It’s raining! The choppy seas made my 1-hour ferry journey to Bintan like a roller coaster ride. While most people got seasick, the bumpy sea ride made both my boys fell fast asleep.
We reached Bintan ferry terminal at 6 pm Indonesia time, which is 7 pm Singapore time. After getting our passport stamped and luggage scanned, we walked out from the arrival hall to locate the pickup point to Angsana Bintan.
“Papa, it’s Angsana Bintan”, said Kayden. Initially, I thought he was referring to an advertising banner on the wall, but he wasn’t. A man was holding an A4-sized board which printed in large font size in bold, “Angsana Bintan”. He stood a few metres away from us.
“Hello and welcome to Bintan. Can I have your name please?”, mentioned the man with the signage. After giving my name to him, he checked thru his attendance sheet and replied, “Please get yourself comfortable in this room and our bus will be arriving in five minutes.” The signage above the room shows the logos of Angsana Bintan, Banyan Tree Bintan and Cassia Bintan. Let me call these Bintan resorts, ABC in short.
Ten minutes is all it takes from Bintan Ferry Terminal to Angsana Bintan. It was a smooth journey. Like many resorts I have visited, there will always be a welcome drink to refresh the guests. Kayden’s first reaction to the chilled welcome drink was “it’s hot!”. That’s the taste of ginger. Oops!
Hello, Island Family Suite!
We are staying in the most spacious room (I hope) in Angsana Bintan! With 275sqm, our hotel room has a spacious living room, two cosy bedrooms, two clean toilets with bathtubs, one outdoor jet pool, one outdoor shower and our own outdoor garden. I forgot to mention the perfect view of the sea. The Island Family Suite also comes with a microwave, fridge and kettle.
Dinner At XANA Beach Club
It’s almost 8 pm and we are late for dinner. My wife and I decided to dine at XANA Beach Club which is less than a minute walk away from our room. We were actually dining right on the beach! Ladies, please tie up your hair because the sea breeze was really strong.
Opens for dinner, XANA Beach Club sells mostly grilled seafood, pizzas, pasta and alcoholic beverages. This beach restaurant also serves kid’s meals which includes Kids’ Burger (IDR 109’), Fried Rice (IDR 71’) and 3 Mini Pizzas (IDR 109’). While Kayden was enjoying his Kids’ Burger for dinner, my wife and I have Surf & Turf Combination For 2 (IDR 1,455’), Calzone (IDR 220’) and Banana Coupe (IDR 95’). While we are waiting for our dinner to be served, there is a small playground for the kids to play, shout and run around.
The Surf & Turf Combination For 2 is a large platter which includes half shell lobster, jumbo deep sea prawns, beef tenderloin and baked potatoes. Adding to our dinner, we had Calzone which is filled with homemade tomato sauce, ricotta, mozzarella, pepperoni and oregano.
Vacation means dessert to me. To sweeten up my staycation, I have ordered a Banana Coupe. The kids loved it because of ice-cream!
Goodnight Bintan
Our first night ended fast because we took a late ferry ride from Singapore to Bintan. The bumpy sea ride took an hour. We loved our Island Family Suite and the rooms are spacious enough for Baby N to run around.
I would rate my dinner at XANA Beach Club as average. It was my first dining experience on the beach and I am glad it did not rain!
“Kayden, we will both sleep in the living room and watch Cartoon Network together.”
“Yeah!” said Kayden with his two thumbs up in the air.
Address of my staycation
Angsana Bintan
Jalan Teluk Berembang, Laguna Bintan, Lagoi 29155, Bintan Resort Bintan Island (Indonesia), Sri Bintan, Teluk Sebong, Bintan Regency, Riau Islands 29151, Indonesia
Website: www.angsana.com
