Never really taken a serious thought on planning my supposedly big 3-0 birthday. I knew I should have done that since Jan 2011 but weeks just goes by quickly and … By late April – No plans still!
My date suggested booking a hotel in Singapore and spending the weekend today. Usually, I would have jumped at that. But after my long Australia work trip, I was pretty sick of hotels and air travel for a while. Plus I did spent quite a bit in Australia so wanted to save my pocket from another big burn.
Xander was the one to knock some sense into me. ‘It’s your f***king Big 3-0 and you wanna be spending it in Singapore at home? Dun be so stingy lah. Go pamper yourself, do something crazy that you always wanted to do but never did. How many more big birthdays milestones will you be celebrating? I dun think you will be throwing a party at your Big 4-0 right?’
The rest was history. Sarala, my colleague from JCU Singapore recommended Tempat Senang, an award winning boutique spa resort in Batam, Indonesia and before we know it, we were sailing across for their India Suite on 20 May 2011!
Lush, beautifully landscaped greenery greeted us the moment we set into the resort.
The petite resort houses a gorgeous pool. Perfect place for me to relax and write my blog.
The resort layout is as follow:
We were guided to a standalone block that houses 4 suites (Indian, China, Indonesia & Thai) together with a shared corridor. This is great for 4 couples who are friends to hangout together & yet enjoy their own private spaces.
Being a marketer where we are usually guilty of showing the best side of a product to ‘lure’ consumer in making the purchase decision, I was really impressed that our Indian Suite looks exactly as it was shown on the web!
We did sneak in to other suites while the housekeeping staffs were doing their job.
This is the Bali Room. Beautiful and spacious but the picture of the 3 ladies above the bed does freak me out a little.
The bathroom is built to fit the theme. Definitely the best bathroom in the resort!
Did I mention in In Room Jacuzzi?
Thai Room looks great too!
It comprise of 2 bedrooms that makes it really good for 2 couples who are friends or relatives to stay together. The fish spa is another big draw of this room.
Last but not least the Tree House. My photo did not do the room justice as I took it while the housekeeping was cleaning the room from the previous guest. Part of an actual living tree goes into the room. The swinging bed makes it an unforgettable stay for adventurous couples.
Food at the resort can be a little pricey but really worth it. Here’s our favorite seats in the balcony restaurant.
We had Nasi Campur on day 1. The portion was huge.
Day 2 saw us swallowing an entire beer can chicken. Absolutely sinful but the chicken was amazing! Crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Must try! But it takes 3hrs to cook after you order it so try to place order in advance.
They really have to do something of the flies that comes by once food is available!
Shopping@Batam can be a little disappointing. We went Nagoya Hill Shopping Centre on Day 1. Nothing much to buy but I managed to satisfy my childhood want of a remote control helicopter. I got a cute yellow one!
No shopping was done on Day 2 although it was supposed to happen! The taxi driver act blur and drove us straight to the seafood place Wey Wey. Too lazy to argue lah. So forget it.
… Nearly forgot about the spa. All guest are given a wide variety of facial, massages, wraps and other exotic treatments. I had Balinese massage, Clay Facial and Hot Herb Bag Massage… Something like that. Not bad although both the massages felt really similar except for the hot herb bag part. The suction tube for the facial was a bit painful.
Beside our 3hr spa, the rest of our time was spent in bed watching DVDs made available at the reception counter. We watched ‘King Speech’, ‘The Race to Witch Mountain’, ‘The Steford Wifes’ and even Mayan documentaries.
Only complaint was no room wifi. Else this heavenly retreat is worth a visit at least once your life time.
You may also like to check out my posts on other exciting travel destinations here
