Paras: Documenting 100 Years of Hospitality and Hotel Architecture in Bali

Paras delves into the evolution of Bali’s hospitality and hotel architecture, beginning in 1924 when the Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij (KPM) initiated the construction of the first hotel in Bali and established a weekly steamship route between Bali and major Dutch East Indies cities such as Batavia (present-day Jakarta), Surabaya, Semarang, and Makassar. This new transportation link significantly increased arrivals to the island, including explorers and leisure travellers. Bali’s first international hotel, The Bali Hotel, opened in Denpasar in 1928

The book’s structure follows a chronological narrative, composed of an overture, a prelude, eleven chapters, sixteen interviews, seven intermezzos, and a coda