Where To Stay: Indonesia Hotel Recommendations

Here’s a list of hotels, AirBNBS, and hostels that I stayed in while traveling in Indonesia (Java and Bali) from June to July 2023. I’ll update this post with more hotels whenever I go back to visit Indonesia.

Things to note:

Since prices change so frequently I haven’t bothered to note what I paid for each room, but in general I stay at $30 USD or less per night. Most of my accommodation in Indonesia was under $25/night.
I prefer single rooms with an ensuite normally, with access to a kitchen (shared or private) if I’m staying somewhere longer than a week.
I use Booking.com, Agoda, Hostelworld, AirBNB, and Google Maps to search for places to stay, and I make sure to check my major credit card’s travel portal in case I can use CC points to save a bit of money.

Check out where I stayed in South Korea and Japan.

Places with a little ♥ in front of them are highly recommended.

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Post Contents

Jakarta, Java

Everyone loves to hate on Jakarta, but it honestly didn’t seem that bad to me. It’s very similar to other big cities in Java/Bali: lots of traffic, ripped-up sidewalks, trash, etc. and then huge shopping malls, good restaurants, museums, and so on. Not as many historic cultural things to see, which is maybe its major downfall. Very hard to walk around as well, so you’ll probably end up using Grab most of the time.

♥ The Packer Lodge. Shared 8-person mixed dorm with kitchen access, located just out of the city center and slightly too far from metro/bus access. Mixed dorms aren’t my favorite but this hostel was actually really nice. The beds were comfortable, toilets separate from showers so they weren’t soaking wet all the time, big lounge spaces and friendly staff. Laundry service also available. Hostel hosts walking tours; I did the food tour for the local neighborhood and it was excellent.

Probolinggo, Java

I stayed here so I could do a Mt. Bromo sunrise tour, and then I got stuck for a few extra days because the train tickets to the west side of Java were all sold out. There’s very little sightseeing or day trip opportunities here, so I don’t recommend staying very long.

Brak Homestay. Private room with ensuite bathroom. Run by a really nice guy who worked for 20(?) years for an American cruise line before coming back to start this homestay. Good location close to restaurants and the train station, comfortable room but the bathroom was a little awkwardly cramped.

Here’s a room tour video I took:

Happy House BnB Bromo Backpacker. Private room with ensuite bathroom and access to shared kitchen, not super close to restaurants or transit but there’s a grocery store nearby. Really well designed/decorated hostel, BUT the walls are super super thin. It’s surrounded by at least 3 mosques, so the calls to prayer are BLASTING into the room multiple times a day– not to mention you can hear your neighbors sneeze. I did not sleep AT ALL.

Also, rats stole the soap from my partially-open-to-the-elements bathroom.

Here’s a room tour video:

Anyway, I did book my Mt. Bromo sunrise tour through them and it worked out great. I’m just not sure I’d stay there again.

Sanur, Bali

Sanur is one of the quieter beach towns on Bali. There’s budget places all the way up to $$$ resorts, and the majority of tourists seem to be families and retirees. I thought it was a nice town overall, but the vendors along the beachfront were the most persistent I’ve encountered yet– they followed me down the sidewalk trying to get me to their shops even after I said no– which soured my feelings about Sanur.

G Saskara Homestay. Private room with ensuite bathroom, free breakfast. Within walking distance to the beach and the main road in Sanur where all the restaurants are. Huge room with a comfortable bed, but I was beset by mosquitoes at every turn. Excellent breakfast, options for Western or Indonesian and cooked fresh. Laundry service available as well.

Here’s a room tour video:

Seminyak, Bali

Another beach town, but somewhat more lively with parties and bars, etc. However, I stayed in a quieter part of town slightly out of the center.

Nikhila Seminyak. Private room with ensuite bathroom, free breakfast. Very comfortable room, but located in a hotel corridor kinda thing which made it difficult to walk to other parts of town. Truly excellent breakfast, a blend of local and Western style with a huge amount of food. Nice pool available at the top and comfortable lounge area.

Here’s a room tour video:

Surabaya, Java

Unfortunately there’s very little to do here, and most tourists only use it as a starting point for Mt. Bromo tours. It has good shopping, apparently, and the actual city is very well-developed with good sidewalks and such.

Agogo Hotel. Private room with ensuite bathroom. Western style hotel much like any other, with very comfortable bed. Located within walking distance to a huge mall with a decent food court.

Here’s a room tour video:

Ubud, Bali

Ubud was my favorite city I visited in Indonesia. Very walkable (if you stay in the center anyway), with tons of great restaurants, shopping, temples, etc. and you can do fun day trips out into the rural areas to see nature.

♥ Indy House. Private room with ensuite bathroom, free breakfast. Located down one of the market streets in a traditional family housing complex. Very comfortable room with good air con, super nice owners and good breakfast (tea/coffee, banana pancakes, fruit).

Here’s a room tour video:

Yogyakarta, Java

The cultural center of Java and a pretty fun place to visit. Watch out for the batik gallery scams.

Laura’s Backpacker 523. Shared 6-person female dorm with ensuite bathroom, free breakfast AND dinner. Located within walking distance from the intercity train station and the center of town where the tourist stuff is. Beds are a little lumpy and the bathrooms weren’t as clean as I’d prefer, but as it’s such a good price with two meals included I can forgive a lot. Owner was friendly, with lots of good info for sightseeing. Laundry service available.