Pantai Indah Lagoi Bintan — Hotel in Bintan Island

Lacklustre resort that provides little value for money.||We stayed in a one bedroom villa. This was over the Chinese New Year period so we paid over $400 per night (usually around $230+). Whether $230+ or $400+, I wouldn't recommend this resort. ||1. VlLLA||First, the villa. It does not have a functional design. From the villa's front door, you go into a living room (air-conditioned), then a kitchen (open air) beside a pool (open air), and then a bedroom (air-conditioned) with an attached bathroom (open air). ||The living room comes with a sofa, an armchair, a coffee table, and a side table, but no TV. So, there was little reason for us to spend anytime there at all. Wasted space. ||The open air kitchen would have benefited from being a part of the 2 other air-conditioned spaces, i.e., it should have been a continuous space from the living room to kitchen to bedroom, with the pool on the outside. ||Instead, this design meant the villa was more like a hotel room (with the fridge on the outside), as it did not make sense for us to spend much time in the other spaces. 90% in the bedroom and 10% at the pool. ||So, based on the villa design, we already lost a lot of value. ||2. FACILITIES & AMENITIES||RESTAURANT. The restaurant was rather disappointing. I wouldn't say breakfast was a 5-star breakfast at all though the resort priced itself as a 5-star one. Egg station was decent. The rest were hit and miss. Food was a lukewarm. ||On our first night there, we tried to have the pre-CNY steamboat that the resort advertised about. It was supposed to be from 6-10pm. We went at 6pm and was told they didn't have it. It would only be available at 8pm.||SPA. There is a spa we didn't used as the prices were exorbitant. Almost SGD 100 for a massage. ||ACTIVITIES. There was an archery facility, a place for ATV, some bikes for rent, and a few more you could book like mangrove walks. The activity grounds were very small and didn't look exciting. So, we didn't engage in any of these either. ||MINI MART. None in the resort. ||HOTEL TRANSPORT. This aspect is just slack. The resort provides transport from the ferry terminal to the resort. However, for short distances travel such as to Plaza Lagoi, literally their only "town" nearby where you can get some supplies, they charge IDR 50,000 each way. ||If you can't provide a Mini-Mart in a supposed resort, then penalizing guests for needing supplies outside is bad form. ||Unbelievable, given that Grand Lagoi Hotel is just next to Plaza Lagoi and way cheaper. ||Worse, if you want to go to the ferry terminal at different time that they planned for all guests, then you have to pay IDR 150,000. ||3. LOCATION||Badly located in Lagos, especially since Pantai Indah doesn't provise free shuttle services. If you want to be in Lagoi, I would choose Grand Lagoi or Kamuela Villas as these are next to Plaza Lagoi. Even though Plaza Lagoi doesn't have much now, there are still 3 restaurants, 1 bar, and 2 mini marts. ||4. STAFF ||Staff were the only redeeming place. They were friendly and really try their best to offer an enjoyable experience. Still, there is only that much the staff can do when resort policies and facilities disappoint. ||5. OVERALL / VALUE FOR MONEY||Not recommended. Low...

Lacklustre resort that provides little value for money.

We stayed in a one bedroom villa. This was over the Chinese New Year period so we paid over $400 per night (usually around $230+). Whether $230+ or $400+, I wouldn't recommend this resort.

VlLLA

First, the villa. It does not have a functional design. From the villa's front door, you go into a living room (air-conditioned), then a kitchen (open air) beside a pool (open air), and then a bedroom (air-conditioned) with an attached bathroom (open air).

The living room comes with a sofa, an armchair, a coffee table, and a side table, but no TV. So, there was little reason for us to spend anytime there at all. Wasted space.

The open air kitchen would have benefited from being a part of the 2 other air-conditioned spaces, i.e., it should have been a continuous space from the living room to kitchen to bedroom, with the pool on the outside.

Instead, this design meant the villa was more like a hotel room (with the fridge on the outside), as it did not make sense for us to spend much time in the other spaces. 90% in the bedroom and 10% at the pool.

So, based on the villa design, we already lost a lot of value.

FACILITIES & AMENITIES

RESTAURANT. The restaurant was rather disappointing. I wouldn't say breakfast was a 5-star breakfast at all though the resort priced itself as a 5-star one. Egg station was decent. The rest were hit and miss. Food was a lukewarm.

On our first night there, we tried to have the pre-CNY steamboat that the resort advertised about. It was supposed to be from 6-10pm. We went at 6pm and was told they didn't have it. It would only be available at 8pm.

SPA. There is a spa we didn't used as the prices were exorbitant. Almost SGD 100 for a massage.

ACTIVITIES. There was an archery facility, a place for ATV, some bikes for rent, and a few more you could book like mangrove walks. The activity grounds were very small and didn't look exciting. So, we didn't engage in any of these either.

MINI MART. None in the resort.

HOTEL TRANSPORT. This aspect is just slack. The resort provides transport from the ferry terminal to the resort. However, for short distances travel such as to Plaza Lagoi, literally their only "town" nearby where you can get some supplies, they charge IDR 50,000 each way.

If you can't provide a Mini-Mart in a supposed resort, then penalizing guests for needing supplies outside is bad form.

Unbelievable, given that Grand Lagoi Hotel is just next to Plaza Lagoi and way cheaper.

Worse, if you want to go to the ferry terminal at different time that they planned for all guests, then you have to pay IDR 150,000.

LOCATION

Badly located in Lagos, especially since Pantai Indah doesn't provise free shuttle services. If you want to be in Lagoi, I would choose Grand Lagoi or Kamuela Villas as these are next to Plaza Lagoi. Even though Plaza Lagoi doesn't have much now, there are still 3 restaurants, 1 bar, and 2 mini marts.

STAFF

Staff were the only redeeming place. They were friendly and really try their best to offer an enjoyable experience. Still, there is only that much the staff can do when resort policies and facilities disappoint.

OVERALL / VALUE FOR MONEY

Not recommended. Low...

Updated post correspondence with Hotel.|This was such a disappointment on multiple levels. My girlfriend had booked this as a surprise getaway. The fundamental issue this and other resorts in Bintan is the cost being charged versus the standards being delivered. I am going to drop a separate review on this.|At this resort you are paying 6-star prices for 2-star service and experience.|We paid for 2 nights in a one-bedroom pool villa and to be fair at an initial level the accommodation itself was ok. However, once you get settled you realize that on multiple levels the experience is way below the price you pay.|1) The Villa itself has doors that don't close properly, tiles in the pool that were missing, wooden planks that were rotting by the side of the pool and a TV that you had to unplug at the wall to turn off. The coffee and tea were very basic and the bathroom lacked decent shampoo and any conditioner.|2) The breakfast at the resort is terrible. Most of the hot food is cold and really very underwhelming in terms of choice.|3) The food in the evening was very average. The meal we had on the first evening was overcooked and not appetizing.|4) This place is isolated so you would think they would offer some form of shuttle service to close by shops and restaurants- but there is charge for a shuttle and even bikes are charged as 'activities' by the hour. The other activities are quad biking and archery.|5) The spa- which is one of the two-bedroom villas is underwhelming as an experience- hot and overly oily.|If we were paying 2-star prices for this experience I would have no problem- but we were not. How they justify prices here I don't really know. If they had any kind of understanding of customer service and experience this would be obvious. I will be asking for a refund.|I am sure someone will write to me after this post apologizing and saying they will learn from the valuable feedback. Too that person please don't bother.||UPDATE:|I wrote to the hotel and asked them for a refund. Was offered a 2D1N stay in the same room type. Replied saying I did not want to return given the experience. |Was then told they wanted to try and find a win-win where they offered me 3D2N plus a free dinner. For clarity offering someone the same again when you have disappointed is not good enough. |Apparently because I had posted online a review on here this was damaging to their reputation. So effectively blaming me for their issues. |To be clear here-the only reason you will lose business is because you are overcharging people for a very poor experience. This was totally unacceptable. You will not refund my money despite the offer to remove this post so as I said I am posting an update so everyone can see. ||To be clear here. We have had some amazing stays in Bali and Lombok, so this is not an Indonesia issue. Ria Bintan Golf is another place I have been many times and enjoyed. |The reason why all of the places we have visited in the past have been good (and some were expensive) is because they were excellent on every level and reflected great...