I have never really been a fan of Batam.
The first time I went there was in 1991 and I hated it so much! I hated the ferry ride, the dusty air, the rocky roads, the throngs of people looking at us like they were going to eat us up....and the list goes on. Food wasn't anything to rave about as well.
2 years back, we decided to go on a mini weekend getaway with my parents, grandpa, cousin and brother to Batam. Then, I have heard all the hype about their cheap massages and spas and was keen to try them out.
Many things have changed definitely but it was just too bad... didn't know we are supposed to pre-book all these so in the end, the whole lot of us just went for pedicure which was really really very cheap! If I am not wrong, it was only SGD 6 for the whole works!
We stayed at the acclaimed world-class Holiday Inn Hotel which was just a big disappointment. Thank goodness the great company made up for everything!
During the school hols, my husby suggested Montigo Resorts- a luxurious resort in Batam - to his sisters and their families. He showed me the pics online and all the facilities it has. I was pretty much impressed and was absolutely looking forward to it.
According to its website,
montigoresorts.com, it is where one can expect to be able to leave the hustle and bustle of city life behind, and just be immersed in the peace and tranquility of the resort that is set among lush greenery. The life of luxury. The thrill of adventure. The delight of children
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SOLD!
One thing to take note if you are planning to stay there- take ferry to Batam from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal , NOT Harbourfont. Montigo Resorts is on the other side of Batam , from the usual busy area.
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| Only a 30-min ferry ride!I was tired so I easily fell asleep. This was where we alighted. Because of its exclusivity, people who alighted here were mainly heading for Montigo Resort which is barely 5 mins away from the Nongsa Terminal. |
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| No need to deal with the usual massive crowd at the other Batam terminal. Everything was pretty fast and quick. |
That little girl is Batrisyah ...husby's youngest niece. She is just a natural in front of the camera...seriously a model in the making.
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| Open concept lobby. Nothing much we could do here except to wait while husby went to check in for all of us. |
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| The villas |
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| Because the whole resort is so so big, you've got take the buggy whenever you need to move from one place to another. |
We were hungry so we told them to drop us off at the restaurant ....we had a quick mini self-tour before giving up to the growlings of our stomachs (or perhaps, it was just mine....).
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| One of the pools to chill by.... |
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| Such cute carts. These are used for the different stations for breakfast and dinner buffets. |
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| I love the nautical designs. We were also very surprised by the extremely low prices on the menu. Of course Batam is known for cheap food but this was ridiculously cheap as Montigo is a more upscale resort as compared to the rest of Batam. Servings were satisfactory and taste was a-ok! |
Sorry...no photos of lunch at all! I was hungry and of all times, had an extremely bad toothache.
The resort is really suitable for people with kids as there were quite a few facilities meant just for the little ones.
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| Water fountain for the kiddos (and adults) to get wet in. The washrooms are below the play house ....check out the slides on the ride. They look pretty fun! |
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| Drinks area |
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| The little girl surrounded by all kinds of toys - Lego, Barbie dolls etc. The first thing I checked was the condition of the toys, in case they were a tad too dirty. But nope, they looked pretty new. |
We took the buggy towards our units .. only to realise that they were extremely near to where we were . We could have easily walked
lah.
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| The villas come in pairs. We booked two and were lucky that we were next to one another. |
Each villa is 3-storeys high and comes with a private pool and deck, seriously perfect if you just wanna chill.
FIRST LEVEL
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| The spacious living room...can easily fit in one whole family here! |
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| The kitchenette |
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| The common toilet |
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| iPOD dock |
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| A pool in the balcony! I didn't get into it at all during our stay because my stupid toothache was really driving me mad! |
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| That's Harith , coming down from the 3rd level. I didn't go up but the top deck is meant for barbeques and private parties. |
SECOND LEVEL
There are two bedrooms on the second level , the master bedroom with a king-sized poster bed and another with two single beds. The second room is also fitted with its own bathroom and television set.
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| We had the master bedroom! WHeeeeeee! It was pretty big, with an even more massive bathroom! |
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| The bathroom was really huge. They have the separate showers and toilet on the left, the long bar on the right with your sinks and amenities for his and hers, and just space to roll about. Hahah...... I thought the big extra space was not fully utilised. Perhaps they could have installed a much bigger bathtub or even a jacuzzi to fill it up. |
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I absolutely love the dresser and the fact that everything was within reach! The tissue, hairdryer, cotton buds, bin were all within reach without having to move my butt a single inch! Another plus point is how I could arrange all my vanity items in the middle of it all, just bring the mirror down and voila! All looked clean and sleek! This is something to consider when I buy my bungalow in the near future. :P
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Photos of the house stopped here. Seriously , my photos don't do the place any justice.
First , I forgot to bring the SD card for my camera (how dumb, right?) and then the toothache just disturbed me big time !
There were no plans to go out to Batam City area as it would take 45 minutes to get there , provided traffic is good. Furthermore we went there to chill and relax, not get caught up in busy traffic.
Thus the two of us went on with our favourite activity that night - spa visit!
Somehow, the hotel staff did not come with the buggy on time so husby decided to walk. It was a pretty far walk but you know, 7+pm, velvety night sky with some twinkling stars and a bright moon, hand-in-hand with the love of my life.... the walk seemed short :)
The Spa Villas were in clustered huts and looked so peaceful in the low lights and bamboo furnishings.
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| Into the world of bliss |
The spa massage cost me about $75 for 1hr and 30 mins. It definitely costs much less in Batam City area but cheaper enough compared to what I would need to pay in Singapore , with this kind of ambience.
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| Chill and sip at their lounge after the massage |
I really wanted to just go to sleep after the massage... hahha... so we called for a buggy. I didn't want to walk all the way back.
It was a very peaceful sleep that night .....ZZZZZZzzzzzzzz.....I love spas.
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| Early next morning, after the Fajr prayers, we could already hear the screamings from his nephews and nieces next door. Husby decided to have a morning swim in our villa pool . I didn't go down because, I repeat, of my stooooooppiiiiddddddddd toothache. |
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| The kids rushing through breakfast so that they could jump into the pool again. |
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| If I had counted correctly , they had 3 main public pools for one to choose from , each complete with the lounging chairs, shades and all. |
We only stayed a night day because the rest wanted to venture into the city to do some shopping. I wouldn't blog about the next hotel in the city because I didn't like it at all.It was a bad choice.
I would love to stay at Montigo resorts again , perhaps, with my family the next time round. It costs about $500 (SGD) per night and each villa can probably accommodate 6 people. They are pretty sticky about the number of guests staying in each villa so if you are thinking of bringing the whole village to share one, do think it over. You can check out
montigoresorts.com for more information :)
Every guest needs to be registered at the hotel lobby upon check in and the buggy will send you to your villa thus, there isn't much space to 'cheat'. Maybe you can squeeze in the kids but for adults, ermmm....go think of something yourself!
Here's ending the post with the pretty Batrisyah....have a good Sunday,y'all!
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