We arrive at the Surabaya railway station and clatter off the train with other passengers who are dragging bundles, babies and baggage to the waiting taxi stand. We are heading for the Hotel Majapahit. “Yes, yes I know it,” says the taxi driver as he winds his way through the busy late afternoon traffic of cars, scooters, bicycles and rickshaws.

The hotel is an historical icon in Surabaya. Built in 1910, the hotel began life as the Oranje Hotel and comes with an impressive pedigree. It was the last of a family dynasty of elegant hotels built throughout Southeast Asia by the Sarkies family from 1880 to 1910, one of which is the renowned Raffles Hotel in Singapore. 

As our taxi arrives, we are ceremoniously ushered by the smiling doorman into the hotel’s spacious foyer and are most surprised to see a meticulously maintained olive green A-Model Ford, circa 1930, standing regally in the corner of the plush hotel lobby. It generates discussion. Whose is it? Where did it come from? Why is it there? It is reminiscent of an earlier colonial period when Java was part of the Dutch East Indies.

Early evening and the heat from the day is dissipating. A cooling breeze swirls gently in the warm tropical night. I am standing on the balcony of the historic hotel, overlooking one of the many meticulous formal gardens with its manicured lawns bordered by mass plantings of flowering shrubs, golden marigolds and deep pink bougainvillea. A two-tiered central fountain, spot lit, reveals the classic, colonial architectural beauty and stylishness of this stately hotel. I have a sense that I could just as easily be wrapped in the elegance and allure of the more famous Raffles Hotel.

Welcome to the Hotel Majapahit. But what’s in a name? The Majapahit could well have had an identity crisis with the number of name changes that have occurred throughout its history. From its early days as the Oranje Hotel when Java was part of the Dutch East Indies, the takeover by the Japanese during the occupation of Java in World War II saw the hotel become the Yamato Hotel.

At the end of the war, when the Japanese surrendered, the Dutch flag was hoisted over the hotel. The Indonesians were infuriated. They believed the Dutch had not acknowledged their new found independence and in the uprising that followed, the Dutch flag – red, white and blue – had the blue strip ripped from the flag, and over the hotel flew the red and white flag which is Indonesia’s national flag today. The hotel was renamed the Merdeka Hotel (Independence Hotel) following this incident.

In 1946, the Sarkies brothers returned to Surabaya to manage the hotel renaming it the L. M. S. Hotel in memory of its founder, Lucas Martin Sarkies. After a further takeover many years later the hotel became the Hotel Majapahit in recognition of the Majapahit Empire which reigned in Java from the 13th to 16th centuries. In 1969 it became the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Majapahit, and after extensive renovations and a further sale in 2006, the hotel name reverted to the Hotel Majapahit.

Despite an extensive history of takeovers, political upheaval, facelifts and renovations. the hotel, like a grand old dame, has emerged with dignity, elegance and charm.

From the start, I love the Majapahit. I feel as though I have stepped back in time to another world. There is an authenticity to a previous era of style and glamour pervading the old sector of the hotel. Ceiling fans whir overhead, potted palms abound and a yellow canary in an elegant black wrought iron cage delivers a melodious tune.  An ancient record player softly emits music from the 1930s, while adorning the walls is the black-and-white photographic history of the hotel. The art décor style is evident in the stylish cut glass windows and the colonial decorative furniture. The bedrooms are large, comfortable, decorated with heavy ornate furniture, elegant lighting and tasteful muted curtains, somewhat reminiscent of Victorian England.

At breakfast, sitting under the shade of a large white umbrella on the sun deck, the breakfast manager brings our pots of English breakfast tea. A jovial man with a large smile, ever helpful and polite, he tells us this hotel is in his heart. “I have been here over 10 years and I do not want to go anywhere else. It is beautiful here,” he says as he pours our tea. And we certainly agree.

We spend our days swimming in the coolness of the pool, a welcome relief from the heat and reading under the shade of umbrellas in the gardens. The hotel staff arranges a colonial heritage tour of the city for us and we head off to visit the Sampoerna Museum, the Red Bridge, the Hero Monument and museum and the Submarine Monument arriving back at the hotel in time for our Historical Afternoon Tea Tour.

A lavish selection of delicacies is delivered to us in the opulent foyer. We sip our potted tea and choose from tiny iced cakes, small slices, coconut jellies and fruit rolls creatively arranged on delicate platters, all part of the afternoon tea service.

Shortly, the duty manager arrives. He is our guide for the historical tour of the hotel and we are the only guests on the tour. He tells us he has worked in a number of other hotels including a stint in London. Proudly he says, “This hotel is something special and this is obvious by the very low turnover of staff.”

Our tour begins with an introduction to the elegant restaurants and takes us on a winding route through the hotel. We view room 33, a well located room with a secret escape route. It was here British Brigadier Mallaby stayed during the Second World War only to meet his untimely death In Surabaya during Indonesia’s struggle for independence.

We move on to the Presidential Suite. Up the deep blue and gold carpeted winding staircase to a suite of luxury rooms where presidents and film stars have stayed. Everything is immaculate in readiness for the next dignitary. Standing on the balcony overlooking the formal gardens we watch hotel staff busily putting last minute touches to decorations on the lawn area. White linen covered tables, white balloons and white roses are in proliferation for an evening wedding. Perfection fit for a princess.

As we complete our tour skirting the edge of the swimming pool and spa area, the duty manager tells us that the Sarkies’ grandchildren recently came to stay to see the legacy their grandparents had left. “It was a wonderful time and a very emotional time,” he said. And understandably so. I too feel emotional just hearing the story as I take in the elegant surroundings.

Lucas Sarkies died in East Java in 1941 and his wife in a Japanese camp in Java in 1945.  Yet what a beautiful legacy they left. Graciousness, style and distinction, not just in the colonial architecture, stately surroundings and beautiful gardens but in the devoted and caring staff who love and care for the Majapahit for the rare treasure it is.

Header image: © Vin Coffey