The Santiki is well located in Yogyakarta, 15 minutes ride to Mailboro street (the main shopping street) and 1.5 hours from the airport.
On arrival, the airport transfer driver had to explain to security who he was and the purpose for entering the hotel lobby. I felt that, immediately, security was taken seriously.
The attendant staff were super friendly and worked very hard fo guests.
Check in was very smooth; I got the ordered room, 1st floor, poolside view, balcony, double sized bed and non-smoking. All the room facilities worked: safe, kettle, frdge, door to balcony locked and the bathroom with shower toilet with what we have nicknamed 'the bum gun' that portable pressure jet of water to wash the backside in lieu of toilet paper.
Breakfast (6am to 10am) was a nice mixture of fruits, Indonesian dishes, cereals, patisseries, cold cuts and hot food (chicken curries, fsh, steamed or fried rice). For only the second time in my far east travels have I ever seen bread pudding....now as a lot of True Brits will explain, bread pudding is a poor-man's dessert. Yet, here was a top hotel serving it....and it is a must try....absolutely delicious. At 10am, the hotel played the Indonesian National Anthem. Stand up and show respect. The Indonesians havve fought long and hard for this independence.
Evening meals in the restaurant were often a-la-carte or a hep-yourself-all-you-can-eat buffet. The latter being popular, recommended getting there for the beginning. 6pm.
For both meal times, there is the option to sit outside and smoke or sit indoors, in the appropriately air-conditioned room in a smoke-free environment....very pleasant.
Hotel services like laundry were very efficient. clothes collected in the morning were returned the same day.
Local interests; Prambanan Temple is within a Grab Taxi ride, so avoid tours and go late; Sambarisi Temple, though seemingly in the back of beyond, is within Yogyakarta so, again, make the trip independently - though few visit, it is worth going to; Jalan Mailboro is the shopping street with shopping centres and lots of smaller boutique and Batik shops; Dutch Fort Vredeberg at the top of mailboro is a historical significance as it holds a lot of history. In what must be a disastrous business and touristic decision, souvenirs cannot be bought for cash or with foreign cards....only Indonesian bank cards accepted within the fort; along Jalan Sudirman, turning left out of the hotel and keeping to the left of the road is Pizza Hut....go for the five cheeses pizza....very well made, chicken and beef options available....no Hawaiian....it is a Muslim country; continue along Jalan Sudirman to a tank on the path, on the left there is a little frequented but highly interesting military museum.
Excursions to Mount Merapi - an active volcano - and Borobudur Temple are a must; the volcano was quiet the night I visited but I still got some lava flow - also tke a coat or a thicker top as it cools down significantly and your own drinks as the coffee on arrival at the lookout station is....shall we say 'interesting', also take a camera not a smartphone because photography is in the pitch black and phones cannot cope with that but cameras on the 'B' stop can; Borobudur Temple is a magnificent construct, a pyramid temple which is steep but can be climbed. For Both, choose the tour wisely. I used Get Your Guide but wish I had not: the coach was a transit van too tight for western sized males to 'squeeze like a shape shifter' to the back seats and the time spent faffing on at Borobudur getting disposable flip-flops to walk nearly 1km in and climb a temple stairs was a mega waste as I wore trainers becauser the flip-flops flopped off me flipping about!!! This time mismanagement was coupled with the obligatory rip off price, time-wasting lunch 'come come, hurry, seats here, what you want...?' at the most-expensive-in-the-middle-of-nowhere restaurant which charged me IDR 200K for 4 strips of satay chicken and chips (hotel a la carte meal was under 190K just by way of an example, and far far better), I reviewed the trip on the site, gave it 4 stars with some suggestions to improve it, and I have not seen it posted. Mind, I have not seen any trip posted that did not praise the tour, give ity 5 stars and say what a wonderful trip.... it was the best trip ever.... tour guides were fabulous trip. Do not trust these reviews. Any reviews which do not post a few 4, 3,2, or 1 stars are not real reviews.
Top tip; Borobudur first, take snacks and water, definitely water, then head back to Prambanan.
Finally, alcohol is available (I did not drink in Indonesia) and there are bars a plenty but I cannot review themas I abstained from alcohol. It is not a savagely strict Muslim country, ladies can choose what to wear, drive cars, work etc etc. However, alcohol is not freely available in every cafe as i is in other Asean countries.
Overall, highly recomment this hotel - a very good, safe and well locaed hotel.
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