BLITAR, Indonesia -- There is a lively debate in Indonesia about which of the country's hotels has the most venerable heritage.
The Royal Ambarrukmo, in Yogyakarta, Central Java province, dates to the late 1850s, but was built as a residence for the city's royal family. It became a hotel only in the 1960s. Hotel Salak The Heritage in Bogor, West Java, built by a Dutch family in 1856, also has a strong claim. But it looks and feels like a modern hotel.