Jiwa Jawa Resort Ijen

Walking into Jiwa Jawa felt almost unreal to me. It felt like stepping into a quiet, soulful gallery rather than a hotel. I found myself slowing down immediately, taking in the local artworks, striking photography, intricate batik, and the beautiful terracotta statues. It's impressive. There are 1, 000 life-size dancers showcasing the four striking dance moves of the local Osing traditional Gandrung dance.
There’s a sense of story and intention in every corner of the hotel complex; it doesn’t just look curated, it feels deeply personal.
Finding the infinity pool was a moment in itself. When it opened up in front of me, I just stopped. It’s easily the biggest I’ve seen, and it seems to dissolve right into the landscape. From there, East Java stretched out in layers of mountains and sky. I spent a long time just sitting there, taking it all in. It’s one of those views that stays with you.
The restaurant matched that same level of care. The service felt warm and natural, never forced, and the menu thoughtfully blends international flavours with local traditions. I still think about the filet mignon. It was exceptional.
What stood out most, though, was the people. The service across the hotel felt genuinely kind and attentive, the kind that makes you feel welcome rather than simply looked after.
I also spent time at Taman Gandrung, the other accommodation choice, with the 1, 000 life-size terracotta dancers who grace the rice fields. It's a sight to behold.

I understand that they’re aiming to create a luxury resort experience, but to be honest, with the current facilities and amenities, it’s still far from luxury.
Yes, the building is stunning and architecturally beautiful. However, the room has a noticeable moldy smell, the toiletries feel cheap, the bed is quite hard, and the food quality is very disappointing. The overall atmosphere also feels a bit unsettling, which makes it hard to truly relax.
With the price they charge, you definitely get much less than what you pay for. Honestly, unless they make serious improvements, we cannot recommend this place.

Well, before you book time here, DEFINITELY check whether there is a 'local event' planned. We spent a night here before going on a 1am hike of Mt Ijen and there was a 2-3 day wedding down below with music/noise so loud that it peaked at 70dB in the open air restaurant. Next morning when we got back at 7.30, the music was blaring again for our breakfast. Sleeping required noise cancelling earbuds and all conversations required raised voices. Honestly feel sorry for this place since it's clearly happening a lot (they have printouts apologizing) and out of their control.

Spent a night in Jiwa Jawa Sabin room. Excellent in everything! I have no doubt to give 5 rate. Room service was very kind, hygienist, tidy, foods were so delicious. I tried 3 different places of restaurants. All taste yummy! With affordable price. Surely I will visit this place again with my family.
I hope the pool has water heater later. However we forewent swimming because the water too cold. But it has a beautiful scenery.

Just visited this hotel.
On a positive note, excellent location and amazing infinity pool.
Unfortunately though the service was the worst we have experienced throughout our tour of Java.
Food — mediocre, main courses served whilst still eating starters. Main course plates not cleared so did not get offered desert and no other visitors in restaurant. No staff in restaurant — had to go looking for them!
No wine list, had 2 red wines but only 2 bottles in storage. Also only had 4 bottles local lager.
No fridge in room and no one ever asked us if everything was OK, either with our stay or meals.
Such a shame as has great potential if standards could be improved.

Best scenery, fresh air with green landscape, great infinity pool with uncovered sight of mountain as magnificent backdrop. The property offers unique ambience bringing local taste and artistic nuance.
The coffee served in hotel is superb, roasted bold with chocolate aromatic-one of the best in Indonesia. Really enjoy it as we take a pack of house blend backhome.
Sadly, surrounding community loudspeaker echoing chaotic sound of rites with so much noise, really disturbing, even at the resting time.

We stayed for 4 days 3 nights in early May 2024.
The staff and crew went above and beyond to ensure we had an excellent comfortable stay. This place is lush, verdant and your idyllic tropical gateway.
Went my partner had health issues, the staff gave the best service to ensure that we were looked after. My partner always talks about how friendly and approachable the staff were.
Thank you Jiwa Jawa Ijen, you made our holiday unforgettable. We will always treasure the moments we had in this wonderful place.

Yes, the pool, art and views are fantastic. Besides that please be ready for all kinds of unpleasant experiences.
First, everybody please be aware that if you have booked the ‘cheaper or standard rooms’ that these rooms are located 300 meters (downhill) from the lobby and all facilities. They will tell you this after you have checked in. So I guess like us, pretty much everybody needs an immediate upgrade for which you end up paying a much higher price. Non of the upgraded rooms (the ones that are actually in the hotel) are worth that kind of money though.
However, the worst is the overpriced food of an absolutely shocking bad quality. Had to sent some food back and all of us still ended up with pain in the belly.
Then the totally confusing check-in. Please be ready to do some climbing, arguing, moving from room to room, arguing again, paying extra and more climbing.
Should have read other reviews over the last years about this place. Of course owner always responds to criticism the same way: “thanks for your feedback and we hope to see you again in the future”.
Would not recommend this place. It all looks good in the pictures but definitely not worth the money paid.

A place for retreat, a healing spot, free from the busy-ness of the city. We spent two nights here for honeymoon, and was a really fulfilling experience. Service are great, staff are very helpful and informative throughout our stay there. Rooms are clean, cozy, and have breathtaking view with fresh air. The public and room interiors are set carefully and galery-like. Foods are great, especially the beverages 🤍 The pool have a really calm, soothing ambience with stunning view, that we enjoy our moment there for swimming, reading, and drawing too. Looking forward to our next moments there sometimes in the future 🤍

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.