Getaway to Bintan

What: Bintan Getaway
Where: Bintan Lagoon Resort
When: 22-23 Feb 2014

(1) Ferry ride
Bintan Lagoon Resort was chosen as it has its own private ferry and terminal at its doorstep. Too bad, the weather was not on our side so we were transferred to Bintan Resorts Ferry on the day itself without much timing choices. Our ride to Bintan was moved from 9am to 9.50am, and the ride back to Singapore was rescheduled from 2pm to 4.35pm. Still, I could say that they handled this transfer quite well, considering the number of people that must have been affected during the weekend.

The ferry ride to Bintan was really rough - passengers were moved from front to middle area, and crews were busy distributing sick bags and tissue. Thankfully the ride back to Singapore was smooth.

(2) The beach
Long stretch of white, soft, powdery sand beach is always a welcome sight. It's windy, so very few people can be spotted at the beach. It was really clean and maintained well. We could not capture the sunrise clearly as it was cloudy when we were there.

(3) The room
Our room #4008 was spacious enough, with a king size bed and a day bed at the corner. Bathroom was equipped with bath tub and balcony was facing the sea. Too bad the vegetation in front of the beach was too thick, blocking the view in a way. The thing I did not quite like was the location of the room - almost at the end of West wing, quite a distance away from the lobby, and even further to East Wing where the leisure centre and pool with slides are located.

(4) Lunch at Rice and Ripples by the pool
Their green thai curry, personalized pizza, calamari, and legend burger did not disappoint. Rice is located by the beach, facing the vast South China Sea, while Ripples by the pool is at the main swimming pool, with dining area situated under the cozy gazebos.

(5) Buffet breakfast at Kopi-O
Maybe my recent experience at Shangri-la Mactan raised my standard too much. It was not that bad, actually. But some improvements can definitely be made. The food were not hot enough to my liking. Considering they are placed with individual warmers, I wasn't sure why they are lukewarm, even the chicken porridge. Luckily they served the tea hot! The fruit juice tasted full of sugar and preservatives, not fresh at all. I guess it must have been poured directly from the cans/boxes. The best one were their nasi kuning and opor ayam - too bad I found them the last, after I tried the dessert and pastries :p

(6) Overall impression
I have good overall impression of the resort. In general it's clean and well maintained. Facilities are aplenty, staff are friendly and approachable.

To note:
Windy season in Bintan usually lasts from December to March, so it may be wise to avoid that period.