Review: Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta

A loving review of the Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta.

The Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta is a solid five-star establishment. It is suitable for travellers of all ages, and I imagine kids would love it too. It has an incredible family feel and a pool that looks like something out of Indiana Jones with a waterslide! You will find this to be your getaway from the busy streets of Yogyakarta. I love this hotel, and clearly my review of the Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta is biased.

Four days into my Airbnb stay in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and I needed a place to rejuvenate.  There was nothing wrong with the homestay in Yogyakarta in-fact I would recommend the host if you should find yourself in the city.  After three weeks of home-stays in Indonesia, I came to realise; I do enjoy my five-star retreats.  I love the romantic idea of backpacking around, staying in hostels but the truth is I just become irritable without the creature comforts for too long.

During our first trip to Yogyakarta in 2013, we stayed at the Hyatt Regency.  Coming from the West, I had never been more overwhelmed arriving in Yogyakarta for the first time. I wasn’t ready for the cultural differences between Australia, where we lived and central Java, Indonesia.  

A sanctuary in Yogyakarta

The Hyatt became our sanctuary.  A striking contrast to the sites, sounds and congestion of the city.  We would take a day trip escorted by the hotel concierge to one of the central shopping areas of Jl. Malioboro.  “Jl is an abbreviation for Jalan. Jalan is an Indonesian word meaning ‘street’.” and be whisked back to the hotel. Day trips to Prambanan and Borobudur are all near to this hotel.

Coming back after six years to the Hyatt I felt like such a seasoned traveller zipping to and from the hotel on my hired Go-Jek scooter.  Yogyakarta doesn’t scare me anymore, but the Hyatt is still my sanctuary.  

I took a Go-Jek to the Hyatt on Wednesday morning to have a nostalgic look around, and I never left.  I went down to Bogey’s Teras in front of their golf course and hopped online.  Instead of doing the Amazon FBA work I had intended I checked rooms that were available and booked a two-night stay.  I would have stayed longer, but they were fully booked out.  

Bags retrieved from my Airbnb and I checked in.  

Club access – is it worth it?

If you can afford it, I would recommend a club access upgrade.  You get club access which gets you buffet dinner and drinks at night and access to the lounge throughout the day if you make money while on the road this environment will suit you.  (The power outlets are not what I have experienced in the rest of Indonesia but ask the staff who have a method of plugging in your device).

Good for kids and kids at heart

The rooms are spacious and classy.  The pool outside is big with lots of areas to swim about in all set in a tropical, Indiana Jones temple-like setting.  I will admit that I used the water slide that goes through the temple at least two dozen times.  

Maybe that’s it with this place, the ten-year-old version of me feels safe to play.  

On one of the nights, the club access was moved down to Bogey’s Teras.  Like I said earlier, this hotel feels like family, and the hotel staff did the night’s performance.  Dressed in their work uniforms, they performed an eclectic mix of pop music.  

The GM of the hotel, Nyoman Nurcahyadhi stopped by to say hello.  I wasted no time complimenting him on the hotel and their active Instagram account.  He ended up staying another 45 minutes talking shop about the hotel, his story and sharing mine — an absolute pleasure.  

After dinner had finished and most of the guests left a local band came to play. Music is one of the reasons I wanted to go back to Indonesia was to see the music scene as described in A Geek in Indonesia by Tim Hannigan.  I wasn’t let down by this young band who performed.  

At this point, I may have been feeling a bit generous from the whole experience and bought the band a round of beers.  So much for being on a budget!  Eight members is a bit much, but at least the beers are reasonable here.

So that’s it, the Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta.  A five-star hotel and my sanctuary in Indonesia.  

I do hope you stay here, it is a real gem.  The next stop after Yogyakarta was Surabaya via train.