History Salak Hotel Bogor Indonesia

City of rain. That is the most familiar name of Bogor , which has average rainfall of 3336,8 mm/year. Bogor has a unique and long history with its Kebun Raya, Istana Bogor and also Hotel Salak The Heritage. Hotel Salak The Heritage is the oldest site remained that records and witnesses the history of Bogor , from the Dutch and Japanese Colonialism, Independence Period, Orde Lama, Orde Baru, Reformation to the period of Indonesia Baru in the Millennium III. Various important events were held in Bogor, such as Pre-Asia Africa Conference in 1955 at Istana Bogor, APEC in 1994, and many other international events. Istana Bogor has been designated as a formal reception of the presidential.

At a glance, Hotel Salak The Heritage looks like a new building and does not reflect its mature age, since it has been renovated in order to fulfill the community´s need for quality.

Hotel Salak The Heritage is the only heritage hotel located in front of Bogor Presidential Palace next to the City Hall, at Jl. Ir. H. Juanda No. 8 Bogor. It was built on the area of 8,227 m2. Hotel Salak The Heritage consists of four main sections. First is the front section, named Heritage Building, which is the two – renovated historical building. The second and third sections are the left and right wings, which have two and four floors, respectively. The fourth section is the back section with five floors, equipped with one service lift and two guest lifts.

During the Dutch Government (VOC) in 17th Century, Bogor was named Buitenzorg, meaning "city for rest" or "city without formality"(Buiten Alle Zorgen as the Dutch said) Istana Bogor was used by The VOC General as a place to rest. In 1908 Bogor was the central government and residential place of the Governour General. As it is cool and has beautiful scenery, Bogor has become the center for research on tropical plants and plantation in Sukabumi, Cianjur and Bogor .

According to the history, Hotel Salak The Heritage was built in 1856 named Binnenhof Hotel; it was categorized as a hotel for the elite Group of the Palace and owned by the Palace family. The hotel belonged to a Dutch who had a family connection with the General Governor of Netherlands Indies. It was functioned as a place to rest and stay, and as a meeting place for agricultural businessmen and administrators and the government staff.

During the Japanese Colonialism in 1942 August 1945, Hotel Salak The Heritage which had 54 rooms became the headquarter of Kempeitai (Military Police). The Indonesian Independence in 1945 influenced Binnenhof Hotel; in 1948 the name was changed to Hotel Salak as it is located at the foot of Salak Mountain (Gunung Salak).

Along with the rapid growth of Bogor as a city of convention, meeting, seminars, tourism, education and research on tropical plantation, Bogor becomes a potential attraction for both domestic and international visitors. Each year, the number of visitors and government guests who hold conferences increases; therefore, Bogor requires appropriate international infrastructure. To accommodate all the requirements, Hotel Salak was renovated and redeveloped.

On 2 September 1991 , Hotel Salak suspended the operations to be developed as a star hotel. The development was started after a license from the government stated by the Decision Letter from the Governor of West Java No. 193/8550/Binsar dated 19 July 1991 and the Decision Letter from the Minister of Internal Affair Republic of Indonesia dated 27 January 1992 No. 539.32/359/PUOD were issued to PT Anugrah Jaya Agung to develop and operate Hotel Salak Bogor.

According to a survey, the preferred initial type of the hotel was Tourism and Business Hotel with the international standard. The old historical and colonial architectural building was maintained as an eye catcher for its environment, and was planned to be a Boutique Hotel for special tourists (Special Tourism), because Hotel Salak is one of and well – preserved the historical buildings remained in Bogor . The back section of the hotel was expanded to be Business and University Hotel. After the renovation and expansion of the new building at year 2000, the total room number is increased to 120, that consisted of Presidential Suite, Super Executive, Salak View, Executive, Deluxe Suite, Deluxe & Superior.

Hotel Salak is one of the vital assets for people in West Java, particularly Bogor community, since Bogor has a high and long historical value and is located at the gate of West Java (approximately 30 minutes from Jakarta via toll roads) and guarded by the government buildings (City Hall, Residency, Attorney, Samsat).

On 11 September 1998 , the new Hotel Salak named Hotel Salak The Heritage with the international standard was gradually re – operated, started by providing 32 rooms that consisted of two Presidential Suites, four Executive Suites, eight Deluxe Rooms and 18 Standard Rooms. The other supporting facilities were Kanari Cafe, Rafflesia Bar Lounge, Istana Ballroom, Galuh Meeting Room and Shopping Arcade (ie. Business Center , Gift and Art Shop, Boutique, Florist and Drug Store).

The Development and operation of Hotel Salak The Heritage were happening together with a massive monetary crisis in Indonesia . There was an inflation of the US $ exchange rate, from Rp. 2.300 per US$ to Rp. 17.000 per US$ at the end of 1997 and beginning of 1998. However, the crisis did not influence the hotel management to keep developing and maintaining the existence of Hotel Salak The Heritage.

On 1 April 1999 , Hotel Salak The Heritage was reopened and it operated another 40 rooms, to total of 72 rooms, along with the growth of businesses in Bogor. Additional facilities developed in 1999 were Kinanti Music Cafe with the capacity of 300 seats, Rudy Salon, Batutulis Meeting Room, Burangrang Meeting Room and Binnenhof Restaurant.

By the end of February 2000, Hotel Salak The Heritage added another 24 rooms, so that the total room number was 96.

Anticipating customers demand and market development in mid year 2000, Hotel Salak The Heritage has added several another rooms to complete 120 rooms.

Hotel Salak achievement in creating its image as the center for conference is proven by the increasing demand for training, seminar, meeting and conference arrangement at Hotel Salak The Heritage Bogor. Management has decided to build 4 more meeting rooms: named Pakuan, Padjadjaran 1, Padjadjaran 2, and Padjadjaran 3. Pakuan Meeting Room with the capacity of 70 persons had been built completely in March 2001. Then in June 2003, we have finished building the other three meeting rooms with the capacity of 40 – 100 persons per room.

In order to please and comfort our guests, we also build up some new facilities. There are Palasari Fitness Center , Kinanti Kids Club, and Kinanti Music Room as music cafe; which has been opened since June 2000.

Ayam Goreng Fatmawati Restaurant with its delivery service has been opened as traditional restaurant in 2001 to make our Food & Beverage products and services more attractive and providing variety of choices to guests. This fact shows that Hotel Salak cares about promoting Indonesian Traditional Food, especially Sundanese one, and intend to serve it with international standard.

Hotel Salak was keep innovating and developing its facility by opening new cafe; named Den Haag Cafe; in December 2003. Den Haag Cafe is opened to fulfill the longing of our guest to the tenseness and freshness of Bogor City by accommodating them with our delicious Dutch´s cakes and pastries.

In the year of 2005, we have developed some new facilities for our guests. Smart Kids Planet, a kids club and playgroup for children to play and learn, has been opened in the beginning of the year. The second one is Herbal Information Center, where people can have free consultation about their health problems and medication by some alternative therapies. Herbal Place is also provide support and sells many medicine plants as an alternative way of treatment without using chemical drugs.

Rudy Salon has been reformed and reopened as Bellevue Wellness Salon and Spa to be a place where our lady guests could rejuvenate their body through spa treatment or hair & beauty treatment. Besides Bellevue Wellness Salon and Spa, we also provide Bellevue Barbershop for the gentlemen. Wedding reception or company gathering will be more convenient for our guests because of the new pre – function room that has been furnished at the Istana Ballroom. Rafflesia Lounge also has expanded its space and redecorated its style to a cozier place for lobbying and relaxing or surfing the cyberspace with the provided free Wi-Fi Internet Access. The last facility we have provided is a children playground with a safety playing kit, "Playful Big Folding Slide" in Inner Garden .

Community proud to the preservation of Hotel Salak building because it is one of the oldest and the biggest historical building in Bogor that shown the importance and historical value of the city of Bogor in Indonesian history. For a group of people, re – opening Hotel Salak The Heritage also creates career opportunities at the crisis time and to a foreseeable future.

Hotel Salak The Heritage, as a historical building, should be able to compete and be improved; as a result, it has to be supported by capable management, professional human resources, satisfactory services and appropriate facilities.

In order to make Hotel Salak The Heritage more familiar and attractive among the national and international society, we have cooperated with some national and international foundations. One of the foundations that support Hotel Salak The Heritage is The Heritage Bogor Foundation, which has been established in 2003. This foundation has a mission to develop and improve some of the city´s aspects such as social, economic, culture, and technology. One of its programs is alternative energy program to transform the wind power into energy power using the windmill. Every year this foundation also grants an award, named Salak Award, for anyone who has been dedicated a great contribution to the society.

The other foundation who supports Hotel Salak The Heritage is Saring Hadi Purnomo Foundation. This foundation has a mission to improve life of people with blindness through its organization, named Merpati Putih. This organization has applied traditional culture from Mataram Kingdom of Central Java, and it has successfully helped people with blindness to have their vision again. This culture becomes an important part and a unique enchanting point for tourists to visit Bogor , because of its historical values.

Hotel Salak The Heritage is currently preparing for inviting international guests, in particular from Netherlands and Japan ; so that they are able to feel the atmosphere of the past and old memories. The development of Hotel Salak The Heritage is undertaken without any changes to the valuable historical building and creates the country´s foreign exchange for the tourism area. Referring to its aims, Hotel Salak The Heritage is expected to grow and be able to promote Indonesia , in particular Bogor , in other countries as a tourist destination.

Some other historical buildings have diminished and were diminished by some people who do not understand the meaning and importance of preserving the historical values. Historical inheritance is the evidence of the country´s struggle to reach the independence, which has to be preserved for our young generation´s identity.

Could Hotel Salak The Heritage, as an ex – Netherlands heritage hotel, compete in the globalization era? This question is reasonable as the crisis happened, the hotel business in Indonesia is sparkling and competition is becomes tough.

Hotel Salak The Heritage always honors the international norms and values, and the spirit of professionalism. Its Commissioners and Directors always apply the outstanding norms, values, and soul; and they always honor the fairness as the basic or the foundation to manage and operate the firm, so Hotel Salak The Heritage is able to achieve all the successes and overcome the difficulties or problems.www.hotelsalak.co.id/