It’s the start of March school holidays again. We brought the kids to Batam for a budget weekend staycation at Holiday Inn Batam.
So what’s there for us to do in Batam? Well, don’t think there is much for the young ones but it is a good place to get away from bustling city life once in a while to rest, relax, shop and dine on a budget. Not forgetting gaming and YouTube detox for the kids, if only for a day.
Our one-hour long ferry ride started from Harbourfront Ferry Terminal. We took Sindo Ferry to Waterfront Ferry Terminal, with a brief stop at Sekupang Ferry Terminal in between. Depending on where you are heading in Batam, you can choose to travel to any of the 5 piers which is nearest to your destination. There are also several different operators to choose from.
Few passengers, though, will alight at Waterfront Ferry Terminal, unless they are staying at Holiday Inn Batam or Harris Batam.
Holiday Inn Resort where we stayed for a night is a stone throw from Harbourfront Ferry Terminal. Free pick-up service is available from both Harbourfront and Sekupang Ferry Terminal, which is about 25 mins ride away.
The hotel lobby. There is no souvenir shop in the resort, only a shop selling Polo tees. If you are thinking of buying, do take note the Polo tee-shirts in Indonesia are not the same as those from Polo Ralph.
There is a sports bar on 2nd storey as well as a games room. Our little ones tried X-box games but as the games are not in English, they gave up quickly. Booking of the game console was on a first-come-first-served basis.
Our 1-bedroom suite is simple, clean and spacious, with a kitchenette and balcony.
Since there is nothing to do around Waterfront area, we took Holiday Inn’s 7-seater taxis to go downtown for shopping at Nagoya Hill Mall. The taxi ride cost RP130,000 (S$12.50) per way for a 35 mins journey.
We went for A&W fast food in Nagoya Hill Mall. The queue was long and hence inevitably led extended waiting time but we got to slurp down their root beer float. There is also a row of snack stalls at 2nd storey of the mall, where you can pick up keropok (deep fried crackers) and dried/pickled fruits. Thereafter you can burn your clothing allowances at the departmental store and boutiques.
The Hypermart is a good place to load up on your stock of Indomie and other Indonesia food products.
Back at the resort, it was fun at the pool. Thankfully, the weather was good. There are big blue and white floats free for use in the pool. Strangely the slide at the other end of the pool was very quiet so we had the place all by ourselves.
The Resort’s kids’ club is where parents can enroll kids for full day of fun, which includes activities such as face painting, art & craft, movie time and cookie making. A one day program from 9am to 4pm cost Rp120,000 per kid. Since we did not have so much time, CL rented a manual skate scooter at Rp30,000 for 30mins and went around the resort. There is also a small outdoor trampoline and bicycles for use within the compound.
The Resort has a Spa too, with 60 mins body massage treatment priced at Rp450,000++/person and their signature spa packages from Rp1,100++/person.
There is no shopping outlets and restaurant near the resort within walking distance. So it is best to have dinner before heading back to the resort if you are outside. The cafe serves pretty decent food. They have buffet dinner option at around S$30 per pax but since we did not think we could eat much, we went for ala carte option. As expected, the food in the hotel is not cheap, after the inclusion of a 10% service charge and 10% goods and services tax.
Our dinner for 6 with a main course and drink for each of us added up to around S$70. Here’s what we had:
Top left-right: Ayam penyet, Assam pedas; Bottom left-right: Soto ayam, kids’ meals of nuggets and fries, fish and chips. These 2 kids meals are from their ‘kids dine free’ menu and comes with a free scoop of ice cream.
Tip: Holiday Inn offers a kids dine free menu with every paying adult. Ask to see the menu as it may not be automatically brought to you. Our experience is the staff was not familiar with this policy and its menu so it took a while to get our message across.
If your room booking does not include free breakfast, breakfast vouchers can be purchased at the main lobby counters for Rp130,000 per person. Breakfast is the standard international selection, with eggs, bacon, sausages, bread, muffins, donuts, salad and Asian choices such as porridge and soto ayam soup.
Also if you are an IHG Rewards Club member, do make full use of the perks if you can. You can save the taxi fare by taking the hotel’s free shuttle service downtown which runs at the following timings:
• 11am from hotel and 3pm from Nagoya Hill
• 2pm from hotel and 6pm from Nagoya Hill
Other perks include salt bath welcome gift, 20% discount off ala carte menu at tea tree spa, complimentary 1 hour for K-box karaoke package purchase and free dessert during lunch at Dragon Inn Chinese Restaurant.