iSleep Hotel Majapahit

Hotel Oranje

Majapahit Surabaya – originally called Hotel Oranje - was built by Mr Sarkies, the owner of a local liquor store. His uncles were legends in the luxury hotel industry, with ‘The Strand’ in Burma, ‘Eastern and Oriental’ in Malaysia and ‘Raffles’ in Singapore in their portfolio. With their help he bought two villas in (one from a lawyer, the other from a doctor) and in 1911 Oranje Hotel opened its doors. It was an instant hit among the planters and traders community and also welcomed celebrities and royalty from across the world, including Charlie Chaplin.

Hotel Merdeka

The hotel was expanded, renovated, and renamed many times. In the 1920s it got a new wing and new flair with an Art Deco façade. In the 40’s when the Japanese occupied Surabaya, they renamed the building ‘Hotel Yamato’, and used it as their headquarters. September 19, 1945 was a historic day. The hotel was the site of the famous flag incident that earned the city its proud reputation as ‘City of Heroes’. Independence fighters ripped off the blue part of the Dutch flag, when the colonial officers wanted to retake control after the Japanese surrender. They created the Indonesian flag. The hotel was renamed ‘Hotel Merdeka’, meaning ‘independence’. Today this historic hotel is known as ‘Hotel Majapahit’ after the historic kingdom of Majapahit.