Travelogue: 4 stars Batam Hotel (Novotel)
So elated that the long holidays has arrived and if you have followed me on instagram, I took a ferry over to another island. I was so excited to spend my weekend "out of Singapore" with my dearest. It was not an impromptu plan as we have discussed it 3 weeks earlier to agree on spending our "Honeymoon" together, and also to pamper ourselves from our long 5 days work basis.
Batam is not any stranger to us as we had our 2nd monthsary over here 1 year ago but because this is our first free and easy trip, I decided to work really hard to come out with my own itinerary, ensuring that our whole trip go on smoothly without any mishaps. (A strictly advise: Do not opt for the tour package because they will bring you to BORING places whereby they will force you to buy their local products so that they could get their commission. Not only that, our first batam experience was really bad because the tour guide kept asking tips from boyfriend, every single time without fail!) They would compliment you infront of everyone and in the end, they will emphasis on the TIPS!
The tour package may seem attractive on site but that's without the Ferry tax and their daily tips. If you do a manual calculation for free and easy, the cost would be about the same (furthermore you have more time to shop, there's no restriction of following their time schedule)
Since Boyfriend is always in his camp, I took the initiative to call in to book our tickets in advance in case they run out of timing. We were lucky enough to reserve two 9.40am timing so on the actual day, we simply pass them our passport and allow them to do all the administrative work and with the fast service they provide, the tickets fall in our hands in 10 mins time.
There are alot of ferry centre so if one counter doesn't fit in your best timing, you may choose another company but for our side, we chose Prima ferry because this is the ONLY ferry that will bring us to our destination. With two ways ticket, each of us have to pay $48!
Since our hotel is near Harbour bay ferry terminal, it would be convenient for us to travel around with the nearby terminal. So Prima brought us there safety!
Upon choosing the right ferry timing, one has to arrive harbourfront centre an hour earlier for check in and also for boarding. We arrived early and had a quick breakfast before we proceed on to our gate. There's no delay of our ferry so we set off smoothly at 9.40am! It took us 45 mins to reach Batam Ferry terminal and immediately we rushed to the counter to get our passport chopped in case of human jam at the custom. Do take note that Batam is 1 hour behind from Singapore timing so by the time we reached Batam, its 9.30am (+7)
All batam shopping centre usually opens at 10.30am so we witness alot of shops closed after we check out from our luggage centre. The eatery area usually opens early but for their hygiene wise, you may want to reconsider having their hawker food.
Travelling around Batam can be easily done by Cab. They do not have public buses or train around and we find it ironic that how could one survive without public transports? I don't think they have the capital to cab around everyday so the only transport they have is by legs or their worn out bike (a few of them even asked whether we would like to ride on their bike so that they can bring us around!) We rejected straight so Boyfriend and I only left with cab to fetch us over to our hotel. We wanted to walk in to our hotel but the map shown that its a 10 mins drive in so we gave up and haul a cab to bring us there.
We bargained for 40,000rp ($4.25) to drive us there but after that we regretted because our hotel is situated so near to the ferry terminal. We found that it is not worth, should have asked for meter!
If there's one thing that both boyfriend and I are quite picky about whenever we travel, it would definitely be our choice of accommodation. Yes, it's true we would go shopping or exploring the city for most parts of the day. If you really think about it, we spend no more than 10 hours per day in the hotel. However, we just love the idea of being able to retire back to our room after a fun yet physically tiring day outside. Nothing beats being able to comfortably shower and to peacefully sleep without having to deal with bugs, mites, weird noises and terrible service.
In Batam, true, there were a lot of resorts and 3-4 star hotels that offers really CHEAP ROOM rates. For us though, we chose Novotel Batam hotel because it is under a special offer. A 4 star hotel located at the Nagoya district of Batam. It feels pretty much like the central area with the Nagoya Hill mall nearby and the famous Harbour Bay seafood area just a 3 minute drive away. With a room rate of $53/- (exclusive GST and Tax) for our superior room, both Bf and I just have to fork out $35 each for our hotel.
We were not able to walk around much but the hotel has a taxi service available as well as a free shuttle ride that can take you to a couple of nearby malls every 11AM, 2PM and 6PM. The famous shopping malls that will be found at their shuttle bus service. I quickly took a picture of it so that we can refer to it anytime.
As we arrived the hotel at 10.30am, we thought that it would be super early to check in to our room but to try our luck, we went to the concierge and request for an early check in. The lady at the counter smiled at us and told us politely that they have a room for us to check in first. Her sweet smile just make my day!
The room that we stayed were relatively small and we were given two twins single bed! (I wanted a double bed though) but no complaints because the single bed was spacious enough to fit in both. With a non-smoking room given, i'm glad that I do not have to inhale alot of tobacco or being a passive smoker. ( indonesian loves to smoke alot! Cheap cigg can be found over here too!)
Checking out the bathroom, they have filled it with the basic toiletries which was fine for short-time visitors. I just find it odd that they didn't include packs of cotton buds which is pretty much common in all hotels. What I love about the toilet though is that they have installed a bidet! +1,000 points for hygiene!
Do I mention they have bath-tub over here too to have a good bathe after a long shopping day! But I found some stains on it so I decided not to use it.
Here's to a view when we drew out the curtain. Nothing much of a good scenery but at least to show you a landscape of how batam looks like. Old buldings, not really a developed country! I don't think one will love to migrate over here although the cost of living here is cheap.
Here's a tour to our hotel:
For every overseas trip, my accommodation will definitely includes Swimming pool and Gym and this hotel doesn't disappoint me with their facilities. I tend to eat alot when im away from home so with a good facilities nearby, I could get rid of all the accumulated calories within a day. Their swimming pool and gym opens from 6am to 10pm, with 7 working days! Now you don't have to worry about the facilities because they open it everyday.
I would expect their swimming pool to be outdoor so a thought of sun-tanning crashed me when I found it at indoor. The pool was very simple, not quite inviting but at least we had it all to ourselves.
I was surprised to find Jacuzzi and Suana room inside the female changing room. They kept it so privately and separately so that no other man would invade into the room and harass the ladies. I tried their Suana for 15 mins and I could't bear with the heat and got out of the room to catch my breathe. I sensed something spinning inside me!
For those who would rather build muscle or do some stationary cycling, the hotel also has a gym which is open to all in-house guests to use. It's just so sad that these two amenities are empty during the time that I went. Could it mean that the guests are not so much into leisure activities or there might be a need to improve on their in-house amenities to make it more inviting.
Every equipment was there (the weights/ dumb bells), the treadmill, sit up machines so I don't get it why tourists wouldn't want to make good use of the facilities here.
While exploring around, we found a cafe inside the hotel and I quickly went over to look at the pastries that were lay at the counter. To the best horror that the pastries doesn't look appealing at all so I left the shop without getting any of their pastries. I would save the best for the last. I believe there are more tasty cakes over at Nagoya shopping malls.
Overall, I am satisfied with the hotel service they provide although there are language barrier between the receptionist and us. We even have to do big actions to illustrate what we wanna say! I can also see that they are trying very hard to understand our needs and provide the best service for us.
The people there are polite as they always wear a smile on their face whenever we approach them for help. A never say 'NO' to us but apologise sincerely whenever they couldn't meet our expectation (:
I definitely will recommend my friends to stay over at Novotel hotel for their good services!
Another post for my Day 1 activity will be up soon when I have the time so stay tune for the next post.
Till then.
