cHeRiSh EvErY mOmEnT cOs LiFe Is ShOrT, pLaY hArD...
hi, we are back!
yesh, we are back from our Bintan Trip. lotsa are pics are taken during our trip to Banyan Tree Bintan the last couple of days ago. I'll break down my personal opinion to specific parts
THE VILLA ENTRANCE
Upon unlocking the main entrance, you will see a small garden filled with local flora. A couple of in-house umbrellas were placed in a basket and you can remove your sandals or slippers at the doormat just facing the villa entrance. So there are a total of 2 doors to be unlocked before getting in the villa itself.
THE VILLA
Overall, the villa is kinda roomy. The flooring is entirely in marble. The bathtub is not really a bathtub, it's actually the marble flooring being carved like one. The closet is also combined in another room with the wash basin and luggage storage. It can even fit one full-length ironing board. The central hall is mostly occupied by the king size bed, with all the mosquito netting tucked in place. The bed is designed in such a way that there are wooden planks running along the perimeter, allowing me to place the remote controls, my handphone aka alarm clock and my PSP on it. Easy access, no need to tuck under or beside the pillows. Also it's a bit high, so for fat people like me, can use the plank as a platform. One the sides of the hall, there is a flat couch to lie or relax onto, and a proper desktop on the other side. There are blinds along the glass panels, so if you want extra light during the day, you may raise it up. The view outside is full of greenery. I managed to capture a squirrel running around outside our villa glass panels. Personally though, I find that the lack of curtains for the sliding doors towards the verandah, a bit inconvenient. The glaring light from sunrise is a bit too bright. As for the direction of kiblat, you can find it in one of the drawers at the desktop area.
Moving to the verandah, there's the usual roundtable and a couple of wooden chairs. Nothing special about them. Just ahead is the in-villa jacuzzi. They normally placed a protective cover when not in use. Do note that there is no roofing for the jacuzzi. So twigs and leaves might land on the jacuzzi if you did not place the cover back. Also during evening onwards, there were bats and lizards hanging around at the verandah area, so if you're the "eeeky, weeky" type, you'd better lock the verandah door and stay inside.
Another surprise is that there is actually another room downstairs. There's a staircase leading to the room below at the verandah area. I feel it's mostly for a quiet relaxing session, cuz there's no TV in it. However, there's a kitchen sink in the pantry area, and there's a carved sofa set, or "sofa ukiran" in the centre. At the corner is a pair of rubber mattresses to lie down and view the scenery.
THE FOOD
You gotta be prepared for this area. If you are the type that strictly go for Halal food, you will find it quite limited. We went to one of the restaurant and the number of eligible dishes can be counted with one hand. Seafood or veggie or if you want to really stretch it, "no pork, no lard". And you have to inform the waitresses about this restriction. And EVERYTHING IS IN U.S DOLLARS, dammit. For the not-very-satisfying food for our delayed lunch, it costs us around US$50. As for dinner, we decided to try out the other restaurant. They happened to serve up buffet for that one particular night. It costs US$38 per head, excluding drinks. So it costs a total of around US$100 for everything. Sure the food was nice and fulfilling, but then again do remind them about the Halal requirement. Else you'd end up eating some funky tasting meat.
So for the second day, we decided to visit Pasar Oleh Oleh for lunch and stock up some food for dinner. It's cheaper, at least it's in S$. But then again, there's no shuttle bus service provided at Banyan Tree and Angsana resorts, so be prepared to shell out another US$12 for the 2-way taxi service.
STAFF
The staffs are generally nice and courteous, well they better be since everything there is in US$. You can call for buggy service to transport you to anywhere you want in the resort.
BEACH
The beach is within walking distance from our villa. It's a shared beach with Angsana guests. Nice and soft white sands. You can check out the available water-based activities there, but then again, be prepared to shell out in US$. We managed to explore Angsana resort for a while, though.
OVERALL
I find it a very nice place to relax and pamper ourselves. But that comes at a price, of course. And there's not much thing to do there anyway. Don't tell me you want to shop for dried shrimps cuz you're better off going to Tanjung Pinang. Due to this, I still find the previous resort that we went, Sheraton Langkawi, a better place overall. No worries about food, more value-for-money and more places to visit.
*m.a.d.i* n nana