Coming hot off the heels of a month of long weekends but already planning your next quick getaway? If you’re a fan of iconic villas and private pools set in gardens perched near the sea — One Of A Kind Resort Bintan might be the perfect staycation option for you.
Hopping over to Bintan just got a whole lot easier with the newest entry requirements to the Riau Islands. Since we’ve been pardoned from expensive on-arrival PCR tests and mandatory quarantines, we decided to treat ourselves to a quick 3D2N getaway in Bintan over the long weekend. This time, we took the road less travelled and booked a villa at a new resort outside the usual Bintan Lagoon area. Here’s how our One of a Kind Resort Bintan staycation went — scroll down for the full deets!
One Of A Kind Resort Bintan Staycation Review:
#1: Ferry Tickets
#2: Pre-Departure Preparation & Arriving In Bintan
#3: Garden View Villa VS Seafront Villa
#4: Our Room & Private Pool
#5: Resort Facilities & Dining Options
#6: What To Take Note Of
#7: Visiting Other Parts Of Bintan
#8: Returning to Singapore
One Of A Kind Resort Bintan Staycation Review: Ferry Tickets
We booked our ferry tickets through Bintan Resort Ferries — they have four vessels transporting passengers to and fro from Bandar Bintan Telani Terminal and Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal every day.
While the current schedule only has a single 11.10 am ride to Bintan daily, you’ll be glad to know the provider schedules frequent ad hoc trips for long weekends and periods of expected increased activity. We counted three additional trips (starting at 9.10 am and ending with the latest trip at 3.30 pm) from Singapore to Bintan and four extra return trips (ranging from 11.15 am to 5.15 pm) for the latest Vesak Day weekend — so don’t worry about the availability of ferry tickets during public holidays.
Overall, the booking process was a breeze and round trip tickets came up to S$102 per pax. We caught the 9.10 am ferry bright and early on Saturday morning, and off we were on the high seas!
One Of A Kind Resort Bintan Staycation Review: Pre-Departure Preparation & Arriving In Bintan
🎉 Thanks to the latest entry requirements to Indonesia, we were exempted from having to take an on-arrival PCR test because we had spent the last 14 days in Singapore — this saved us a cool S$99!
Here was what we needed to enter Bintan, Indonesia:✅ Negative supervised ART results
👉🏻 We chose to take a quick and easy online supervised ART 24 hours before our departure
✅ Proof of vaccination
👉🏻 Get yours from Healthub via the Singpass app
✅ COVID-19 travel insurance covering at least SGD$30,000
✅ The PeduliLindungi app downloaded on your phone
Upon arrival at Bandar Bintan Telani Terminal:
Step One: Submit your physical health declaration forms at counters set up outside the immigration office
👉🏻 Don’t worry, you’ll have the whole ferry ride to fill these up
Step Two: Scan the ferry terminal QR code on your PeduliLingdungi app
Step Three: Get your passports stamped and bags checked
🚨 Singaporean passport holders can head straight to the immigration line, so be sure not to get lost in the crowd and accidentally join the visa on arrival queue!
We arranged for a pickup from the resort — our driver was prompt and we were picked up the moment we got through customs. It took an hour to get to our home for the next 3 days, One Of A Kind Resort, from Bandar Bintan Telani Terminal.
One Of A Kind Resort Bintan Staycation Review: Garden View Villa VS Seafront Villa
One of a Kind Resort Bintan offers two types of villas for visitors to choose from, separated by a quiet two-way road — the Seafront Villa, with direct access to the ocean, and the Garden View Villa located further inland. We chose the latter for its striking angular structure and photogenic surroundings, but were blessed with an extra spectacular surprise at sunset: we watched as our garden section shone with golden hour magic as if to affirm us of our choice!
With each villa, complimentary transportation devices were given. The Garden View Villas were stocked with bicycles to explore the inner resort area with — and we spotted paddleboards neatly stacked outside the seafront villas.
Don’t expect to be spending too much time exploring the grounds or the sea though — a lap around the entire garden grounds took us only 3 minutes!
One Of A Kind Resort Bintan Staycation Review: Our Room & Private Pool
With two floors all to ourselves, a private indoor pool, and a glass-bottomed balcony on the second floor, we were more than happy to settle in and make ourselves at home.
Each villa can house up to four people — with a king-sized bed on the second floor and a convertible sofa bed on the first. However, we would say that each villa seemed tailored for two because the amenities (like bathrobes and bedroom slippers) only came in pairs and could not be topped up (we requested but they didn’t have any extras).
Additionally, while it was nice to have the pool just steps away from our bedroom window, the first-floor area became constantly puddly as it was the only way to enter and exit the pool — not ideal for those sleeping on the sofabed.
There are fully-equipped bathrooms on each floor of the villa. The master bedroom’s ensuite had double sinks, an automated porcelain throne, and a large window-side bathtub — just remember to draw the blinds while showering!
The power sockets in the villa were suited for 3-pin plugs, so leave your travel adaptors at home. If you were planning to stream your own movies, you’ll be happy to know that each flat-screen TV had slots for HDMI cables. We forgot to bring ours but the staff were happy to loan us theirs.
One Of A Kind Resort Bintan Staycation Review: Resort Facilities & Dining Options
With the lack of lounge chairs at our private pool, we decided to head to the resort’s main pool to get our tan on. Situated on the second floor above the resort’s main restaurant, the outdoor pool is strategically positioned to face the open sea but away from the setting afternoon sun. This makes it perfect for peaceful post-lunch lounges.
On our first day, it was blissfully empty for the entire 4-hour stretch we were there, but when we attempted to recreate the intimate experience the next day, it was bustling with fellow guests. Either way, the view of the great ocean blue beyond the pool’s infinity edge was a calming sight for our tired city eyes.
While the resort didn’t have any spa facilities, they did offer to help us with arranging a taxi to the nearest one. However, we ultimately chose to forego that in favour of water sports (they had paddle boarding, banana boat rides, and island-hopping options). We chose to go paddle boarding for two hours and that set us back by Rp150,000 (~S$14.40).
There are two main dining options in the resort, Azura (the main Indonesian Western restaurant) and Ocean House (the Chinese seafood restaurant). Both restaurants are available for room service deliveries. Our villa came with a complimentary breakfast served at Azura — think hearty buffet with the usual egg station, cereal options, fruit platters, and hot Indonesian dishes (the nasi goreng and pan-fried fish with salsa are must-tries!). However, a special shout-out to Ocean House for their ultra-fresh and flavourful grilled fish, fried squid, and stir-fried prawns. For dessert, we highly recommend their sinful avocado cream which is essentially an avocado milkshake topped with vanilla ice cream. Yum.
With the uncertainty of travel conditions, we didn’t want to exchange too many Rupiah in cash. Thankfully, the resort accepts Mastercard and we were able to use our YouTrip card on the go — the perfect solution for the unplanned costs that might crop up.
One Of A Kind Resort Bintan Staycation Review: What To Take Note Of
As the resort was pretty new, having only opened recently, there were some teething issues. Here’s what to take note of if you’re counting on a 5-star stay.
Problem: One Of A Kind Resort Bintan is shrouded in nature, which we love, but that also means that you’d expect to see wildlife everywhere. That might come in the form of a humongous upturned beetle on the steps of your villa, a swarm of flies at lunch at Ocean House, or the occasional flying ant copping a squat on your pillow.
Solution: As a precaution, close all windows and doors to keep those critters out! We made the mistake of leaving our windows open to enjoy the lovely Bintan sea breeze and ended up spending a good amount of time picking insects off our pillows and sheets.
While everyone was very polite and friendly, the resort is definitely short on staff. Our room service came a whopping one and a half hours late and we had to walk down to Azura to remind them of our order before it finally arrived. Being easy-going travellers, these weren’t exactly dealbreakers for us — but if you spot a personal pet peeve here, watch out before booking your stay!
One Of A Kind Resort Bintan Staycation Review: Visiting Other Parts Of Bintan
We tried to visit a few Warungs and roadside coffee houses listed on Google Maps, but they turned out to be closed — so be sure to do your research when planning your trip. Thankfully, the staff quickly recommended an alternative dinner spot for fresh homecooked seafood: Teluk Bakau Bay View Restaurant. Our feast of steamed fish, black pepper squid, fried rice, sea clams, and fresh coconuts came up to just Rp340,000 (~S$32.60) in total.
Also do note that Gojek and Grab are not supported in Bintan so we had to rely heavily on the resort’s transportation. That said, taxi rides here are relatively cheaper than in Singapore — the round trip to Teluk Bakau Bay View restaurant cost us S$10.
One Of A Kind Resort Bintan Staycation Review: Returning to Singapore
Before we knew it, it was time to leave our laidback island life behind and return home. Heading back to the +65 was a breeze because there were no pre-departure COVID-19 tests needed — all we had to do was fill in the e-travel declaration online.
Take note: there may be ferry delays during peak periods — ours departed one hour later than usual and there were huge crowds at the ferry terminal. We used the downtime to browse through the souvenir shops and netted quite a few Indonesian goodies for the ride home.
Have A One Of A Kind Resort Experience In Bintan With YouTrip!
Now that you know what to do at One Of A Kind Resort Bintan, why not use your YouTrip card to book your stay now? As always, whenever you spend overseas, be sure to use your YouTrip card to skip out on those pesky bank fees and make full use of our great currency exchange rates!
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Stay safe, and happy travels!
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