Tracing Java’s Architectural Legacies

📍 Loji Gandrung - Sekutu Rumah Karya (7.6 km): 20 mins / Sekutu Rumah Karya - Hotel (9.6 km): 25 mins

Upon arriving in Solo, visit Loji Gandrung, an 1830s manor built for a sugar tycoon. Designed in the Indische Empire style, it blends Dutch colonial and Javanese architecture with symmetrical European proportions. Today, it serves as the official residence of Solo's Mayor.

Continue the journey to Sekutu Rumah Karya, a coffee shop highlighting sustainable architecture and recycled interior design through repurposed materials. Featuring natural lighting, continuous fresh air, a steel structure and raw wood textures, it blends seamlessly with its surroundings. 

Relax and enjoy lunch while experiencing the eco-friendly atmosphere.

Check into the hotel this afternoon. Afterwards, enjoy the rest of the day at leisure.

Notes:
- Loji Gandrung is closed on weekends (Sat-Sun).
- Standard hotel check-in begins at 14:00.

Overnight in Solo                                                                      
 

Inclusions:

🥘 Lunch

📍 Hotel - Kampung Laweyan (4.7 km): 15 mins / Kampung Laweyan - Pasar Gede Hardjonagoro (4.6 km): 15 mins / Pasar Gede Hardjonagoro - Sukuh Temple (36 km): 1 hr 10 mins / Sukuh Temple - Hotel (37.2 km): 1 hr 10 mins

After breakfast, join the guide and driver for a full-day tour of Solo and its surroundings.

Explore Kampung Laweyan, a historical site and one of Indonesia's oldest batik centres dating to the 16th-century Pajang Kingdom. Its architecture reflects merchant prosperity, blending Javanese, European, Chinese and Art Deco styles. High walls enclose these compounds for privacy, security and batik production, forming narrow, grid-like alleys. 

Visit the batik museum curated by the founder of Danar Hadi Batik, a pioneer in batik preservation whose collection spans historic Mataram Kingdom antiques to modern pieces. Designed in the Indische style, the museum blends European colonial aesthetics – featuring a late 19th-century Dutch exterior with tall pillars, large windows and a white façade – with traditional Javanese architecture, including a pendhapa, pringgitan, ndalem ageng and side wings.

The next stop is Pasar Gede Hardjonagoro, a traditional market in Solo designed by Dutch architect Thomas Karsten under Pakubuwono X and opened in 1930. To enhance trading conditions inside, the design features broad corridors, an ornate entrance and large louvred windows, with wall openings covering 40 percent of the surface for optimal natural ventilation.

This traditional market offers a wide variety of delicious local specialties that are well worth trying. As guests explore the interior, be sure to sample some of these authentic culinary delights. 

After visiting the market, proceed to Sukuh Temple on the outskirts of Solo in Karanganyar Regency. Departing from classical asymmetrical Hindu temple designs, it features a distinctive truncated stepped pyramid reminiscent of Mayan architecture or megalithic terraces. The temple faces west, with three ascending tiered courtyards that represent the stages of spiritual purification leading towards nirvana.

Return to the hotel in the late afternoon. Unwind after a full day of exploring with a 30-minute foot or shoulder massage before enjoying dinner at the hotel.

Overnight in Solo
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🍗 Dinner

📍 Solo - Malang (331 km): 5 hrs 45 mins / Malang Railway Station - Hotel (2.5 km): 10 mins / Hotel - Melati Restaurant (2 km): 5 mins

Start the day with breakfast at the hotel, followed by a morning at leisure. At 10:45, transfer to the railway station to board the train bound for Malang.

Sit back and take in the scenic views during the train journey from Solo to Malang, travelling from Central to East Java.

Upon arriving in Malang at 17:30, check in to the hotel.

After refreshing, guests may choose to be accompanied by the guide for dinner at a handpicked vintage local restaurant in town, at their own expense. 

Notes:
- The planned route is aboard the Malioboro Express Train from Solo to Malang, departing at 11:45 and arriving at 17:30. The schedule is subject to change without notice.
- Full names and passport details are required to book the train ticket and must be provided at the time of reservation.
- In the early morning, guests need to bring their main luggage down to the reception before 08:00, with clear name identification. Main luggage will be transferred during the day with the driver and vehicle that will pick guests up in the late afternoon upon arrival at Malang Railway Station in East Java.
- It is advisable to bring a small bag with a change of clothes, toiletries and a sweater, as the air conditioning on the train can be quite chilly. 

Overnight in Malang
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast

📍 Hotel - Ijen Boulevard (700 m): 3 mins / Ijen Boulevard - Kajoetangan Village (2 km): 6 mins / Kajoetangan Village - Wisma Toemapel (1.2 km): 3 mins by car, 9 mins on foot / Wisma Toemapel - Local Restaurant (2 km): 8 mins / Local Restaurant - Jago Temple (17.2 km): 35 mins / Jago Temple - Singosari Temple (23 km): 38 mins / Singosari Temple - Hotel (12.8 km): 30 mins

After breakfast, set out to explore Malang, a city renowned for its pleasant highland climate and well-preserved colonial architecture.

Drive down Ijen Boulevard to view neighbourhoods designed in 1935 by Dutch urban planner Ir. Herman Thomas Karsten. Combining Indische, Art Deco and Garden City styles, grand tropical villas feature high ceilings, verandas, large windows and bold geometric lines.

Walk through Kajoetangan Heritage Village to see traditional Indonesian, Dutch Colonial, Nieuwe Bouwen and Jengki architecture. Many local residents sell their traditional crafts and food specialties in front of their homes, providing guests with opportunities to engage in meaningful social interactions with the local community.

Continue to Wisma Toemapel (formerly Splendid Inn), built in 1928 for Dutch elites. Its clean Modern Colonial ‘New Indische’ design offers scenic Brantas River views.

Drive to a classic local restaurant to sample famous regional dishes.

Next, visit Jago Temple, a Hindu-Buddhist Tantrayana site with stepped terraces and narrative reliefs, whose upper structure suffered lightning damage.

Finish at Singosari Temple, an East Javanese Hindu-Buddhist monument built from mountain andesite. Designed after Mount Mahameru, it features a hollow sanctum and a tiered pyramid roof.

Afterwards, return to the hotel, where dinner will be provided.

Overnight in Malang
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch, 🍗 Dinner

📍 Malang - Surabaya Al Akbar Mosque (95.8 km): 1 hr 25 mins / Al Akbar Mosque - 10 Regenstraat Restaurant (15 km): 30 mins / 10 Regenstraat Restaurant - Hotel (5 km): 13 mins / Hotel - Surabaya Old City (4.7 km): 10 mins

After breakfast, check out from the hotel in Malang and head to Surabaya.

Upon arrival, visit Al Akbar National Mosque, which blends modern Islamic, Indonesian and Middle Eastern styles. It features a 27-metre-tall blue-green main dome on a pyramid base, flanked by four smaller Javanese-style domes. A 99-metre minaret – symbolising the 99 Names of Allah (Asmaul Husna) – offers panoramic city views. Inside, intricate Arabic calligraphy decorates the interior and mihrab, with carved details on the minbar. Additionally, 45 teak doors honour Indonesia’s 1945 independence.

Prior to checking in at the hotel, guests can enjoy lunch at a carefully selected vintage local restaurant. 

Following time to refresh at the hotel, embark on a late-afternoon walking excursion across the historical quarters of Surabaya’s Old Town, highlighting four unique cultural enclaves: European, Chinese, Arab and Malay. During the exploration, cross the historic Jembatan Merah bridge and visit a heritage syrup manufactory in continuous operation since 1923. Head back to the hotel at dusk, as the street lamps start to illuminate.  

Notes:
- Standard hotel check-in begins at 14:00
- The Siropen syrup factory is open from 08:00 - 17:00 and closed on weekends (Sat-Sun)

Overnight in Surabaya
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch

📍 Hotel - Alun-alun Square Surabaya (700 m): 1 min / Alun-alun Square Surabaya - M. Cheng Ho Mosque (1.7 km): 5 mins / M. Cheng Ho Mosque - Tunjungan 39 (2.8 km): 8 mins / Tunjungan 39 - Hotel (200 m): 1 min / Hotel - De Soematra 1910 (2.3 km): 6 mins

Today's experience unfolds at a leisurely pace, starting with a morning exploration of Alun-alun Square Surabaya.

Observe the daily routines of locals around this historic city square, a vibrant hub for artistic and cultural activities. The square is home to a youth centre housed in a building with an eclectic architectural style – a hybrid design blending classical European elements such as Neo-Gothic, Renaissance and Classical Romanesque.

Next, visit the Mohammad Cheng Ho Mosque, a unique site that harmoniously combines Chinese, Arab and Javanese architectural elements.

Upon returning to the hotel, guests may choose to be accompanied by the guide for lunch at a selected classic local restaurant in town, at their own expense. 

After days spent exploring local architecture, guests can unwind in the afternoon with a 90-minute rejuvenating massage. Designed to ease stress and tension, this full-body treatment utilises aromatic oils to stimulate tissues and promote relaxation.

Following the treatment, embark on a historical tour of the hotel. Conclude the experience by savouring high tea on the hotel veranda.

Spend the final evening in Surabaya enjoying a fine dinner at a local restaurant set within a 1910 Dutch colonial-style heritage building.

Overnight in Surabaya
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🍗 Dinner

📍 Hotel - Surabaya Juanda Airport (19.6 km): 40 mins

Enjoy the morning at leisure until departure time.

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast