When everyone thinks of Indonesia, they think of Bali, but there is so much more to see! Bali is just one of more than 13,000 islands in Indonesia. During our visit this summer, our first stop in Indonesia was the island of Java.
I know I’ve stayed at some pretty amazing hotels, but without a doubt, the Plataran Borobudur Resort & Spa is one of my favorites to date. Beyond the spectacular room (which I will get to shortly) and the incredible service, the Plataran is perfectly located in Magelang, Central Java, just five minutes from the ever famous Borobudur Temple, which is the perfect location for the sunrise tour of the temple. Here’s a sneak peek of our sunrise tour. It was amazing!
I refused to go to the other side of the world and not see the Borobudur Temple at sunrise. A friend of mine had done it a few years ago and after seeing her pics, it quickly got added to the top of my bucket list. We flew into Jogjakarta International Airport, the nearest airport to Borobudur Temple, even though it’s over an hour and a half drive. Since we were planning to do a sunrise tour, it was a no brainer to stay near the temple, instead of near the airport. We selected the Plataran Borobudur because of it’s location, great restaurants on site and incredibly luxurious rooms.
After a delayed flight and stormy weather for the long drive, we arrived at the hotel late and exhausted. As soon as we finished checking in, we quickly headed over to the Patio Restaurant by Plataran and had a delicious meal before they closed.
Loving the umbrella provided for our walk to dinner
Our little piece of paradise
The sweetest hand written note from the team at Plataran
After dinner it was quick to bed, since our alarm clock was set for 3:30 am… no joke! Getting me out of bed that early is a rare occurrence, but the temple at sunrise was sooooo worth it. Much more from our temple visit next week.
After our sunrise tour, we made it back to our hotel around 9am for breakfast and a relaxing afternoon. We originally had activities planned for the entire afternoon, but after seeing the incredible view from our Exclusive Suite, we decided to cancel all of our plans and order some wine (we had been up for 7 hours, so our internal clocks said it wasn’t too early to start drinking) and just relax in paradise. It was a beautiful day in a beautiful place, so it was the perfect opportunity to bring out all of the toys (our drone, Go Pro & the over-under dome) for some amazing photos.
After a few too many glasses of wine, my hubby got brave with the drone and thought he would get some great footage by getting near the trees but cutting up last second…. boy, was he wrong! The drone hit the tree and took a tumble into the jungle behind our room. So we spent a good hour on a rescue mission to save the drone. Luckily the drone survived, but his sneakers and outfit were another story.
Although it had been the most beautiful afternoon, the weather quickly shifted and a huge storm began.
Stuck at the restaurant while it stormed
So much for our beautiful view… fog & rain
On the following day we had another temple visit (Pramban Temple will be on the next post as well) and then an evening flight to Bali, so we couldn’t enjoy the pool again. Unfortunately, I had only booked 2 nights at the Plataran. I was so sad to go and wish we could have stayed longer. If you’re visiting the Plataran, make sure you stay at least 3 nights so you can really enjoy it.
Early morning in paradise
Yogi at heart
Saying good bye to our Exclusive Suite
All in all it was a wonderful experience and I highly recommend the Plataran Borobudur for your visit to Central Java. The service was impeccable, our suite was top of the line, all of our meals at the restaurants on site were delicious and the resort was perfectly located for visiting Borobudur Temple. It’s a no brainer!
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