Amanjiwo

Amanjiwo is made up of 34 volcanic ash-tinted suites. If, from this you've deduced that the nearby volcanoes of Merapi and Merbabu are still active, then you would be partially right. They've been quiet for decades, but their presence is as awe-inspiring as ever.

Before you discover your suite, you must first enter this luxury hotel through its limestone monolith and bell-shaped rotunda where you will be welcomed with rose petals tossed by Javanese girls in traditional dress. Red carpet? Who needs it.

Allow the hotel staff to take care of your bags and find your way to Amanjiwo's Romanesque amphitheatre-style pool that has also been built from giant blocks of paras yogya - the local limestone. From this vantage point you get a unique perspective of the impressive landscape surrounding this region of Java. Behind you, volcanoes rise into the mist, and before you lays Borobudur, one of the largest and best preserved ninth-century religious sites in the world.