courtyards, enclosures, shrines and sculptures.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

Yogyakarta: Borobudur lies between the cities of Yogyakarta and Solo (Surakarta), rival dynasties founded in the 18th century, when the Mataram Empire was fast fading. Today, Yogyakarta is the busiest city east of Jakarta. Yogya, as it is often called, is a major university town and a royal capital complete with a functioning palace or kraton. Its main thoroughfare, Jalan Malioboro, is a virtual street fair and a shopper's delight.

Solo: In 1745, the sultan of the Mataram dynasty moved his court to Solo, or Surakarta, as it is formally known. Its first sultan brought with him his silversmiths, musicians, artists, dancers and painters. Today, their descendants carry on Solo's creative legacy.

Trekking: Central Java is a haven for trekkers and casual hikers alike. Nearly 3,000 metres high, Mount Merapi is one of the many volcanoes to give shape and drama to Java. Only the fittest hikers, however, will want to make the demanding climb of this active volcano. Guests leave Amanjiwo after 11pm, escorted. The summit is made before sunrise. Somewhat less strenuous is the 90-minute hike up the Menoreh Hills, which begins just a few hundred metres behind Amanjiwo and takes guests up to a vantage point over the Kedu plain, or the leisurely 40-minute walk through the village of Selogriyo and its surrounding verdant jungle and steep rice terraces.

Market Mornings: The morning markets of Central Java are far removed from the tourist trail. In crowded alleyways under terracotta-tiled roofs, Javanese smiles light the way. The women sell everything from volcanic-stone ashtrays to deep-fried water buffalo skin. Nearby, the bird market is a makeshift runway of flocking pigeons in training for the afternoon races. And just across the river, crowds gather for the cock-fights.

Village Dances: The rural villages of Central Java celebrate everything from a harvest to a wedding with gamelan music and spirited dancing. Amanjiwo guests are welcome to watch the festivities which can include more than a hundred guests from nearby villages. Jatilan are a highlight during which the dancers are 'posessed' by spirits and enter into a trance, broken only by the village dukun or witch-doctor.

Golf: Located on the slopes of Indonesia's most active volcano, close to the resort town of Kaliurang, the 18-hole Mount Merapi Golf Club is a scenic haven for golfers and sightseers alike.