December 2012 / 12.21.12
December 21, 2012. The day many thought the world was going to end, according to the Mayan calendar.
And so we packed off for a holiday!
Destination: Bintan, a 3-night retreat at Banyan Tree. There were four of us in the traveling group – BF and two boys who were then of ages 14 and 10. We booked ourselves into a 2-bedroom pool villa. ‘Home’ for 3 nights was a gorgeous unit perched among the hills, with an infinity pool offering a view of the ocean and beautiful sunsets. The pool provided endless hours of entertainment, especially for the kids and especially when there were limited activities on offer at the water sports center.
The property is vast and interspersed with a winding, narrow road. The best way to get around is via a buggy. The beach looked calm on the first day we arrived, and the resort’s main pool near the beach was hardly crowded. But, when you’ve got your own pool right at your doorstep, heading out to another one at the other end of the resort sounded like too much effort.
So as you can imagine, we hardly left the villa, and only ventured out of the property perhaps just once.
Banyan Tree Dining: Mixed Reviews
We had all our meals at the resort. Breakfast was included in the villa package. Lunch was either room service, or at the Mediterranean cafe. Had dinner for 2 nights at Saffron. We’ve been to other Saffron restaurants by Banyan Tree (Bangkok & Phuket) and I have to say the one at Bintan ranks the lowest among them. On the second night, we’d requested for our curry dish (ordered separately from the kids’ meals) to be served at normal, Thai level of spicy-ness. We didn’t get what we ordered. And that was very disappointing, when you’re hankering after a Thai meal that would hit the spot. The saving grace, was the dessert. The banana fritters with Thai iced-tea ice-cream, was absolutely divine! The ice-cream tasted milky and rich, with a robust flavor of tea coming through.
One thing I didn’t expect – we had an in-villa barbeque one night. When the staff arrived with the meats, the side dishes and the set-up, he commented that the guests usually take care of the barbeque themselves. That’s the first time I’ve heard of it! Then he proceeded to put on a big show of how he was doing us a huge favor of cooking our dinner for us. Wow. Go figure!
Four-Wheels Fun
One of the rare times we left the resort, was originally for a bit of sea-water adventure. But the sports center had turned down any requests for jet-ski on the both days we’d gone to check on availability. We were told it was monsoon, and there was too much debris in the water. Go figure, the water looked calm, and we’d seen people on jet-skis and a banana-baot across the water, at another resort!
So… we found ourselves trying out their ATVs instead. That’s All-Terrain-Vehicles, also known as quad bikes. They’re super sturdy 4-wheelers. Before you go on the main route, which takes about an hour, there’s a small course to go through, so the instructors can gauge your maneuvering skills and before you head off, you gotta sign an indemnity form.
Then we’re off! The route starts on the beach, onto a dirt track, through some tree-lined path, up and down hilly terrains, and through a sleepy village. We did well, all four of us. We had one instructor leading the pack and another one behind the group too just in case any of us needed assistance and some of us did go off-course at a couple of turns.
We completed the course with time to spare, so the instructors took us on a bonus ride, to a lookout point that gave us a gorgeous view of the bay and the Banyan Tree Resort.
Spa for One
The villa booking included a complimentary 60-minute massage, for one. Since I was the only girl on the trip, I was ‘entitled’ to the massage voucher, by default. Even so – YAY! The boys went on a mangrove tour. Back to the spa – It’s perched over a cliff, and I was ushered into a treatment room with floor to ceiling glass window, overlooking the ocean. As my eyes were closed, enjoying the massage, the rhythmic sound of the waves crashing against the rock provided one of the best soundtrack during the soothing massage. Bliss!
In a Nutshell
Bintan’s proximity to Singapore – 45 minutes via ferry – makes for a quick getaway destination. But maybe, just maybe, sometimes it’s worth investing the travel time to head somewhere else, with a little more to offer. But it’s good to finally check out what the Banyan Tree Bintan resort has to offer, and I won’t be wondering anymore.
Always Pack Heels 