Bintan Lagoon Resort — Local services in Bintan Island

I checked in on the 5th of June with my family - husband and 3 kids and we brought our helper along. My kids enjoyed it but I have these to share, I hope my review helps.

1. When I checked in, I was told that we have only free breakfast for 2 adults when my travel agent told me that it was for 3 as we had an extra roll away bed (meant for my helper + my eldest daughter who is 9 - they definitely could fit in there). The guy who served us asked for all passports and when he realised there were 6 of us, he went commenting that that was too many. I told him my kids are young and that they wouldn't want to be separated. He obviously wasn't too happy about that (bad day or what?) Nevermind. In the later part of the day, I went down to the reception and this time approached a different person and she confirmed that we have free breakfast for 3 adults as we paid for that extra bed! I can't remember this guy's name else I would warn you not to approach him.

2. After checking in, we decided to have lunch. Someone at the reception recommended a place nearby, which was only a few minutes' walk, he said the price is affordable. I don't have to share much, food was rather nice although my helper who had the gado-gado, said that the rice was hard. We spent nearly SGD140. 3 plates of fried rice, a plate of gado-gado, a plate of rice with oxtail soup, 2 cups of water and 3 smoothies. Mind you, we had to pay for the government tax, nevermind the service charge since this happens everywhere.

3. Room service's food - oh my God. Way too expensive. Imagine a serving of fish and chips is around SGD25 - SGD30! I can't recall the exact price as the receipt is not with me now. And it wasn't even Swensens' standard let alone chef's standard, luckily it was edible! My 2 older kids got hungry on the first night and we couldn't let them starve. The small minimart in the hotel has limited snacks and what they have are mostly crackers. They obviously don't have things like cup noodles or cereal, no price tags even - clever or what? And we spent nearly SGD40 on a packet of crackers, some packet drinks, cake, tea - can you beat that!?

My travel agent said it is normal for resorts to be expensive but we were not expecting 'Singapore's prices x2'.

4. After the room service food, we decided to go out the next day. We approached a lady at the reception to enquire. Can't recall her name but she is one lady who has a sincere smile (not many of them were like her). Luckily there was a free shuttle bus that brought us to the newly opened Lagoi Mall and on that day, it was the official opening so there was food bazaar and we treated ourselves to some nice cheap food! Thank God for that - it made the trip sweeter. We also bought extra food and went to the minimart - no more room service! And we went back not waiting for the shuttle bus - we were approached by a guy who told us we could get a taxi for SGD20, we bargained and we got SGD15, which we felt was OK. It wasn't a taxi though but a car.

5. I saw other reviews made on the rooms in Bintan Lagoon Resorts, fortunately ours was good so our stay was rather pleasant, we even slept soundly on both nights. When we just checked in, the water was a bit rusty but we let it run for a while and it was OK after that. When we asked for extra towels, those were sent very promptly by this young guy who also helped with the set up of the extra bed. Again, I can't recall his name but he also has a sincere smile. We enjoyed the pool too and of course the breakfast - the servings were pretty generous for us.

We will come back if they revise their prices, otherwise there are many other places we have...

Recently booked a Deluxe Sea Facing Room under their Lagoon Romance Package. The stay at the resort was mostly wonderful. If you are looking for a quiet time to unwind and relax without the crowd, this is one of the places you could consider.

The good: Dedicated ferry terminal for arrival and departure to and from Singapore. On arrival and departure, they even have a bus to pick you and drop you off to and from the lobby (even though it is consider walking distance) Rooms were clean and big. Staff were extremely friendly and helpful from the start of the booking till the stay itself. Order a bouquet of rose through the staff and they helped me with the beautiful decoration for a surprise for my partner. The package came with a 3 course meal at Nelayan which was a restaurant by the beach. Food was above average but the could have been better. We had wonderful and relaxing in-room massage, which was included in the package. You just had to book your appointment through the phone. Tried out archery and air rifle shooting and the staff were extremely patience and helpful in guiding us throughout. There was a bit of waiting while travelling from places to places within the resort as they had free buggy service to ferry us from point A to B. Just had to be patient and sit down while waiting for them to come. No complains as everyone is there to unwind and relax. We paid for a body scrub at Kedaton Spa, and it was really refreshing and nice. The experience from start to end were amazing and we were allocated a couple room with an ensuite shower to wash off after the scrub. We had a meal at Miyako, one of the Japanese Restaurant, and had a wonderful Teppanyaki meal served by the chef.

Room for improvement: The snooker room could use some maintenance and upgrading of tables. They were slightly old and left out (probably as it's a free amenities) Good to update with a fresh coat of paint, new furniture, lighting and tables and balls. Another room for improvement could be the television in the rooms were dated and could do with newer HD televisions.

Note: If you want to go to the Lagoi Plaza, there are shuttle bus services from the resort. Just make sure you plan your activities according to their timings, or you can take a taxi to and fro which is faster but will cost...

One of my worse stay ever at any hotels/resorts. Service was bad, promised us a price of $400+ for 2 nights for 4 person, but was only told that there was an error in calculation 1 night before our arrival. The lady didn't even apologised, until we asked to see their manager. Their manager handled it well and apologised, and even offered us to upgrade our room to suite.

However, the suites were worse than the deluxe room. The furnitures were old and creaky and there was even a piece of used tissue on the sofa! Not only that, the bathtub was dirty with dark footprints and looked like it was never clean for months, or years? There was supposed to be a jacuzzi function for the bathtub and it was not functionable as well. When we run the water from the bathtub, brown water came out from it. Mega EWW.

Furthermore, we found a cockroach right on the bed when we checked in. How clean can the place be?? Our aircon was not working much as well, tried to adjust the temperature but even when we adjust it to 5degrees (which is ridiculous), the temperature felt like 24 or 25 degrees or more. And lastly, the safety box was spoiled. So much for being a 'suite'. Our room number was 4125.

Not recommended as the place is too overpriced with lousy service standards. Food is expensive (especially with almost 20% taxes, our buffet dinner cost almost SGD$50), and not tasty at all. Pasta at the buffet dinner at Kopi-O was cold even though it just came out from the kitchen. Food choices was limited as well. My friends and I had one plate of mains each and some fruits and left. First time ever do I see us eating so little for a buffet. Staffs were not welcoming as well, looks very reluctant to serve even if we just ask for a spoon, which was not restocked at the buffet self serve area.

Activities were all chargeable and at ridiculous touristy area prices. S$55 for 15 minutes of jetski?? I could do an hour or two at other tourist areas. Everything is chargeable except for darts, and pool.

Wifi was bad as well, you could probably use it for like 2 minutes at the lobby before getting disconnected. Wifi not useable in the room even though there is signal.

Money would be well-spent at some other resorts/beach destination. Sighs. It is our first time wanting to go home so badly on a...