When in East Java, be sure not to mistake Grand Heaven Surabaya with Grand Surabaya Hotel. The two premise offers very different kind of service and hospitality.

The extravagant funeral home in Indonesia recently gained popularity amongst netizens after Tik Tok user @okyukserius posted footage of it earlier in May. The clip has since received millions of views, with netizens responding calling it "Hotel del Luna" in real life, in reference to the 2019 South Korea hit TV series. 

K-Drama ‘Hotel Del Luna’ Image source via Soompi

The building's grandiose façade is also said to resemble a five-star hotel. Indeed, the upscale neoclassical design of Grand Heaven Surabaya breaks away from your ordinary architecture. Funeral parlours have evolved with the diversity of memorial rites and rituals, funeral services and other bereavement assistance. It would have been hard to imagine modern world-class facilities from a funeral home back in the older days. 

Let's take a look at just how grand "Grand Heaven" is. 

Completed in 2021, Grand Heaven Surabaya is the latest branch of Heaven Funeral Home that has decades-long experience in helping grieving families in Jakarta. They also manage the renowned Heaven Pluit Funeral Home in Jakarta, listed as "Funeral Home with the most Extensive Facilities" by Museum Rekor-Dunia Indonesia (MURI).

With their latest addition, the highly established funeral parlour now claims the largest (and possibly the most exquisite) funeral home in East Java, located between Surabaya and Sidoarjo.

Image source via Heaven Funeral Home

The lounge on the first floor, with its elegant ambience, guarantees guests' comfort with light refreshments served. 

A luxurious lounge and visitation halls to welcome guests, accommodating both traditional and contemporary memorials.

Image source via Heaven Funeral Home

Several factors such as religious affiliation, facilities available, and types of services offered can classify a funeral home. What Grand Heaven is aiming for is definitely a full-service funeral home and beyond with its comprehensive on-site facilities. 

Guests can choose from 8×45 or 4×25 square meters of a fully air-conditioned visitors hall. There is also an option for the non-air-conditioned hall, which is smaller, at 4×19 square meters.

Instead of having to look for food elsewhere, Grand Heaven's cafeteria provides the convenience for family and guests to dine in or just rest over a cuppa coffee prepared by a skilled barista at the coffee house on the second floor. Image source via Heaven Funeral Home

In addition to that, Heaven Cafeteria also has experienced chefs in preparing appetising and comforting dishes for grieving families in times of sorrow.

A tastefully decorated living hall and dining area in the family private resting room. Image source via Heaven Funeral Home

The funeral directors will make necessary arrangements to accommodate the needs of all guests. As most funeral services go over a few days, grieving family members can get some rest and stay overnight by renting single or double bedrooms. The resting room comes with a bathroom, dining area and large living room with sofa bed and cable TV.

Grand Heaven Surabaya family resting bedroom and bathroom. Image source via Heaven Funeral Home

With such a huge entity and compound, one can be sure that sufficient parking spaces will not be an issue. Aside from the outdoor parking area, indoor parking is also available on the second, third, and fifth floors.

Heaven Funeral Home even provides the pedang pora (sabre arch) ceremony that is usually a tradition of respect for military weddings. Here, it is to pay homage and final respects to the departed.

Image source via Dailhotels.id

There has always been a disinclination to hold funeral service at a funeral parlour as many feel uncomfortable with the environment and the eerie idea of a mortuary. Is it all a thing in the past now? What are your thoughts on this real-life Hotel del Luna?

Nonetheless, one can expect Grand Heaven full-service funeral home to see through the mortuary services of the deceased and care for the needs of those with are mourning as well with their dedication "to care for your loved ones".