Am back from a weekend trip to Batam, to Turi Beach Resort, it was a good break. Loved the resort and its airy expanse. Your mood instantly lifts the moment you arrive at the lobby, taking in the view of the sea and sky greeting you and the lush greenery of the landscape. Over here, time moves languidly along with the still warm air. The resort staff greet you with warm smiles and attend to your requests agreeably in an unhurried manner, as though there is all the time in the world. Wait a minute, there IS all the time in the world, you’re a holiday, so what’s the rush?
My room in the newly constructed wing was perfect. It was as though we were living in our own executive apartment, with a spanking classy bathroom. It was comfortable, new, airy, and had a decent view of the sea and the emerald pool. Resort facilities aside, there were several downers, but mostly due to my own making. One major gripe I had about the place was the location, it was a good 45mins ride away from the town area, which was bad when there was only so much things you can do to entertain yourselves while staying in. Another thing I disliked about Turi was the lack good food which kind of sucks, considering the amount you pay for meals within the resort. The international cafe was slightly decent, the Japanese restaurant was passable, and the Indonesian cafe was urgh, which is weird considering that they should be better at local cuisine. Don’t order the coffee shaker – too sweet, not cold enough and tastes like coffee + water , nor the chicken satay – it was dry, and tasted like microwaved chicken on sticks, , nor the Es(iced) desserts – ice shavings were more like ice chunks, too much syrup.
Choosing the peak period long holiday Hari Raya weekend also meant we had to share the resort with tonnes of other holidaymakers, mostly Singaporean. This meant several things; 1) practically no sunbeds available by the poolside, 2) long waiting times for cabs out when you want them 3) the resort spa being fully booked by the time I wanted to book a slot.
It was worse venturing out to Nagoya area on Saturday, the day which we’d designated to be a “stay-in” , chill in resort day. I was fixated on getting a spa done because it was so much cheaper to do one in Batam, plus it was going to be my first time doing so. The resort spa was a tad pricey, so I persuaded the bf to accompany me out to the one(s) in Nagoya instead. One massage house offered free transport to and fro to the hotels, so we called them to pick us up from ours. They agreed and gave us a 1pm slot. I was in for a rude disappointment, however, the transport never appeared, and when we called, they kind of brushed us off saying they’d pick us up 1/2 an hour later and all the massage/spa therapists were FULLY BOOKED. Undaunted, we decided to cab out instead, as there was another spa/massage house in the same area.
I’d to end up waiting in a super busy reception area in the Spa to do a pedicure instead (so as to not a make a wasted trip) while tourists (mostly Singaporean, again) came in and out to crowd around the counter to book/demand/negotiate/pay for their packages. This was after I got rejected our earlier “appointment” massage place down the road which informed me that their earliest booking slot they could offer me was 9.00pm at night ! It was noisy, and not the most enjoyable of times for those seeking a zen-like spa ambience.
The bf, kudos to him, took the opportunity to scarf down 2 root beer floats and 2 servings of curly fries from A&W in the amt of time we spent out there. Well oh well, our return ferry trip to sg was almost screwed up too, we’d inform the hotel reception to change our ferry timing to an earlier one, which they agreed. Who knows when we reached the ferry terminal, the coordinator couldn’t find our records. stressed the poor guy out, but we caught the ferry anyway.
So there we have it the good and the bad. I’d loved to go back again, but with a caveat, no more peak period travelling for me.
