Banyu Biru Villa — Hotel in Bintan Island

My 4 yrs old almost got killed by their water slider pool. We visited the resort for the third time, accompanied by family friends, and stayed in their Banyu Biru villa which had a water slide for kids. However, this visit turned into a terrifying experience for my family. To sum it up, the pool area lacked staff presence, had no lifeguards, security, or sunproof shelter. In an effort to shield ourselves from the intense sunlight, we moved our sun chairs under a large tree approximately 15 meters away from the pool.

While my daughter was playing under the water slide in a game of hide and seek with her friend, her leg from the knee downward got caught in the water intake system. She was on the brink of drowning. Due to our distant seating, I only realized the dire situation when my 4-year-old had already ingested a significant amount of water. My son held his sister and called for my help. Despite my immediate intervention, the suction was so strong that I couldn't free her from the intake system. I shouted for assistance, but no one came to aid us. Fortunately, one of the boys nearby managed to locate the switch and deactivate the system, finally releasing my daughter's trapped leg. By that time, her calf was discolored, turning black and purple, with scratches all over her knee area.

Upon addressing the hotel staff, all they offered was some ice, with no medical assistance provided. Regrettably, the management did not treat the incident with the gravity it deserved. Following my return home, I composed an email to them, but their response was unsatisfactory. While they claimed to have implemented measures like placing a mesh cover over the intake and lowering the pipe, their lack of empathy was evident. The hotel's customer care was severely lacking, and the management's response was a major letdown. I would caution other young parents to exercise extreme caution around pool water intakes. It is astonishing that a large hotel can offer such inadequate support in such...

We visited the resort for the third time, accompanied by family friends, and stayed in their Banyu Biru villa which had a water slide for kids. However, this visit turned into a terrifying experience for my family. To sum it up, the pool area lacked staff presence, had no lifeguards, security, or sunproof shelter. In an effort to shield ourselves from the intense sunlight, we moved our sun chairs under a large tree approximately 15 meters away from the pool.||||While my daughter was playing under the water slide in a game of hide and seek with her friend, her leg from the knee downward got caught in the water intake system. She was on the brink of drowning. Due to our distant seating, I only realized the dire situation when my 4-year-old had already ingested a significant amount of water. My son held his sister and called for my help. Despite my immediate intervention, the suction was so strong that I couldn't free her from the intake system. I shouted for assistance, but no one came to aid us. Fortunately, one of the boys nearby managed to locate the switch and deactivate the system, finally releasing my daughter's trapped leg. By that time, her calf was discolored, turning black and purple, with scratches all over her knee area.||||Upon addressing the hotel staff, all they offered was some ice, with no medical assistance provided. Regrettably, the management did not treat the incident with the gravity it deserved. Following my return home, I composed an email to them, but their response was unsatisfactory. While they claimed to have implemented measures like placing a mesh cover over the intake and lowering the pipe, their lack of empathy was evident. The hotel's customer care was severely lacking, and the management's response was a major letdown. I would caution other young parents to exercise extreme caution around pool water intakes. It is astonishing that a large hotel can offer such inadequate support in such...

We rented 2, 3 bedder villas for 9 adults and 8 kids from 1st to 4th December 2022. Villa was ok condition, no air-conditioning in living dining area. No toiletries provided unless called for. Staff were friendly and helpful. Buggy provided when called for. Breakfast spread was ok too.

However, staying in bintan resorts feels like trapped in another world. Everything is too expensive. Grab food or transport were not allowed within the resort area. Going out to local marts where we can get our money worth of 4 nights of groceries and snacks for everyone means hiring cab from hotel which is 10x the cost of grab car.

On the 1st night as we were too tired to go out and ordered room service, bill totalled up to about 4 million rupiah and food wasn't tasty.

On one of the other nights we decided to have dinner outside instead and still had to hire a hi-ace van costing 750 000 rupiah for 2 hours as opposed to a grab car which is about 60 000 rupiah but again they're not allowed to come into the resort area.

On our last night we decided to go out to the Kelong for dinner which also belongs to Nirwana Gardens resort. The total bill came up to 7 million rupiah, which looked like it was worth less than sgd400 if we were to hv it in Spore. We wanted to pack some unfinished food but even that was chargeable so we decided to just leave it.

Most facilities are not opened, kids club were payable which we initially thought was free given the rates we paid for the villas. So was pool table in the lobby. Mini zoo were no longer in operation.

We rented 4 buggies to bring the kids out so they don't get anymore bored. We were told its 210 000 rupiah per buggy for 1 hr but once at the office we shown its before taxes. End up paying 254 000 rupiah per buggy.

All in all it was a super expensive vacation that was only a 45 min ferry ride away. Needless to say, we're never going back to Bintan for...