My family and I realized we love travel birthdays. Instead of spending on a big birthday party, we opt for a family travel to foster bonding and creating memories.
Living in Singapore, we like to take advantage of its proximity to other countries. We know that Bintan, Indonesia is just a ferry boat away from Singapore. So for my birthday last November, we decided to spend a relaxing weekend at Bintan.
I was choosing between Bintan Lagoon Resort and Nirwana Garden Resort. Since I wanted to book the hotel reservations but I wasn’t too sure of my husband’s schedule, I opted to take the hotel that can give us a book now-free cancellation reservation (as long as you cancel if decided not to go ahead with the reservation in a specific date). We booked at Bintan Lagoon Resort. I am glad we did because they have their own ferry, Mozaic Ferry Line, that brings us directly to the resort. They have their own immigration area for the convenience of their guests. It was a smooth-sailing 75 minutes ferry boat ride from Tanah Merry Terminal Port to Bintan Lagoon Resort. The round trip ferry ticket cost $60 for adults and $50 for kids. We paid for tickets for my 2 years old and 9months old. We were hoping our baby would be exempted since he doesn’t occupy a seat but the customer service personnel told us that he must have a ticket.
We arrived with a breathtaking view of the beach. There was a bus waiting the guests of the resort but we didnt mind walking to the resort since it was nearby. The landscape of the place was beautiful and well-manicured. It was on a sunny Saturday and we arrived a little pass 11:00 AM. The receptionist told us that our room will be ready by 2:30PM so we decided to hang around the lobby area. We were given free drinks while we waited. We enjoyed taking lots of photos of us in their relaxing sofa and hammocks. Naj enjoyed looking at the kois in the pond. We decided to have lunch in the Fiesta. I don’t remember what we got and it was enough to fill us up. Mind you, though we are paying in Indonesian rupiah, the prices inside the resort can be a bit steep too. We checked on our room from the receptionist and it wasn’t ready yet. We were getting a bit bored from the waiting and finally…. we were given our keys to our room.
The room was spacious with a nice tatami space which the kids love. We also have a little terrace overlooking the front lawn. But you can tell the wear and tear of the place that this resort is a bit old and in need of renovation. It has a bathtub and well-equipped with amenities.
We rested a bit in our room then we headed down to explore the place. There are two pools in the resort. We choose to swim in the pool with a big slide and near the big recreation area for kids. There are jungle gym, activity area for kids, pool table and toy cars for rent, etc. We took our lovely time enjoying the “fun” pool. For dinner, we had Make-Your-Own Pizzas and a pasta. The waiter messed up with our orders and our pizza took longer than usual. They end up giving us 2 pasta. They gave us the other pasta for free as an apology. Even if their service needs polishing, my husband and I agreed their pizza and pasta was delicious. Even our picky toddler ate a lot of the pizza.
The next morning was my birthday! Ahhh, it was just nice waking up all relaxed with my favorite people beside me. My husband gave me a sweet birthday gift that comes a cute puzzle card. I felt so special and happy!
We had our free breakfast buffet. The choices were not bad but lack variety though. After our breakfast, we explored a bit. It was a really hot day but the landscape of Bintan Lagoon Resort is picturesque. We went up a little hill overlooking the resort and the beach. We also stroll for a bit at the beach.
For the late afternoon, we got a transport service from Bintan Lagoon Resort, our own ride going to Nirwana Garden Resort and they will fetch us by 8pm. We wanted to eat dinner there at the Kelong Seafood Restaurant.
We explored Nirwana for a bit though I prefer the atmosphere and architectural design of Bintan Lagoon Resort. We had some drinks and I blew my mini-birthday cake there at the Dino Cafe. Then we rode a shuttle bus that took us to Kelong Seafood Restaurant. It was a nice restaurant. You can feel the breeze from the sea while u eat your dinner. We had a big fat black pepper crab for dinner. It was a wonderful birthday celebration for me.
The next day, our last day in Bintan. After having our buffet breakfast, we made our kids place in this free kiddie room. They love it there. There were lots of toys, a television and books in the room. Then we went back in our room to get ready for our trip back to Singapore.
Bintan is a good place to go if you are living in Singapore and you want a quick getaway. It is a nice place for you to just relax in a hammock and unwind.
Bintan Lagoon Resort
Jl. Indera Segara Site A12, Lagoi, Teluk Sebong,
Sebong Lagoi, Tlk. Sebong, Kabupaten Bintan,
Kepulauan Riau 29155, Indonesia
Phone: +62 770 691388
Book reservations at Agoda.com