Jiwa Jawa Resort Ijen

Given all the positive reviews, I had no worries about my choice in hotel. We were the only people staying at the hotel which didn't help the atmosphere at the hotel one bit. The overall hotel is really lovely and it has soooo much potential. We'll put it down to being during Ramadan that there were no guests in the actual hotel, but there really is no excuse for the absolute terrible food - the worst on the island of Java. The staff were super friendly but their inexperience showed. We didn't ask for anything, as we didn't feel that anything would have been done about the leak in our roof, the broken AC unit (no fans available!) or the potential of having somewhere to quiet to relax given that the call to prayer was consistent throughout the day and everything is open plan. The pool area is really beautiful - but like the rest of the hotel, it felt abandoned as we as guests, an after thought. I really could not recommend but am hopeful that things might improve as it has the potential to be so much more.

Jiwa Jawa is a stunning and peaceful resort on the slopes of Ijen Volcano. The ambience is tranquil, the food is delicious, the staff are so cool. The new pool is epic! We saw draco flying lizards on the coconut trees during breakfast. Good price, and visiting the Terra cotta statues at Jawa Banana is so cool. I am looking forward to the next Jazz festival.

Super hotel in East Java. It is a great location for exploring the area or the volcanoes and craters nearby. The facilities are super and the infinity pool is beautiful especially at sunset. The grounds are well maintained and very pleasant. The staff were amazing, they were super helpful and pleasant and did everything to make our stay memorable

I booked a superior double room for two nights with a plan to relax by the pool between early mornings at Bromo and then Ijen. Arriving late at night (Jiwa Jawa can arrange pick up from train station for 350,000) I found that my room was not anywhere near the main reception, restaurant and pool area. It was actually at the adjoining Taman Gandrung Terakota. Thankfully you could have breakfast at the cafe above the rooms, and the views of the Terakota decorative gardens were very nice. There was no information on the booking page about this room being so far away so that was frustrating as it was almost 10mins up a very steep road to get to reception and pool. If you call reception they will send a car to pick you up but it's annoying having to pack all your things to go to the pool. The room itself was nice but had one vital flaw. NO CURTAINS! The windows are a coloured glass but there is an outside light that shines through all night and the sun comes up by 5am, very hard to sleep! Once you got up there, the pool was nice and looked over mountains but no umbrellas for sun loungers and you can use undercover areas if wet (even though they are by the pool??) The hotel did organise breakfast box to take on Ijen tour which was good. I had dinner at restaurant above room, the only one dining, but beef sate was good and price cheaper than main restaurant (which I didn't want to walk to in dark). The hotel organises private Ijen tour for 950,000, I booked shared tour with Yukbanyuwangi and they picked up from Jiwa Jiwa (I told them to pick up from Terakota, and there is security at night in this area to help), then drop at Ketapang or Banyuwangi for 400,000. Overall, be careful which room you book. It is a nice resort but I wouldnt stay here again due to distances between properties, no curtains and umbrella by pool.

First the good -- location and friendliness of staff The mediocre - food in restaurant was only passable The bad... There is no heat (or AC) in the room, despite it being a cold city that often reaches into the 40's F (below 10 C) at night. The second night we asked for an extra blanket, and still had trouble getting warm in bed, not to mention sitting at the desk with a down jacket on. WiFi is very slow, and staff is paranoid someone might steal their signal, so passwords are a PITA and only good for 24 hours Bathroom is tiny. If you are obese, you won't be able to close the door (fortunately, we are not, but it was still close...) Sink is in bedroom (not bathroom), has no towels, no rack, and no shelf space for your toiletries Power is local plug (international hotels now have international plugs pretty standard, but not here) and very difficult to reach under the desk. No minibar or fridge for your own cold drinks. (of course, the room was so cold that maybe I would not have wanted a cold Coke anyway...)