The Residence Bintan — Hotel in Bintan Island

We were a pair of girlfriends from Singapore doing a short but much needed weekend getaway and what a getaway it was! We both travel a lot for work and pleasure and have experienced some of the best and The Residence Bintan completely exceeded our expectations. You know that you are in the hands of a superb hospitality team when every little detail throughout our stay was thoughtfully planned and executed. Upon arrival at the ferry terminal, the land transfer was seamless (love the refreshing towels and cookies!) and when we were waiting on the couches at check in, we were offered a complimentary shoulder massage (nice touch and smart move to showcase their spa services).

We were booked into the Beachfront villa and it is stunning. Super high ceilings and beautifully designed which felt super airy with different nooks around the room for maximum relaxation. You get your own private pool and deck chairs and a beach umbrella is set up on your porch. With this villa, the beach and sea is literally in your front yard and we spent hours just lying in various spots in the pool deck and villa, taking in the tranquil sea view. I also love when properties supply unique toiletries and I loved them so much that i purchased a set myself to take home. Minibar was complimentary too (for soft drinks only). The furniture was super well maintained too and villa was super clean (like squeaky clean).

The resort compound itself was vast, with beautifully manicured lawns littered with various fruit trees, volleyball nets set up, a little farm experience and other experiences. The pool bar and infinity pool area were beautiful and deck chairs are set up on the small beach below which allows you to enjoy your drinks and meal right on the beach (or in a hammock!). It reminded us of our stay at Soho Farmhouse in the UK!

The open air breakfast restaurant in the main building also had portable air conditioners in select areas for sweaty betty guests like myself.The food was consistently good, from room service to meals in all their restaurants - notable dishes include the fried chicken, the nasi padang, the duck and beef rendang.

Their games room had a huge array of games to keep you entertained and was surprisingly well maintained (considering that other games rooms we’ve experienced always had a chipped board, missing game pieces etc).

Their spa was also fantastic - with a huge array of services nestled in a peaceful environment. Their signature massage in particular was fabulous.

As we know, what separates a good stay from a great one is stellar service. From the time you check in, you get a WhatsApp from the guest relations team who sends you all the information you need directly to your phone. Worth mentioning that they had a wide variety of complimentary services like sambal making, towel art making, coffee art making, farm tours etc. Unprompted, they also send you a text at the end of your first day asking how else they can improve your experience. It was also super easy to just book things and ask for service to your room using this platform. The night before checking out, without you calling to confirm your departure transfer information, you get a text with departure information - just another example of their team anticipating your needs.

Special kudos to manager Partono who was responsible for making our special truly memorable. Considering that the resort compound was vast, he seemed to be everywhere - from the pool bar, to different restaurants, to the right on the beach! From asking the bartender to make our drinks stronger (yes we like to drink) , to proactively arranging for a private towel making class when we missed it as we were lazing by the beach (which we enjoyed immensely!) The level of warmth, consideration and attention to detail was truly exceptional. This also extended to every member of the team we encountered. The consistency of genuine and uncontrived service was remarkable.

Thank you so much to the entire team at The Residence Bintan for a fantastic stay! We...

Wow! Two months in a row! My buddy & I just ended our 3D2N! In fact we just came in August for a 4D3N stay and here we’re again in September! Our last stay was in Jan’ 2020. But Covid kept us away from this amazing resort! What makes us keep coming back since May’ 2019, was the warm and friendly staff, who never fails to greet all the guests. Everywhere we went, the staff remembered our names and this really makes us felt so special! Impeccable and top notch service from them! In August, we stayed again in the legendary 314 Sanctuary Villa. It was our 2nd time experience! The view was breathtaking as usual though it rained in between during our stay, we managed to enjoy the pool. We were immersed by the morning tranquility of the sea as well as the serene view. Not forgetting the therapeutic waves crashing against the rocks right below us.And in September this time, we stayed in the deluxe beachfront! We loved everything about it from the spacious Villa to the daybed, walking distance to to beach and awesome view out there too! I would like to give my thanks to the following (hopefully I gotten some of the names correctly): ⭐️ Octa & Ziko - who greeted us at The Emerald arrival place & took turns to accompany us while waiting for the private car pick up in Aug. ⭐️ Made, Tommy & Sadi- who pick & send us to Ferry terminal ⭐️ Mustika - A familiar face, who always greets and drives us around in buggy.⭐️ Dining room & Rica Rica - Tina, Daryanto and Fatricia! ⭐️ Spa Renny Marina ( in charge of spa), another familiar face who remembers us. Mugiyanti (my previous therapist & came over to say hi when she saw us. She’s also 👍🏻) Hasni & Rahani (We had them on our first day of massage & their skills were top notch 👍🏻 that we requested for them again on our 2nd massage)⭐️ Earth Basket Farm Tour & Animal Feeding Jay (in charge of the farm, who brought us around the farm and explained to us in details about the animals such as rabbits, ducks, chickens, peacocks, vegetables and herbs )Kiki, who assisted us with the rabbits and feeding at the Rabbit House. ⭐️ Marine Sports Area Thankful to the few staff there, who helped me to overcome my fears in kayaking as it’s my first time doing it as I had phobia in the sea. (Sorry I dint get the names as too busy overcoming my fears and anxiety that time)⭐️ Merley- front desk, another familiar smiling face who remembers us. ⭐️ Partono- who always there to greet us with his smiling face! Thumbs up for been there for us since the first time we met in May’19. He would constantly check on us to ensure we’re well taken care of. ⭐️ Jarwo- another smiley face, who never fails to warm & melt our hearts 💕 Everytime we walked past the front desk, he would also greet and check on us to ensure all are good for us too! Great service isn't it? Servicing team takes into heart even with the smallest matter, this warms our heart every time. Thanks Jarwo & Partono! ⭐️ Last but not the least, the star, gem and heart of the resort- Rajeev! A hands on leader, who’s always there to welcome and greet guests and wave goodbye. We always enjoyed all the catching up sessions with you over drinks & meals. Thank you so much for the warm hospitality! We definitely enjoyed the experiences and you had pampered us so much! Thanks once again! T-ropical getaway H-ighly recommended E-njoyable staycation as always R-elaxing private poolE-xtra mile S-ervice (TOP notch which blown us away)I-dyllic view of the sea D-elighting & E-nchanting us as they always hadN-ew surprises in store for us all the time!C-hillax E-xperience B-eautiful villa & always I-ndulging us with N-ice personal T-ouch from all the staff in the resort!A-wesome time & looking forward to our N-ext trip in October! See u soon, Rajeev & all at the resort! Can't wait to get ourselves back in October, with my family too! Until then... take...

Review on The Residence Bintan after my 3-nights, 4-day stay:

We, family of two adults and a year-old infant had booked a beachfront villa with a private pool. After the booking confirmation, we emailed the resort to arrange our ferry to hotel transfer on the arrival day. To our email, we received an email reply enquiring about our ferry class and a few supporting details. We responded with the required details but never received an acknowledgment or confirmation on our request from the resort. This missing acknowledgment raised concern in our thoughts as we needed to ensure that everything works smoothly when we have an infant during the travel. No further email exchanges happened and we proceeded with the trip hoping that we have a hassle-free trip.

We arrived at Bandar Bentan Ferry Terminal and were waiting at the Emerald lounge for the visa process to complete and the hotel staff to receive us for the transfer to the hotel. The wait time at the lounge was around 30 minutes when we received our visa but the hotel staff was nowhere to be seen. We further waited as we saw the guests of other hotels/resorts being received or escorted by the staffs holding sign boards or calling out the hotel name to receive their guests. However, after a brief wait of ten more minutes we enquired the lounge staff if they have any news from The Residence staff about receiving us and then we were told that the staff is already outside the lounge and we were asked to meet them and ask for further details. On looking around, we found that we were last but one family to leave the lounge. Although we were able to board the resort vehicle for the transfer, the process of receiving the guests was quite stealthy. On boarding the vehicle we were offered wet towel wipes, cookies, and water bottles. This gesture slightly relieved the stress that had built upon us during the wait in the lounge. The transfer from ferry terminal to resort took nearly an hour and a half, noting that there was no traffic congestion and only a few stops at a few junctions along the way.

We were warmly greeted by the hotel staffs during our entry to the hotel and as our infant was asleep we were made to sit in a quiet waiting/reading room for check-in process. The staff offered us wet towel wipes and herbal tea drinks that was uplifting after a long transfer. The check-in process took nearly 20 minutes and then we were moved to the main reception area to wait for the buggy to come and take us to our villa. This buggy wait seemed too long for us because we felt that a prompt transfer to the villa would have helped us put the infant to bed and then relieve ourselves from the journey tiredness. We asked the reception staff about the status of the buggy a few times and after around ten more minutes we were informed that the buggy has arrived. Before the buggy left the reception lobby, we also received warm greeting in-person from Rajib Paul to enjoy our stay.

We reached the villa after around eight to ten minutes of the buggy ride and found that the villa had two bicycles parked for the guests. On entering the villa we found that the room was clean, organized, and spacious comprising of king bed, wardrobe, large bathroom consisting of a bathtub, toiletries, two wash basins and western chair, flat screen TV, sofa set, reclining chair, poolside seat area with two recliners and the private pool. There was also a welcome note on the Center table curated for the guest by the owner. The room and the view elated our mood and we were really looking forward to our stay.

Continuation of the review in the...