Bintan

What if you didn’t want to make your own meals – not everyone is a foodie like you and your family

There are a number of restaurants in the hotel.  The only one we frequented this year was the main bistro type restaurant for our daily breakfast.  It was an excellent experience – a full American style buffet breakfast including an omelet bar.  The other two restaurants are Japanese and Italian cuisines.

What’s the best part of Bintan Lagoon Resort experience?

In one word: service.  The level of service we received there every single day is over the top – world class.  What I found in Bintan are people who are naturally gentle, kind, always greeting you with a smile, and always taking care of what ever you need.  I found in Bintan that Indonesian people are some of most hospitable people I have ever come across in my life.  It also helps to be kind and appreciative in return which allows them to double their effort of hospitality.  In fact, it helps that we are returning guests and they really go the extra mile for repeat guests.  Finally, not too many people stay as long a stretch as we do.  As a result, most of the resort staff know who we are and make us feel really special through their routine interactions with us.

Anything negative that you can think of about BLR?

Two things I did not like. 

• You get really fleeced if you buy any of the grocery provisions from the hotel. First time we were there we did not know what was available locally.  However now we know better and buy perishable stuff (vegetables, fruits, poultry, fish etc) from the local market accessible thru bus of car within about 20 minutes from the hotel.  So we buy stuff from the hotel only as a last resort.
• Secondly you get screwed on the exchange rate.  They quote the price in Singapore dollars, but the final settlement of the bill takes place in Indonesian Rupiah.  When I checked out, this time,  I felt I was screwed to the tune of $300.00 through this exchange rate scam.

What about golf?

This is a golfer’s paradise that is unknown to most of the world except for people from Singapore.  This is an island in Indonesia that is a 45-minute ferry ride from Singapore.  To understand Golf in Bintan you have to go back a little bit to Singapore.  Singapore is only a one-hour ferry ride from Singapore.  Singapore today is a very rich and successful city state with a lot of people with a lot of money who like to play golf.  But Singapore has very little land for building too many golf courses.  For a relatively small place it has a fairly good number of golf courses – about 20 of them.  But for the 4 million people in Singapore with many foreigners living and a lot of Singaporeans being golf crazy there just are not enough golf courses in Singapore to satisfy all the needs.  So these resorts were built by Singaporean companies in collaboration with Indonesian government to meet the golfing needs of people living in Singapore.

Ria Bintan Golf Club:  Ria Bintan Golf Club is probably the best maintained course I have ever played.  It has three 9-holes and you can play in any combination you want.  One of the three nine holes has ocean frontage.  I rank this course a 9.5 out of 10, on par with Sherwood if not better.  The lavishness and opulence of the Clubhouse will blow you away.  Designed by Gary Player.  Weekday green fee about $75.00 (S$110) that includes the cart and a caddy.  Caddy is optional and costs about $12.00.   Unfortunately no “Mr. Basu special” in Ria Bintan.

Golf at Bintan Lagoon Resort:  This resort has two courses one designed by Jack Nicklaus and the other designed by Ian Baker Finch.  This is the resort where we were vacationing.  .  The price of a round of golf for me was about $45 (S$64.00) including caddie and cart.  Tips to the caddie is extra.  I was told that I was getting the best rate (“Mr. Basu special” – as Rully, The General Manager of Golf Operations called it) they can offer and their normal guest rate is S$104.00 for weekdays and not sure what’s the rate for the weekends – I Know it’s considerably higher.  Since I got the $45/round weekend or weekdays I didn’t bother to find out the weekend rate for the general public.  Great course, great service, great value.

• Jack Nicklaus course: It’s a very good course.  Except for a couple of fairways the course is in excellent condition.    It’s a challenging course.  A lot of diversity from hole to hole. One hole (hole 12) is on the ocean.  $45 price is  an outstanding value. 
• Ian Baker Finch course: This course last year was not in a good condition. However they have cleaned up their act and I found the course this year in great condition. I played this course only one day because the course was too hilly and with my bad knees it was tough to play this course.  Yes, tougher than the Nicklaus course.  The green fee was the same as the JN course.

What’s ocean water like?

The water temperature is warm enough that you can go in the water at 6:00 a.m.  It’s very comfortable.  Same was true for the pool temperature.  Because of my knee problem, I swam in the pool every morning around 5:30 a.m. as part of my routine to get ready for early morning golf.  It’s a great way to get your joints moving.

What about Singapore?

I have been visiting Singapore for many many years.  It’s a great place to visit the first couple of times.  However you run out of things to do in Singapore after that.  My primary attraction of Singapore is hanging out some of the Singapore natives I have befriended over the years of travel thru Singapore and have become really good friends – Cedric and Lisa Lim.  We met them when we (my son Robin and I) were in Ko Samui, Thailand in 2002.  Since then every time we go through Singapore it has become a standard part of our stay to spend time Cedric and Lisa.  Cedric (ex-IBM Global) owns an IT consulting company and Lisa works for Sun Micro.  Given their professional background we are never at a loss for things to talk about.  They are very hospitable and gracious hosts and I really enjoy spending time with them.  Each time I’m in Singapore Cedric is always bringing some of his friends to meet me over dinner and finding me new golfing partners.  Typically they are almost always technology professionals.  As a result connecting with them is very easy.  My other favorite activities in Singapore are golf and dining out.  Golf is very expensive in Singapore and very hard to get a tee time unless you know someone who has a golf club membership.  This time Cedric introduced me to a friend – Shawn, who is a member at the Tanah Merah Country Club.  Shawn and I played at the TMCC the day after I returned from Bintan.  It’s a great course.  Really enjoyed playing the course and was very happy to make one more friend in Singapore.  I just love all the outdoor dining places in Singapore.  Because of the tropical climate and outdoor dining in the evening is just divine.  Last year Cedric took me to a new place called Chjimes – it’s a complex of restaurants and retail stores all having outdoor dining.  It’s a great place dine and hang out, frequented mostly by members of expatriate communities of Singapore.

My hotel of choice in Singapore- Holiday Inn Parkview (HIPV)

http://www.parkview.holiday-inn.com  I have been staying at this hotel for many years and has become my hotel of choice when I come to Singapore.  It’s not like a Holiday Inn in the US.  In terms of cost and quality closer to a Marriott or a Hyatt.  What I like best about this hotel is it’s location and for the price over quality of the hotel is a good value.  Very centrally located and most things I need are within walking distance.  My favorite dining joint in Singapore is this Indian Restaurant called Maharaja, it’s located right next to the HIPV.  The best way to book a room in hotels in Singapore is not make a reservation before you get there.  There is a hotel reservation desk at the arrival hall of the Changi Airport.  At that desk the airport authority has negotiated rates with most hotels in Singapore that is about 30-40% cheaper than their cheapest rate that you can directly from these hotels.  For example the cheapest rate for a standard room at the HIPV is about S$190 and at the airport is S$133.  However, there is a catch.  These rooms are made available by the hotels only based on availability.  As a result there is no guarantee that you will get a room at HIPV.  That’s the chance you take.  One way around that is to book a room on the internet – I was told by HIPV staff that’s their cheapest rate, without credit card guarantee and then try to get a room at the airport arrival hall.  As long as you are arriving before 6:00 PM, if you don’t get a room at the airport you still have you room that you booked.  This time both pre and post Bintan, I was out of luck and did not get a standard room at the HIPV.  Instead I was able to get a room in the executive level (with executive lounge and a few other perks) for S$190.  That was what I would have paid for a standard room anyway.  So it worked out OK.  The staff at the executive lounge were very friendly, attractive and poised (see the pictures).  Enjoyed their hospitality during my stay at the HIPV – both times, pre and post Bintan stay.