Four Points by Sheraton Bintan, Lagoi Bay — Hotel in Bintan Island

(LONG POST ALERT!)

I stayed at the property for 3 nights, in the entry-level suite category when I booked. My package was an all-inclusive one (excluding alcohol) and I subsequently paid for an upgrade to the Garden Villa for the last night of my stay.

Overall, I enjoyed my holiday: I was in Bintan to just chill by the pool side and read a book, so the objective was achieved.

However, the property was disappointing at the overall level. Mind you, I already moderated my expectations, knowing that this is a Four Points establishment (not The Sanchaya or Hotel Indigo Lagoi Bay, which are nearby; the latter was just opened in October 2024, which I should have booked instead…), so clearly a “value” offering.

Unfortunately, the “value” of the stay never came through. The key issue was that I felt/thought the entire team, from GM right down to the janitor, didn’t take pride in working at a new 10-months old property: they were certainly friendly and enthusiastic, but there were so many things that were objectively BAD about the experience, it goes beyond subjective assessments, and really just chips away at all the GOOD that would have made the “value” more apparent.

I’ve got 10 examples below;

The ferry terminal pick-up process was faultless, BUT why was the bus so claustrophobic (seats are too close together)?

The suite was nice, BUT why were there dead bugs on the balcony sliding glass door?

The service was friendly, BUT why did no one pick up the service hotline to help us address the dead bugs… after trying 3 times?

The automatic bidet in the bathroom was a nice touch, BUT why was the smoke detector in the bathroom ceiling exposed?

The breakfast was nice, BUT why was ‘buffalo wings’ a “main course” in the set dinner menu, when in all other establishments, it’s at best a starter/bar snack?

The check-in desk was manned by a great team, BUT why did none of them (Kaleb, Yugas, Syadiq) know exactly how many villas are ready for occupancy (first there was none because all were being upgraded (Kaleb), then there was 3 out of 8 (Yugas), then there was 4 out of 8 (Syadiq)- within the span of 3 days)?

The pool was scenic, BUT why were there no self-service ice water station to ensure guests hydration, given Bintan’s hot weather?

The villa sound system was superlative, BUT why were the heights of the dinner tables and chairs unmatched (either table too high, or chairs too low - for the record, my height is 1.76m, and when seated, the tabletop reached my sternum/lower chest)?

The villa bathroom was gorgeous, BUT why was there a water glass which was both dusty AND had finger prints on the inside of the glass?

The villa dining table had a nice hanging lamp, BUT why was it uncleaned/dusty?

To clarify: no, I’m not a hotel inspector by training, nor was it my intention to nitpick on these things. Like I said, i still enjoyed my holiday in spite of all these points, so this really is meant to be for the hotel team to reflect on themselves and their brand offering. If they feel all the 10 points above are part of the Four Points brand offering, I will gladly accept the explanation, and will be sure to take my business elsewhere next time.

Also, to clarify: the team did very enthusiastically ask for my feedback on a daily basis, but I didn’t provide any simply because (1) all the issues propped up accumulative across my 3 nights stay (2) I didn’t have the confidence in their service recovery protocol: beyond an apology, I’m uncertain what they can offer to rectify the situation.

(Btw, it’s been a week after check out, and I didn’t even get an automated emailer to ask me for my experience)

In summary: if you want to put your blinkers on and take the gracious service staff at face value, you will enjoy the property. However, if you dig just a little deeper below the surface, you will find that your money is better spent at...

I’m writing this review as a Platinum Marriott Bonvoy member who has stayed at many Marriott properties around the world.

The Four Points by Sheraton Bintan is a brand new resort, having just opened in February 2024. Upon our arrival, my family and I were immediately offered an upgrade in recognition of my Platinum status—a lovely gesture that set the tone for our stay.

Facilities: The swimming pools, gym, spa, and restaurants are all well-appointed—almost reaching the standard of a 5-star property. There is also a kids club which my children thoroughly enjoyed. That said, I do have a few suggestions for improvement: • Pools: I recommend placing signage to encourage guests to return their towels after use. Unfortunately, many guests left towels on deck chairs to “reserve” them, even when not present. Additionally, while the resort does offer poolside food and beverage service, it wasn’t very obvious. The infrastructure already built around the pool could be better utilized to make ordering food more visible and accessible. • Kids Club: The space is great, but the toy selection is quite limited. My kids lost interest after a short while. With the available room, adding something like a ball pit or interactive play structures could make the space more engaging, allowing children to play actively instead of just watching TV.

Dining (Rempah and El Lagoi): The food quality was decent, but service could use refinement. It’s clear that the staff are still very new and undergoing training. There were frequent delays, and we were often served food before drinks. Additionally, the staff at the counter were initially unfamiliar with the Club Marriott program, which entitles me to a 20% F&B discount. Fortunately, once I brought this to the attention of the front desk, they responded swiftly by informing all relevant staff. Still, I would suggest management ensures all billing staff are properly trained on Marriott loyalty programs.

Also worth noting: food portions were on the smaller side, and I would love to see a wider range of continental options on the menu.

Other Observations: I noticed quite a few air vents with heavy condensation, leading to leaks. For a newly opened property, this is concerning. If not addressed, this could affect the longevity and overall condition of the hotel over the next few years.

Room: The room was slightly smaller than expected. The shower controls were quite fiddly, and I would have appreciated a glass partition between the shower and the vanity area. As it stands, water tends to splash everywhere when bathing young children.

Overall Experience: Despite a few areas for improvement, I would still rate this 4-star property a 5-star experience. With some enhancements to infrastructure and F&B offerings, Four Points Bintan could easily compete with higher-tier resorts.

Special Mentions: A heartfelt shoutout to Ade, who went above and beyond for our family. She kindly took us to a nearby lake, and when my son asked for dinosaur coloring sheets, she got them printed immediately. She also arranged a cake decorating activity that my son absolutely loved.

Another big thank you to Bahar, the delightful housekeeping staff member who made our stay so special. He created adorable towel art for our children every day, along with thoughtful handwritten notes. His care and attention truly made our room feel like home.

Also, they brought a cake out for my wife’s birthday and made her feel extra special. We really appreciated the thoughtfulness of the Rempah Kitchen staffs.

We were especially touched by how staff members acknowledged us throughout our stay—greeting us by name and always with a warm smile. We look forward to returning with our extended family in the future and hope some of the suggestions shared here will be taken into...

Hmmm.. Four Points, stayed at their other properties before and the standard was good, as expected.

However this one here in Bintan!!! 👎🏽👎🏽. Very hard to say much good things. They need a lot of rework internally.

First and foremost - why are staff using their mobile phones to take pictures of guest passports!?? It would normally be via photocopy machines! This would be deemed a breach of privacy issues if it’s a staff personal phone, have never seen any hotel staff anywhere use a mobile phone to take pictures of guest passports!!

In general, Staff were nice and courteous but think cos their English was just limited to good morning afternoon.. it’s gets more challenging beyond that.

Rooms - rooms were ok, quite alright but the wooden flooring was uneven, especially at the fridge/hot water pot there- uneven and to the point it’s sharp for the bare feet.

The room shower - I do love the rain shower but the side shelves - the top one is level but the other two below, it’s slanted down… while it’s to drain water(?), things we put there keeps falling off!!!! Aaarrghh!! 😡 Aircon - at 21.5C, it’s ok but get humid off and on in the middle of the night!! Quite disrupting. The bedside light - the glass holder is too clear so makes it too bright to the eyes!!!! It needs to be defused. The shower controls - now clear indication, of hot or cold water or which is the shower or rain;

Rempah Restaurant below- food is just soooooo bad! As bad as their beach bar outside. It’s quite unbelievable of the good standard - ate two breakfast and a lunch - quality is very poor and service is bad - service in terms of bringing food out, it’s SO SLOW! Only a handful of tables and yet the kitchen cannot handle the orders. Ala carte lunch - It took so long even the kid was waiting for his fish and chips and worst when it came, even he said he did not want to eat cos it tastes BAD. A kid is giving feedback. Actually all the fish items were bad - this kids fish and chips and the grilled seabass, it was terribly smelly of fishyness. The short ribs - more than half was big bone and fats, very little meat. Again, I cannot stress how slow the food was served. Thankfully we were not in a hurry. We ordered deserts - the goreng pisang came with a green sauce, we asked the staff what the green sauce was and he said caramel sauce 🙄🙄; the other item ordered was some tapioca thing but it was sourish… fermented? But this was the one that had caramel sauce 🙄🙄

Breakfast Buffet @ Rempah - food quality was barely average, bordering on poor, and very. Wry inconsistent. Saturday morning was ok, maybe it was not as crowded yet BUT Sunday morning, think the kitchen could not cope with the volume of food - much of the food was just barely nice. Kway teow soup was terrible the 2nd day as was the pancakes. Omelettes were not very well cooked on the inside; The local coffee was bad,(even outside local shops do it better; and even the cuppucino was barely drinkable.

Oh yes, the kids semi- shallow pool, near the pool toilet- between the light water fall and the pool toilet, the edge has 2-3 broken/missing tiles which was very very sharp - highly potentially dangerous for adults and even more so for children. I could not take pics as I was in the pool.

And one more - food was was also terribly expensive!! If it tasted nice and enjoyable it would be ‘worth it’s but as mentioned above, paid so much and tastes so terrible.

And the entrance from the main road by foot - the pathway up is too dark, no lightning. How about some light to guide people walking back to the hotel!

Please do something- it’s hard to give a good review or...