Bandung Hotels
The fourth largest city in Indonesia, Bandung is also the capital of the West Java province. Sitting at about 2,520 feet above sea level, Bandung offers a cooler climate than most cities in the archipelago. With average temperature of around 23.6°C throughout the year, Bandung experiences rain from November to April.
Topographically, Bandung lies on a river basin and is hemmed in by mountains made of volcanic ashes. Due to this exceptionally well-defined natural defence system, the Dutch East Indies government made Bandung their colonial capital from Batavia. The Dutch were also responsible for opening the first tea plantations on the mountains, constructing the roads to connect the plantation area with the capital and presenting the city with exceptional architecture styles.
The colonial rule also provided Bandung with much of the famous samples of Dutch colonial architecture in the very peculiar tropical Art Deco style. Some of the famous colonial architectural samples have been designed by Henri Maclaine-Pont who combined each architectural style with the local culture and used indigenous elements to construct these structures. The Technische Hogeschool te Bandung (the present-day Institut Teknologi Bandung) built in 1920 has the striking local Javanese roof style that protects the ceremonial hall. Some other must see buildings include Gedung Merdeka, Villa Isola, facade of the Grand Preanger Hotel, Cipaganti mosque, Cathedral at Jl. Merdeka, Church at Jl. Wastukencana, the Majestic theater, etc.
Today’s Bandung has developed into a luxurious resort city for the many plantation owners, weekenders from nearby cities and has many hotels, cafes, restaurants, and European boutiques that gave the city the name – “Parijs van Java” or the Paris of Java.