Banyan Tree Bintan Day 1 – Ferry to Bintan and Villa on The Rocks

28 December 2010

Banyan Tree Bintan is one of the best or perhaps the best resort on Bintan, targeted at those who wants a relaxing time at the beach, villa, or spa and exclusivity. It is the only all-villa resort on the island. 

 

It is a perfect place for a short getaway from Singapore. There was a promotional package for 2 nights stay at a Sea View villa, plus massage for 2 persons at the Banyan Tree Spa. So Bintan, here we come. Me and my wife.

To get to Bintan, we had to take the Bintan Resort Ferry from the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal located in the eastern part of Singapore. Travel time was about 45 minutes. Two classes of fares were available – economy and emerald class. Emerald class cost SGD21 more per seat per way and includes the Emerald Class suite of privileges.  We booked the Emerald class tickets, just to start getting into the mood of pampering ourselves silly.

We had booked the morning ferry in advance using the online booking system. Upon arrival at Bintan’s ferry terminal (Bandar Bentan Telani), we were swiftly processed through immigration (one of the privilege of travelling in Emerald class) and transferred to Banyan Tree Bintan Resort in a small shuttle van. The standard resort check-in reception was given at the lobby – warm smiles, cool towels and cold drinks, then the good news that the resort would be upgrading us from the Sea View Villa to the Villa On the Rocks which is supposed to be more expensive. We accepted the offer and made our way to the Treetops restaurant for our lunch as the villa check-in time was 3 PM.

Service at Treetops was excellent as expected, the Indonesia dishes we ordered was not bad but the orchid on our table had seen better days.

I think the resort may had taken recycling a bit too far. LOL.

After lunch, it was time for the massage that was part of our package. The spa is located in one of the bungalows, high up on the cliff, overlooking the sea. As expected from a Banyan Tree Spa, the massage was great.

Tea served after our massage at Banyan Tree Spa at Bintan.

After the spa, we had tea and enjoy the views of the coast from the terrace for a short while. Then a buggy brought us to our Villa On the Rocks. There was a row of villas on the rocks, right next to the sea. We got the first one on the left.

Villa on the Rocks at Banyan Tree Bintan.

Huge rock outside our villa, with a split down on the left side.

The description of the villa on the resort’s website states:

The villa is built on the weathered boulders by the sea. The Villa On the Rocks is the ultimate setting for ocean lovers. Be lulled to sleep by the gentle wash of the sea, and awake up to the soothing sound of waves breaking on the rocks. Secluded behind a walled courtyard garden, the lavish accommodation provides privacy and dose of tranquillity and romance. In addition to the usual amenities, the villa features a sensuous four-poster bed, outdoor dining area, timber deck with private alfresco jet pool and ensuite bathroom with sunken bathtub.

Sensuous 4-poster bed with a stuff toy turtle on it -  conservation fund raising effort by Banyan Tree Bintan.

Everything as described on the website was true, except for alfresco jet pool which was covered in tarpaulin, and did not look clean and operational. The interior of the villa was well decorated, with nice little touches to make you feel welcomed, although the furnishings were old but functional.

40 Day Banana – earned its name from the period it takes for the blossoms to appear till they matured as fruit.

I did not eat the bananas with the rock salt as suggested. They tasted good without.

Villa on the Rocks at Banyan Tree Bintan - crashing waves on the rocks.

Outside Villa on the Rocks at Banyan Tree Bintan.

The Villa On the Rocks offers great views and sound of the waves crashing on the rocks just outside our room. Quite nice and perfect for an afternoon of relaxation in the room.

View from room.

View from shower area.

Even the shower area of the ensuite bathroom with sunken bathtub had views of the outdoors and it was a strange experience to shower with the blinds up although we knew that on one would be able to look in from the ocean.

There was even a cute little bat hanging on the elves just outside the entrance. Another freebie from the resort.  There was a sign warning visitors of potential visits from monkeys, squirrels, reptiles from the small gecko to the large monitor lizards, deer, wild pigs and if lucky, even an anteater. Fortunately, the bat was the only wild animal we encountered.

Dinner tonight was at the Saffron, a restaurant serving Thai and Indonesian food. Service was excellent as well as the Thai food we ordered. As part of the rice service for our Thai food, the staff offered us to try a selection of steamed rice in various colours – green (pandan flavoured), yellow (kunyit), white (plain), dark brown (olive) etc.

The plain white steamed rice was still the best to go with the Thai curries and Tom Yam soup we ordered. The restaurant was built on top of the sea cliff and offered a view of the sea and the waves crashing on the rocks below. Unfortunately, the  scene outside was not well lit (conservation of energy?), and the glass panels were misted from the condensation of the air-con. Else the setting would be perfect for a romantic dinner.

Then it was back to the villa for a good night sleep…but it was not to be.

“Be lulled to sleep by the gentle wash of the sea, and awake up to the soothing sound of waves breaking on the rocks.”

It was more like “kept awake all night by the loud sound of the waves breaking on the rocks”. Maybe it was just us or it was a night when the waves were extremely strong. And it was not even a stormy night. We told ourselves that we need to request for a “downgrade” back to our original booked Seaview Villa, which are located higher up on the resort the next day.

So we did not get a good night sleep. But it was sort of a new experience to lay in the warm bed and listen to the loud crashing waves outside.

Continue Reading »

Banyan Tree Bintan Day 2 – Sun and Fun and our Seaview Villa

29 December 2010

Day 2 started with a buffet breakfast at the Treetops restaurant overlooking the South China Sea. We sat outside, under the shady trees and enjoyed the views. Besides the freshly cooked eggs and champagne, the rest of the buffet spread was a disappointment for a supposedly high-end luxury resort in terms of quality and variety of food on the spread.

After breakfast, we went to the lobby to request for a change of villa and the staff was happy to oblige. Since the new villa would only be ready later, we walked back to our villa to pack our belongings. We could have taken a buggy, but we enjoyed the morning walk in the cool morning air and lush greenery.

Cute sculpture of a monkey by the footpath.

It was good to see that renovation work was being done on some of the villas to restore them back to their glory days.

Banyan Tree Bintan - man repairing thatched roof.

We enjoyed the rest of the morning relaxing at our Villa On the Rock before heading to the pool and beach.

The pool is small but there were ample sunbeds and umbrellas. As Banyan Tree is positioned as a romantic couples’ resort, there were mostly adults. No noisy kids. So a peaceful, relaxing and quiet sun-tanning session with dips in the pool.

Pool at Banyan Tree Bintan. Beach in the background.

Small packets of sand-fly repellent lotion were available for those wanting to venture to the beach. The beach is shared with the Angsana Bintan Resort, which is also owned by Banyan Tree.

Private beach shared by Banyan Tree Resort and Angsana Resort.

A walk on the beach to observe the people surfing and also small critters on the sand was quite nice. Also lots of photo opportunities.

One of the Sea View Villa, high up in the cliff above the rocky shore, surrounded by lush greenery.

Exclusive private beach.

In the early afternoon, a staff came to us at the pool to inform us that our new room is ready and they can help us transfer our belongings to the new villa anytime, at our convenience. Great! The staff  knew the guests by names and faces.

The Sea View Villa is quite similar to the Villa On the Rocks on the inside but with quiet, lush greenery outside, instead of the waves crashing on the rocks.

Inside of Sea View Villa at Banyan Tree Bintan.

With the transfer swiftly done, we went for a late lunch at The Cove, which is located in same building but below the Saffron Restaurant and on the cliff overlooking the pool and sea. The tables outside the restaurant offered nice views of the cove that we could not see from the Saffron during dinner last night.

We ordered the Fried Snapper with Chips and Club Sandwich. The food was a big disappointment. I was left wondering how a supposedly luxury resort, so close to Singapore, could offer its guests food that was so sub-standard.

View of the pool from the Cove Restaurant. 

After lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon at the poolside. 

Dinner was at the Saffron again, since we enjoyed the service and the Thai food the previous night. Again, the Saffron did not disappoint with their Thai dishes.  The chef actually came out to greet us. 

And we were able to get a peaceful night sleep in our new, quiet Sea View Villa.

Continue Reading »

Banyan Tree Bintan Day 3

30 December 2010 

This would be our last day at Banyan Tree Bintan. Leaving the luxurious villa, lush green surroundings, breezy sea side resort and heading back to the busy city. Sigh.

Imagine leaving this place and going back to the city.

We lazed by the pool next to the Treetops after breakfast until it was time to take our ferry back to Singapore later in the day. The resort staff collected our boarding passes for the ferry on our behalf. They would inform us when it was time to leave, so we don’t have to worry about getting to the ferry on time.

View of South China Sea from the Treetops restaurant.

Good place to put up my feet and relax.

Old, broken, unused jetty seen from Banyan Tree Bintan Resort. Photo shot from top of cliff outside Treetop restaurant.

  Infinity edge pool outside Treetops Restaurant with views of South China Sea, Banyan Tree Bintan Resort.

Bitter and sweet feelings about this place. Some part of the stay here had been fantastic, e.g. spa and resort environment, friendly staff, buggy service, good food at Saffron, pool service etc..

But some parts disappointing, e.g. food at Treetops, food at The Cove.

Overall, it had been a pleasant get-away weekend.

Continue Reading »

Fun, Sun and Happenings on a Bintan Island Beach

Bintan Island is an Indonesian island situated south of Singapore and is served by the Bintan Resort Ferry at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal. Ferry ride from Singapore to Bintan is 45 minutes, excluding boarding and disembarkation time, and is a good place for a short weekend break and those looking for some fun, sun and pampering at one of the resorts. 

One of the better resorts on Bintan would be the Banyan Tree Resort where there is a nice private beach that is shared with the Angsana Bintan Resort which is under the same management. We stayed at one of the villas on the cliff, overlooking the sea and enjoyed our time on the beach during our stay.

Villas at Banyan Tree Bintan Resort.

Private beach at the resort.

There may be issues with sandflies on the beaches in Bintan. Sandfly bite is 10 times worst than a mosquito bite. The itch caused by the bite stays for a week. As a precaution, Banyan Tree Resort provided us with small packets of insect repellent to apply on our bodies before venturing onto the beach. We did not get any bites. Either no flies that time of year or the insect repellent did its job.

We did not try to swim in the sea which could be quite rough. Some folks did and they had their fun in the sun.

Surfing lasses at beach near Banyan Tree Bintan.

To surf or not to surf, that is the question?

Young girl braving the waves.

Dad to the rescue.

If you are tired of the sea, swim or surf, take a look around at the little critters on the sand or shallow waters. 

Tiny crabs left a nice pattern on the sand with the round balls of sand around their burrows.  They will appear by their burrows and quickly dart inside when you approached.

It was fun trying to catch them. The trick was to throw a handful of sand at them when they are out of their burrows. That would slow them down as the sand particles stuck to their body. Even then, they were quick!

Tiny crabs left a nice pattern on the sand with the round balls of sand around their burrows.

Easier to catch were the hermit crabs, so called because they lived alone in their own shell that they will carry them as they move about.

Hermit Crab.

There are tiny fishes near the rock and sand pools too. Elusive.

In any case, catching these critters were just for fun and some cheap thrill. They were all released back into the sea unharmed.

Continue Reading »

Bintan Island – zipping around the Banyan Tree Resort on a buggy

Banyan Tree Bintan Resort is located at Bintan Island, Indonesia. This is a all-villas resort that is less than an hour travel by ferry from Singapore. A good place for a weekend getaway.

Banyan Tree Bintan Resort is laid out sparsely over a sloping sea cliff.

To get from one point to another in Banyan Tree Bintan, an electricity-powered buggy would be the best mode of transport although it was possible and quite pleasant to walk as well.

The buggy was only a phone call away. The buggy, with a friendly driver, would appear within minutes of a call from the villa or any place within the resort and take you to your destination within the resort.

The video below shows our ride from our Villa to the swimming pool/beach.

Buggy Ride at Banyan Tree Bintan Resort

Continue Reading »