Bintan Lagoon Resort (Day 2)

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Rise and shine! We started our second day at Bintan Lagoon Resort with buffet breakfast at kopi-o restaurant. When I’m having a buffet breakfast it’s almost always when I’m on vacation. That’s why buffet breakfasts make me happy :)

Anyways, the spread here consists of both Asian and Western food. We wasted no time in filling our plates.

East meets West when you have fried bee hoon (rice vermicelli), sambal belachan (fermented shrimp paste) and Turkey bacon all on the same plate. Colorful huh?

Buffet breakfast at Kopi-O, Bintan Lagoon Resort

Those with a sweet tooth would probably prefer the pastries and snacks. The kueh lapis (layer cake) here is pretty in pink, similar in taste and texture to our colorful 9-layered version. As a huge fan of waffles, I was ecstatic to have them here too. Unfortunately they were pretty thin and lacked flavor.

Golf course at Bintan Lagoon Resort

Following a sumptuous breakfast, it’s tee off time! We headed to the golf clubhouse (in our buggy of course) with its glorious 18-hole golf courses. There were a few early birds who beat us there in the morning.

Golf course at Bintan Lagoon Resort

Nothing beats having a nice hot cuppa coffee in the cold morning, don’t you think? It’s great that there’s haskell’s, a decent café at the golf club that overlooks the undulating green lands. There’s an old wives’ tale that claims looking at grass in the morning is very good for the eyes. I wonder if there’s any truth in that?

A round of coffee at Haskell's, Bintan Lagoon Resort Golf Clubhouse

We noticed that out of the 12 eateries at the resort, at least a few of them share a common drinks menu with the same prices and all. We had hot chocolate at miyako Japanese restaurant the previous day, and had the exact same hot chocolate over here too. And by hot chocolate, it’s actually hot Milo at $6 a cup!

Next, we drove our buggy to the resort’s private beach. The buggy sure was a joy to drive around :)

Outdoor massage at Bintan Lagoon Resort Photo by Nobodyin

At the beach, outdoor massage services are provided at elevated pavilions (in addition to the indoor day spa)! Very rustic and exotic. That’s bound to be a memorable experience.

Swimming pool at Bintan Lagoon Resort

As there was a slight drizzle, we lounged around the swimming pool instead. The pool features a café, ripples by the pool, that has its own swim-up bar. This concept has gained popularity in many resorts.

Orange Juice

Orange Juice
SGD6+ + 10% Government Tax

Imagine swimming right up to a bar and be served a luscious piña colada or a freshly squeezed fruit juice!

Vanilla Coco

Vanilla Coco
SGD7+ + 10% Government Tax

Here’s another drink that we had tried and loved — the vanilla coco, a glorious blend of banana, vanilla ice cream and coconut milk. I’m so getting a blender to make my own vanilla coco! Let’s hope I perfect the recipe :)

Swimming pool at Bintan Lagoon Resort

People literally spend half the day at the pool. We were there near noon. By the time we returned for a second round of drinks in the late evening, the same group of people was still frolicking in the pool!

Honey Chicken Wing

Honey Chicken Wing
SGD15+ + 10% Government Tax

Other than the drinks, the pool bar also served surprisingly good food! The honey chicken wings were a delightful snack, with perfectly grilled wings coated in a honey-sweet hoi sin sauce. Yummy! The spicy dip that came with the crinkle-cut fries was very tasty too.

Chicken Quesadillas

Chicken Quesadillas
SGD17+ + 10% Government Tax

The chicken quesadillas gave a sense of déjà vu of my trip to Texas almost two years ago. I so miss the colorful Tex-Mex food and it was a nice surprise to be able to have it at ripples.

The quesadillas were great, with the flavorsome combination of spring onion, sweet pepper and cheese, coupled with the awesome salsa dips.

Aside: if anyone could point me to a good Mexican restaurant in Singapore, I would be so grateful. Although the last time I met a Mexican, he lamented that there’s no decent Mexican restaurant here.

Thai Green Curry

Thai Green Curry
SGD17+ + 10% Government Tax

The skilful rendition of foreign cuisines ended when we got to the Thai green curry. It was overly salty and sour. And because it was very watered down, it was akin to drinking Chinese soup rather than a thick curry gravy. At least the chicken meat was soft and tender.

After a very satisfying lunch, we decided it’s time to get out of the resort. A shuttle service that brings guests on a 1.5 hour shopping trip at pasar oleh oleh leaves the resort twice a day. It’s $6 per person for the two-way trip. Too bad we couldn’t drive our buggy there!

Pasar Oleh Oleh

The mini shuttle bus picked us up at the main lobby. The ride took about 20 minutes. I was dismayed to see the familiar colorful “bintan resorts” logo at the entrance. It meant that the shops cater specially to resort guests, not locals. Red warning lights immediately flashed in my mind. Tourist trap!

Pasar Oleh Oleh Photo by Almixnuts

Once again, all prices here are in terms of Singapore dollars. Most of the wares sold were those we had already seen at our resort’s shopping galleria. The usual wooden figurines, oil paintings and beachwear. Even while shopping, we had to fend off several locals trying to bring us to other places in Bintan, for a fee of course.

Of course, there are also a few polo ralph lauren shops for good measure.

Polo Ralph Lauren shop in Bintan Photo by createyu

So are these the authentic polo ralph lauren? The prices are in the same range, although the stores seem to have a perpetual 20 to 50 percent storewide discount. After some googling, I learned that the polo ralph lauren stores in Bintan are a special franchise licensed by the label, but with inferior quality and cutting.

Pasar Oleh Oleh Photo by Apricot Cafe

This whole place is laid out like a kampung (traditional Malay village), with the shops housed in small houses. It’s actually a pretty unique place. But the things sold need to be more interesting. You would find almost the same items in shop after shop.

Our transport back to the resort would arrive only after 1.5 hours, and we had an hour left to kill. So we went to kampoeng lagoi on the opposite side of the road.

Kampoeng Lagoi Photo by Nobodyin

This is a smaller and quieter area with massage parlors, cafés (including a haagen dazs) and — you guessed it — yet another polo ralph lauren store. We also noticed that the shops didn’t have air-conditioning, perhaps to save on electricity due to the low traffic?

Kampoeng Lagoi Photo by Apricot Cafe

This beautiful building houses a spa salon. Doesn’t it look zen?

Eventually we got back to the resort, feeling like we had been stiffed of $12 visiting a tourist trap. Sweet relief followed at horizons café in the main lobby.

Horizons Café at Bintan Lagoon Resort Photo by Bintan Lagoon Resort

You can sit on bright orange bar stools and enjoy a slice of cake. We had ourselves some slices of creamy goodness. See?

Tiramisu

Tiramisu! I love that the name of the cake is ON the cake. Cute!

Mango Smoothie

Mango smoothie! Nice transparent stirrer, eh? I brought home a couple of these as small memory keepsakes!

Well, that’s it for our 2D1N trip in Bintan. Most good things come to an end, and it ended way too soon! I’d like to thank all the people who made this trip possible. It was a much needed break that we really needed.

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About the Author

Veron Ang is the founder and chief editor of Sparklette. She lives in Singapore and has dined and traveled across the world. She also runs Sparklette Studio, a web design and development firm. If you'd like to connect with her, head on over to the contact page or follow her personal updates on Twitter: @VeronSG.

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24 responses

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wenn
November 2

seem very relaxing..but the food seem more higher price~~
thoug will be cheaper eating in indo?
still,i will go one day for relaxing time out~~
Reply
Veron
November 2

I heard that the food at the resort is expensive because they import the ingredients from Singapore. Plus, resort/hotel food are almost always expensive! Pretty sure there’s cheaper stuff out there in Tanjung Pinang for the locals.
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pkchukiss
November 3

Yeah, I’m quite shocked at the price of the stuff; but I haven’t been to Bintan, so I don’t know what’s the market rate for food. If it were this expensive I won’t be able to afford to go :(
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Veron
November 4

If I ever get to visit Bintan again and make it out of the resorts, I’d let you know if there’s affordable stuff. Last I went to Bali, the restaurants along the beach had pretty decent prices. But of course you’d have to pay for a plane ticket to get there.
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mira
November 4

I’ve been wondering about that Polo shop. It exists at almost every shopping mall in Jkt (and other Indonesian cities) but at Bintan and Batam they’re priced in USD, right?
I just went to the Jkt shop last week :p
Reply
Veron
November 4

Oh the ones I saw in Bintan were priced in SGD, as was everything else. It’s like SGD was the official currency there or something!
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Tunjungsari
November 5

Hi Veron,
The main currency used in Indonesia is the Rupiah (Rp); however the Singapore Dollar (S$) is widely accepted at Bintan resorts and Pasar Oleh Oleh. A few resorts on the island also accept U S Dollars (USD). Most hotels accept Visa, MasterCard and American Express credit card payments. If you are heading down south to the greater Bintan for some sightseeing and shopping, it is advisable to have ready notes and coins in Indonesian Rupiah (Rp).
Reply
py
November 5

After having missed your blog for a week or two due to loading issues, it is so lovely to be back. The Vanilla Coco looks very good. :)
Reply
Veron
November 5

Tunjungsari: Cool. Thanks for the clarification! It seems that not only is SGD widely accepted, the prices of goods and services are quoted exclusively in SGD. We wonder why. People visiting Bintan would probably have to carry both Singapore and Indonesian currencies.
py: It is excellent! Once I perfect the recipe, I’ll post it here :)
Reply
XWings
November 10

Hi Veron,
We were inside one of the villas, someone opened the door to the courtyard and there it was, staring at us.
Everyone got quite a huge scare but it was a magificent animal…huge too !
We end up looking at them through the Glass Windows…. too scare to go out….
Regards
Reply
Stephanie Tang
November 11

Hey Veron
Thank you so much for your beautiful entries about us. You made the food look so tempting! =D hope you had fun and look forward to you coming again. Thank you.
Stephanie Tang
http://www.bintanlagoon.com
Reply
Veron
November 12

XWings: lol that’s funny! And cute too! Didn’t anyone try to pet it? Hahaha it must have been a very funny and memorable experience!
Stephanie: Thanks for helping to make this trip possible! I look forward to having another marvelous vacation there again soon!
Reply
gi
November 15

Do check out Viva Mexico at Cuppage Terrace, food is pretty authentic and service is great. Al fresco dining in the evening is cosy too.
Reply
Veron
November 18

Thanks for the feedback regarding Viva Mexico! The restaurant has been on my shortlist ever since Cuppage Terrace reopened, but I just haven’t found the time to go pay them a visit. With your positive words, I’ll make sure I go check them out soon!
Reply
Jane
February 28

Are all deluxe rooms newly furnished? I want to book the deluxe sea facing room but i dunno if they will give us the newly furnished ones..
Reply
bluesandigo
March 20

Hi Veron,
I’m planning to go to BLR soon with my family and since I’ll be travelling in lots so I’m looking to book the superior rooms. Have they been renovated too?
Have you been to Nirwana Gardens? Which one do you recommended, Nirwana or Bintan Lagoon?
Btw I LOVE the way you reviews stuffs and the pics are great! I’ll definately subsribed! hee hee…
Reply
Dhee
March 20

Yaph!! They do have the renovated superior room.
It’s fabulous!! Absolutely beautifull!!
Reply
Wendy
May 11

Halo Veron,
Gd am! I was searching for feedbacks on Bintan Lagoon Resort and I found yours. Your reivew makes me EXCITED as we are going next mth. As we have 2 young daughters (5 & 1), any advises for us? We will be staying in Cempaka Villa, any other tips to make this family trip a wonderful vacation? Thank u in advance!
Reply
Nicholas
August 13

Was at Bintan Lagoon Resort Dec ‘08 for a team offsite and Nirwana Gardens Resort in Apr ‘09 to facilitate a Snr Mgmt retreat for a client. Pesonally, I prefer Bintan Lagoon. Having stayed at both resorts, when it comes to food, BLR offers a wider selection and clearly, the coffeehouse a much bigger compared to NGR.
The BLR rooms have better natural lighting and sea-view balcony is a plus. Not everyday that many of us wake-up to waves crashing on the waves. I did see a reptile crawling on a path from my 4th floor room. Not sure if it’s a kodomo dragon. Oh the sandy white beaches is another plus for me.
NGR will appeal if you wish to limit your budget. Rooms are a tad dated and dull. Don’t think there was a flat-screen there either. Food is limited and quite honestly bland and lacks anything enticing.
Pasar Oleh Oleh is the usual touristy shopping area. I’ve never been there but being touristy, I heard that prices aren’t any cheap. If you have 2-3 hrs to spare, Tanjung Pinang will suppossingly offer better prices and goods. Somehow, Polo is everywhere on Bintan and Batam.
My experience with both resorts, the curency of choice is SGD. they claim it’s easier for their customers since 70% at anytime is usually S’poreans. My understanding from the staff at both resorts is pricing at SGD allows the management to make an additional fee from the currency exchange. If you insist, they will take Rupiah. Your bills paid by credit card are in Rupiah too. They take USD and such as well.
Reply
- Veron
  August 13
  
  Thanks for sharing on your resort experiences, Nicholas :) What a wonderfully colorful job you have! I would love to visit resorts as part of my job. Please recruit me!
  Yeah, I would really urge everyone to stay from Pasar Oleh Oleh. The things there uninteresting and expensive! If we had more time in Bintan, we would have gone to Tanjung Pinang. I heard that’s where the locals shop, too.
  We didn’t get to use any of the rupiah we had because everywhere we went, prices were in SGD. I’m pretty sure I still have a thick wad of rupiah sitting in my drawer. Saving it for Bali or Batam, hehe :)
  Reply
  - Nicholas
    August 13
    
    Haha… For one, I wasn’t invited to stay at the resort and review it. Short trips to places like Bintan are ok. Further distance like just to HK, it can be tiring to rush for your flight or spemd your weekend travelling.
    There’s pro and cons. I not all that keen travelling for business unless I get some time off; which never happens.
    Reply
danyl21
December 12

hey..i read ur post awhile ago..i find it interesting!!! was wondering if you know the prices for alcohol and ciggies over there? hee and is it true there’s a huge beach party on fri and sat nite? :)
Reply