Beautiful view isn’t it? I’m fresh back from my first family vacation. It’s Izzie’s first time abroad also, and yes, her passport works!
We had a great time at Club Med Bintan Island. Our first time at Bintan and I must say that we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. I like the idea that the package is all-inclusive. Food, drinks (house pours and beer included), and accommodation. Most, if not all, the activities are included in the price as well. In short, a stress-free holiday, without the worry of paying an additional cent over what you have already paid for the holiday. Sorta like a cruise getaway, but on a beach resort.
They had the best welcome that I’ve experienced at a resort. The staff, including the resort’s General Manager, comes out to the lobby to personally greet every arrival. After a quick welcome speech, a staff will show you personally to your room. Your bags are delivered to the room shortly after. And your holiday commences. A really nice way to start actually.
Because we had an infant along, we didn’t really take part in a lot of the activities. But we loved the beach. My wife and I could just sit there for hours enjoying the breeze and the sound of the ocean waves crashing. Even little Izzie enjoyed it. The breeze easily made her fall asleep in her pram and made her miss her feed.
The only disappointment I had was with the food. It’s mainly buffet-style dining, with a small restaurant serving a la carte. Taste was so so, although there were highlights in their menu rotation. Best in the bunch were their Indonesian cuisine.
Club Med has pretty good facilities for kids and babies. At some of their resort, they actually have babysitting services
for infants. Unfortunately, the one at Bintan Island doesn’t have that. But they do have this Baby Welcome Pack that comes as part of your holiday package. They will put a play pen with mattress, bottle sterilizer, and a baby bath tub in your room as part of this welcome pack. This is definitely convenient for us as it meant that we had to bring along less things on our getaway. Their main restaurant also has a baby corner that is stocked with necessities for feeding a baby.
Check out is a breeze. You leave your bags outside the door at the pre-determined time and the porters will come and whisk your bag off to be loaded onto the bus. When you leave the resort, the staff and the General Manager once again sends you off. A very good good-bye as well.
All in all, I feel that the overall experience is good. The biggest plus point for me was the Baby Welcome Pack. I would certainly try out their other resorts in the region such as Bali, Phuket and Cherating.
Best part of the holiday is the precious first holiday that we had together as a whole family. The time spent together was precious, and it’s always a reminder to slow down and enjoy the more important things in life.