Courtesy of a family friend, we inherited an all-expenses paid 3D2N stay at a one room suite @ Holiday Inn Resort Batam.

 

But we got it when the expiry was 5 days away which meant we had only 3 working days to process the trip.

 

No short of administrative experience during my time as a teacher, I managed to pull off the feat which included getting my last minute leave application approved, rework my work schedule, send emails to make reservations for room, two-way cruise tickets and land transfer.

 

We reached Harbourfront Centre ~1.5h before our ferry time (1310h). With the prior booking with BatamFAST, we collected the boarding passes for both the outgoing and return trip. The gate opens at 1230h so we had time to grab a quick lunch before proceeding for boarding.

 

Although I secretly hoped that BatamFAST meant that the ferry would travel FASTer, the trip took the usual 45min.

 

We sat in front of a trio of boisterous university students who chatted animatedly throughout the ride. In the 30min that I did not have my earphones plugged in, I learned about their job preferences and travel plans for the next year (one of them is going to Canada!), and figured out that they ought to be final year undergraduates.

 

We docked at the all familiar Sekupang terminal at 1300h Batam time.

 

 

Having made reservations for the resort’s free terminal transfer, we were greeted by a Holiday Day Inn staff after clearing customs, clad in the resort's uniform and holding up an A4 size signage which is hard to miss.

 

 

The shuttle from Sekupang terminal to Holiday Inn Resort took ~20min. The tarmac conditions in Batam are not as smoothed so brace yourself for a slightly bumpy ride.

 

Although it was only 1340h when we reached, we managed to get our early check-in, possibly because it was a Thursday. The standard check-in time was 1500h.

 

Typical Singaporeans, we requested for a late check-out (1300h instead of the normal 1200h) as our return ferry time was 1500h and the pick-up timing for the shuttle to Sekupang was 1400h.

 

 

We were ushered to our room by a staff who proceeded to knock on the door before letting us into the room. Good awareness of cultural practices. Impressive!

 

As a resort, the room may be less posh than that of a hotel but the resort more than makes up for it with their generous hospitality and an abundance of amenities and entertainment facilities. There was even a complimentary fruit basket and a card from the GM. What a nice gesture!

 

 

After the routine of snapping the room from strategic angles, we lazed around for a bit, watching cable TV. There was a good selection of channels (sports, movies, mediacorp). And we supplemented it with a thumbdrive furnished with movies and episodes of Friends. There was also free wifi available in the room and public areas which allowed us to spin a few “steals” and “attacks” on Pirate King.

 

Late afternoon, we walked around the resort. The resort consists of 6 blocks that encircle the pool.

 

View from the balcony.

Kids' haven: sand playground + water slide.

Swimming pool behind Dragon Inn Chinese Restaurant.

 

A number of amenities are situated between blocks 3 & 4. There's a gym which is rather well equipped with treadmills, free weights, barbells, a bench press station, a 4 stack multi trainer and a punching bag!

 

 

There is a table tennis table in the pavilion opposite to the gym. Table tennis bats and balls, tennis racquets are literally freely available in the gym. No sign-out required.

 

 

The gym and table tennis pavilion flanks a road that leads down to the award winning Tea Tree Spa. Although strongly recommended by friends, I'm not a fan of massages (emasculating!) and the missus decided to skip it this time round as well.

 

 

After a quick workout, we went to the Terrace Café for dinner. The missus ordered a Hawaiian Chicken pizza ($69,000++ Rp; ~S$7) and I got the local Ayam Penyet ($89,000++ Rp; ~S$9). Prices exclude 11% government tax & 10% service charge.

 

 

After dinner, we went to the games room which is just above the Terrace Café. Equipped with a pool table, foosball table, air hockey table, dart board, carom board, xbox, wii (all free!), it is a haven for guests of all ages.

 

 

After a few rounds of one-sided *snigger* foosball and air hockey, we retired to our room to watch TV.

 

One of the biggest let-down of the room was that there was only one TV placed in the living room and none in the bedroom! And so we made a few adaptations and tadah! we can now watch TV on bed!

 

 

We boiled some water to make coffee and milo and snuggled in bed to watch Mazerunner to end a happy Day1.

 

Travel Tips

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[Ferry] Ferry to Batam is free seating. Take the window seat to the left of vessel for views of Sentosa, St John Island, MBS and flyer skyline. Window seat to the right for views of Reflections at Keppel Bay, Bukom, Semakau, Sebarok islands. Opposite directions apply for return trip.

 

[Porter] Porters at the ferry terminal will offer to carry your bags/ luggage but they expect to be paid ($1 per item). So insist on carrying your own bags if you do not want to pay.

 

[Holiday Inn Resort] To watch TV in bed in the one bedroom suite, move the coffee table to the entrance of the divider and place the TV on it. There's no need to remove/reattach any cables. As a form of courtesy, do arrange the furniture back before checking out.

 

[Shuttle Services] The resort provides free shuttle services to BCS Mall, Nagoya Hill Mall & ferry terminals (fixed timings). Do make prior reservations with the Concierge.

 

[Drinking Water] Tap water is not potable in Batam. If you need more water than the 2 complimentary bottles, the gym has a water dispenser where you can fetch both hot & cold water.

 

[TV] The TV in the room has a USB port. If the plethora of cable channels cannot satisfy you or your kids need their daily dose of Barney, you may want to bring along a thumbdrive loaded with your favorite videos. Short of charger heads? Connect your device via usb for makeshift charging. Remember to remove your thumbdrive after that!