Hotel Savoy Homan

	The original form of  Grand Hotel Savoy Homan Bandung which consisted only of ground floor. It had the impression of a building in Europe with its squared roof form and round canopy.
	Savoy Homan Bandung until 1937 has been visited by world celebrities, such as : The King and Queen of Siam, The Prince and Queen of Belgium, The King Susuhunan Solo, The Governor General of Indo-China, and The Duchess of Westminster.

And many other guests followed, to name it actor Charlie Chaplin, and of course the state guests participants of Asia Africa Conference 1955, such as India President Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, China Prime Minister Chou En Lai, Egypt President, Gamal Abdul Nasser, and other V.I.P. guests.

	Savoy Homan Bandung what we see today is the work of famous architect A.F. Aabers. The essential characteristics of the building lay on on two important element : the elegant horizontal line formed by the room corridor and the strong vertical line of its tower.
	During its first golden period, Savoy Homan was managed by Mr. Fr. J.A. Van Es, as president director.

Villa Isola

This superb example of Art Deco style building is located on the northern part of Bandung. The architect, A.F. Aalbers who also designed the new Savoy Homan, has dedicated his time and creativity in exploring the design, which finally resulted in this distinguished piece of art. Surrounded by a vast area of rectangular form of paddy fields seen from above, the complex had an orderly arrangement of site plan that recalled the regularity of the paddy fields.

It was built in 1932 for the Italian millionaire D.W. Berretyan art-critics phillantropist who died shortly after the building finished. Later this building was changed into a villa-hotel, and later as a Teacher Training College. 

	Villa Isola is located on Northern Bandung. With its splendid site and beautiful view surrounding, this hotel has won a special place among the many hotels existed in Netherlands Indie.

Grand Hotel Preanger

	The new facade of Grand Hotel Preanger, Bandung, located in front of Grand Hotel Savoy-Homan.
	Preanger seen from above. We could see in the picture the silhouette of mountainous area on the Eastern part of Bandung, in the surrounding of Mount Manglayang. The old timers could still remember how cool and spacious the old Bandung was.

The new shape of this building, was the artwork of Prof. C.P. Wolff Schoemaker, after had been back from United States, where he explored new ideas through his experience together with the famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. The influence is apparently manifested on the facade’s decoration of the hotel, along with the aim to absorb local ideals, as it was done by Frank Lloyd Wright himself by addapting his design to the native Indian decorative pattern in Mid-West America.

Comparing to Savoy Homan which  exposes the beauty of simple curvilinear form, Preanger tries to perform the richness of ornamentation explored in local Indonesian culture.

Despite all critics toward the way the architect Schoemaker implemented local culture in way that some people regarded as naive, still the building of Grand Hotel Preanger is among the unique buildings that brings enchanting charms.

Bandung, May 2001
TMY