The Phoenix Hotel Yogyakarta - MGallery Collection

I’ve stayed there for 1 night on Nov ‘22, room is spacious and comfy, ambience of the hotel feels like you live in a classic and classy building with aesthetic set up here and there. Staff were helpful and kind in every spot I met, whether during check in/out, in a restaurant, parking and pool. Overall I recommend this hotel, it’s worth to try.

TL;DR version: noisy, dirty, average service, felt like a 2-3 star motel. Breakfast was good. Don’t use them to book transfers/drivers (scam). Overall, not worthwhile, stay elsewhere. I booked an “Phoenix Executive, King Size Bed” thinking this would pretty nice, since it’s their ‘best’ room other than a suite. If it is I don’t want to know what the other rooms are like! General hotel: it’s really quite a beautiful hotel; the building has a lot of history, and interesting character. The fitness room, sauna, and pool area are well equipped and quite clean too. Location is not far from Malioboro. The room: it looks like it hasn’t been renovated since the 1980s. Or even cleaned properly since then. The living room space is very dark and poorly lit, it contains a couch in the room with visible stains, and covered in hair from previous guests. A suitcase holder that couldn’t hold a suitcase. Cupboard doors that don’t open properly; need to force them open. The bedroom is nice, the bed is quite comfortable, and it overlooks the pool from the balcony. But the curtains don’t close very well, they have burn marks on them and Velcro holding them together. The TV is pretty average and has all the inputs disabled so you can’t plug in your own device - there is no hotel entertainment, and there is no guide for the TV channels. The bar fridge was buzzing so loudly that I had to unplug it. On the topic of noise, unfortunately there isn’t much soundproofing in the room; on my first night it sounded like there were removalists changing the furniture next door (constant scraping of furniture across the floor). On my second night, there is loud music (sounded like a mix tape from an 18th birthday party in the 90’s) being played from somewhere the reception said was ‘the cafe’, and also guests calling to each other across the balconies. Also the corridors to the rooms echo like you wouldn’t believe, and so all the sound carries through to the room. Long story short: needs soundproofing badly! The bathroom: could use some remodelling. The cornices are dirty and cracked; many of the floor tiles have cracks in them. The bidet sprayer looks pretty manky, and something that looks like a blood stain on the vanity mirror. An overall old and ‘not particularly clean’ vibe to it. Similar to the living space, it’s really poorly lit. Also the toilet blocked on my second night (I can promise you it was nothing I did!); so maintenance had to come fix that… leaving the puddle of toilet water behind on the floor of course. It soon blocked again, so must be general plumbing issues. Dining: firstly the restaurant. I ate at Paprika the first night, the food was quite decent, and reasonably priced. The signature ‘gin sling’ was delicious. The service was not great; when I was eating my entree a wait staff member started hovering near the table waiting. As soon as I had the last bite, they were there immediately to take my plate and ask if I want the main. The same thing happened with the main, except this time I was only half way through the meal before they tried to take my plate, and then just stood around waiting afterwards. It made it feel like I was being rushed, and it was very uncomfortable. Because of this I didn’t stay for dessert, but thought I’d try in-room dining instead. Per the hotel guide, “In Room Dining Menus are available in your room”… umm, no they aren’t. Someone brought up a menu though, and waited whilst I read it (again… no rush!!!). Breakfast: buffet style breakfast, with a very large selection of both Indonesian and International cuisine, also with a fresh egg bar (I.e. cook to order). They have an automated coffee machine, which made decent coffee. Breakfast was definitely the best thing about my stay. The service: so it seems a lot of the staff have a “I’m learning” badge on. That pretty much sums it up; inexperienced, and inferior service; but at least they try, they just don’t know what to do. They don’t even have a senior staff member to support the “I’m learning” staff, so it seems the only way they are learning is through their mistakes. Check-in: was slow and the staff member was clearly trying to remember what needs to be done. I was doing an early sunrise trip the next day, so requested an early breakfast… I was asked “which breakfast I would like”, but hadn’t been given a menu or even any options! Ended up filling in a form for this. In room dining: when I had to call to ask about the missing menu, the first reception staff just transferred my call without saying anything; the second person then said they would transfer to the restaurant (not solving the issue of the missing menu); the restaurant then sent someone up with a menu and take my order. The room still has no menu. Early breakfast: did not arrive, and there was no one downstairs when I went to check before I had to leave. Receiving feedback: I told the reception desk when I returned to the hotel that I didn’t receive the breakfast. The response they had was “oh, we will pass the message on”… that’s a bit rubbish really. I mentioned it again when checking out, and this time got an “oh, okay”… that was even more rubbish. Maintenance: they were quick to send someone to fix the toilet issue… but sending a cleaner afterwards would have been nice. Concierge: always unattended, so can’t comment other than that. Booking airport transfers/tour drivers: do not book through the hotel, they are extremely expensive, and add a markup. They quote 550k for golden bird airport transfer; I booked direct with golden bird for 237k. They charge more than double for the same service! Similar with day trip prices (ie Borobudur/Prambanan). Do i recommend staying here; no. Tidak!

TL;DR version: noisy, dirty, average service, felt like a 2-3 star motel. Breakfast was good. Don’t use them to book transfers/drivers (scam). Overall, not worthwhile, stay elsewhere. I booked an “Phoenix Executive, King Size Bed” thinking this would pretty nice, since it’s their ‘best’ room other than a suite. If it is I don’t want to know what the other rooms are like! General hotel: it’s really quite a beautiful hotel; the building has a lot of history, and interesting character. The fitness room, sauna, and pool area are well equipped and quite good/clean too. Location is not far from Malioboro. The room: it looks like it hasn’t been renovated since the 1980s. Or even cleaned properly since then. The living room space is very dark and poorly lit, it contains a couch in the room with visible stains, and covered in hair from previous guests. A suitcase holder that couldn’t hold a suitcase. Cupboard doors that don’t open properly; need to force them open. The bedroom is nice, the bed is quite comfortable, and it overlooks the pool from the balcony. But the curtains don’t close very well, they have burn marks on them and Velcro holding them together. The TV is pretty average and has all the inputs disabled so you can’t plug in your own device - there is no hotel entertainment, and there is no guide for the TV channels. The bar fridge was so buzzing so loudly that I had to unplug it. On the topic of noise, unfortunately there isn’t much soundproofing in the room; on my first night it sounded like there were removalists changing the furniture next door (constant scraping of furniture across the floor). On my second night, there is loud music (sounded like a mix tape from an 18th birthday party in the 90’s) being played from somewhere the reception said was ‘the cafe’, and also guests calling to each other across the balconies. Also the corridors to the rooms echo like you wouldn’t believe, and so all the sound carries through to the room. Long story short: needs soundproofing badly! The bathroom: could use some remodelling. The cornices are dirty and cracked; many of the floor tiles have cracks in them. The bidet sprayer looks pretty manky, and something that looks like a blood stain on the vanity mirror. An overall old and ‘not particularly clean’ vibe to it. Similar to the living space, it’s really poorly lit. Also the toilet blocked on my second night (I can promise you it was nothing I did!); so maintenance had to come fix that… leaving the puddle of toilet water behind on the floor of course. It soon blocked again, so must be general plumbing issues. Dining: firstly the restaurant. I ate at Paprika the first night, the food was quite decent, and reasonably priced. The signature ‘gin sling’ was delicious. The service was not great; when I was eating my entree a wait staff member started hovering near the table waiting. As soon as I had the last bite, they were there immediately to take my plate and ask if I want the main. The same thing happened with the main, except this time I was only half way through the meal before they tried to take my plate, and then just stood around waiting afterwards. It made it feel like I was being rushed, and it was very uncomfortable. Because of this I didn’t stay for dessert, but thought I’d try in-room dining instead. Per the hotel guide, “In Room Dining Menus are available in your room”… umm, no they aren’t. Someone brought up a menu though, and waited whilst I read it (again… no rush!!!). Breakfast: buffet style breakfast, with a very large selection of both Indonesian and International cuisine, also with a fresh egg bar (I.e. cook to order). They have an automated coffee machine, which made decent coffee. Breakfast was definitely the best thing about my stay. The service: so it seems a lot of the staff have a “I’m learning” badge on. That pretty much sums it up; inexperienced, and inferior service; but at least they try, they just don’t know what to do. They don’t even have a senior staff member to support the “I’m learning” staff, so it seems the only way they are learning is through their mistakes. Check-in: was slow and the staff member was clearly trying to remember what needs to be done. I was doing an early sunrise trip the next day, so requested an early breakfast… I was asked “which breakfast I would like”, but hadn’t been given a menu or even any options! Ended up filling in a form for this. In room dining: when I had to call to ask about the missing menu, the first reception staff just transferred my call without saying anything; the second person then said they would transfer to the restaurant (not solving the issue of the missing menu); the restaurant then sent someone up with a menu and take my order. The room still has no menu. Early breakfast: did not arrive, and there was no one downstairs when I went to check before I had to leave. Receiving feedback: I told the reception desk when I returned to the hotel that I didn’t receive the breakfast. The response they had was “oh, we will pass the message on”… that’s a bit rubbish really. I mentioned it again when checking out, and this time got an “oh, okay”… that was even more rubbish. Maintenance: they were quick to send someone to fix the toilet issue… but sending a cleaner afterwards would have been nice. Concierge: always unattended, so can’t comment other than that. Booking airport transfers/tour drivers: do not book through the hotel, they are extremely expensive, and add a markup. They quote 550k for golden bird airport transfer; I booked direct with golden bird for 237k. They charge more than double for the same service! Similar with day trip prices (ie Borobudur/Prambanan). Do i recommend staying here; no. Tidak!

I have stayed at the Phoenix about 4 or 5 times and I always enjoy it. Wine at meals should be available for non-Muslims. Staff are very friendly and helpful.

Very strategic location, memorable historic building, nice staffs, yet I feel the room is too gloomy.