Mr & Mrs Smith

Ever fantasised about staying in a real Jungle Book? Peering out over lush foliage and vast volcanoes, as vivid butterflies flutter past and a soundtrack of birds shrills from the canopy. Well, here Mr Smith and I stand, soaking up the totally tropical setting that is MesaStila in central Java. This luxury spa may be ringed by eight volcanoes, including Mt Merapi, one of the most active in the world, but just because Bear Grylls would relish the environment, there’s no need to rough it.

Earlier this afternoon we wove our way past schoolchildren chattering in front of Buddhist stone-art shops, coconut-scented nasi lemak stalls and rainbow-bright batik stores. Elderly ladies hung their washing outside mint-coloured houses as men languished in the shade, smoking cigarettes. We drove by the spectacular Borobudur temple, lime-green rice paddies and fields of grazing oxen on our way to Losari, where a tree-lined driveway leads to a lovingly restored railway station. It’s now Losari’s reception and about 10 people, smiling warmly, usher us onto the terrace for coffee and Indonesian cakes. Perching on cream day-beds, we sip Java in Java.

Losari is a labour of love. A coffee plantation since Dutch colonial times, each building is reminiscent of a bygone era, with furnishings selected with an eye for Javanese style. Our colossal Arum Villa has a four-poster bed fit for the king of the jungle, a petite guestroom and a spacious terrace that is overlooked by several volcanoes. The noise of banging drums comes from nearby Magelang village and smoke rises in whorls, as locals burn offerings to appease their gods. Unperturbed, Mr Smith and I jump on the bed and have a cat-nap. We wake to the soothing call to prayer and the distant, hypnotic sound of gamelan music.

After strolling to the nearby village, we return to soak in a gold, sunken bath of regal proportions and tuck into dinner on the romantic terrace at the resort’s more formal restaurant, Java Red. Mr Smith chows down on a subtly-spiced beef redang and I choose the grilled chicken bakar, served with a divine chilli and lemongrass sauce. In what could pass for an edible homage to Mt Merapi, both come prettily plated with a cone of rice topped with a banana leaf hat.

We finish the evening with gin and tonics at the Plantation Bar, playing pool and reading novels until the rain starts to pour down. Gigantic, alien-like insects fly in for cover and frogs hop hurriedly across the paths. The intense storm is all the excuse we need for a cosy evening holed up in the villa.

The next day we rise early to crystal-clear views and the sound of crowing cockerels. Summoning the motivation to leave MesaStila, we take a tour of the coffee plantation. Not only are four different types of coffee grown here, but also organic vegetables, palm sugar and cotton trees which provide cotton for bed linen. Now that’s self-sufficiency, Java-style. A visit to the immense Borobudur temple can be added to the transfer to or from Yogyakarta airport – at sunrise or sunset – which is what we’d recommend.

Tour completed, we wander the grounds in the sunshine watching young girls practising for their gamelan performance later, hands and heads weaving. Mr Smith sets off to the gym, but is distracted by the glassy pool and loungers. I have a massage and herbal steam in the Turkish hammam, nearly falling asleep in a cloud of tranquillity. The sound of cicadas in the jungle outside rouses me at the end of the treatment.

Realising we have to be up at an unearthly hour, we opt for an early dinner. The attentive waitress asks detailed questions about how we would like our takeaway sandwiches in the morning but, snuggled in our villa, sarnies are the last thing on our minds.

Departure day dawns for us at 4am with the energetic jungle beats remixed with the mystical call to prayer. Bleary-eyed, we totter in darkness past frangipani trees to the reception where, to our delight, a tiny table with a huge pot of coffee and croissants is waiting for us. Casting one last look over the grounds, with the throb of the drums insistent, we agree that MesaStila has the bare necessities to make anybody feel like a jungle VIP.