LOCATION:
Grand Mercure Yogyakarta is located along Jalan Jenderal Sudirman. It is walking distance to the Tugu Monumen on Jalan Mangkubumi, as well as Jalan Malioboro.

From Adisucipto Airport, it takes about 15 minutes by taxi to get to this hotel. Taxi rates are between Rp10.000 to Rp20.000.

DESCRIPTION:
There are 133 deluxe rooms and 10 suites in this establishment. While the suites are definitely out of my budget, the deluxe rooms are rather affordable to most of us. I paid Rp500.000 ($55) per night for a deluxe room.

All rooms, be it deluxe or suite, comes with a balcony. Hence, you can't complain about not getting a view. There are a number of views to choose from. I fortunately got the pool view, which I thought was decidedly breathtaking, if nothing else. Other views that you can opt for are either the busy street of Jl Sudirman, the lush landscaped garden, or the open courtyard with the fountain.

In general, the room furnishing is simple yet elegant. I quite liked the decorative banner cloths hung behind every bed. For the bed sheet, the hotel opts for a white one, which I always fancy for the sake of simplicity. To me, white colour does go with everything.

The bathroom, located near the mini bar, is not too big. In fact, for my deluxe room, there is no bath tub. Honestly, I don't really need one. There is a walk-in closet near the entrance door, which seems to be the standard for hotels nowadays. Modern usual comforts are a given - satellite TV with about 25 channels (thanks to parabolic dish), IDD telephone, coffee making facility, hair dryer and adequate power plug points.

MY VERDICT:
Marvelous architecture. Great price, centrally located to almost everything Yogyakarta has to offer. The guest services are just as good and friendly.