It was 2 nights 2 days as my friends and I check-in on Friday evening and left Batam on Sunday evening. After comparing prices, we decided to book through a tour agency (WTS Travel) as the rates were quite comparable. The 4 of us got a 2-bedroom hillside villa at $265/pax for 2 nights, with 2-way ferry included. The 2-bedroom villa has 4 kinds of views, as shown below.
#1: Simplified map of Montigo Resorts.
Comparing prices straight off from Montigo Resort (batam) and Batam Fast (ferry) websites, 2 nights at Montigo with 20% off (advance booking discount - checked 5 weeks before departing date) is at $861.50 ($215.40/pax), and 2-way ferry is at $49/pax. This will total up to be $264.40, since there wasn't much difference for the rates, we let WTS Travel do the work. All we had to do was submit photos of our passport details and make payment via bank transfer. All communication was done via email.
We didn't really plan much for this trip, as the main purpose is really just to relax in a nice villa, and take lots of beautiful photos. The activities that we do are all impromptu, and whether if they were within our budget.
While, if you are really getting bored spending your weekends in Singapore, or if you want something special to celebrate an occasion, you can consider spending your time here. The rates are pretty affordable I would say, considering the size of it, and besides, it's just an hour ride to Batam.
You can check their website for any available offers. Currently, they have two 2D1N package that caught my attention - 'Play & Stay', and 'The Ultimate Girls Getaway'. You can email them to check on the rates and see if it is more worth it to go for these packages, as they include activities as well. The activities and treatments available at Montigo are actually quite expensive, probably double the prices if you were to do them outside of Montigo. Below are activities available at Montigo and some price comparison.
The normal booking comes included with WIFI, breakfast, 2-way transfer between ferry terminal and Montigo, and welcome drink. 'Play & Stay' package is inclusive of a recreation activity. 'The Ultimate Girls Getaway' package is inclusive of afternoon high tea, sunset dinner, and 60mins massage / cooking class. The 'The Ultimate Girls Getaway' package is at about an additional $150/pax, according to the rates offered by Montigo. A 60mins massage session at Montigo is at least RP720,000++ (=RP871,200), which is already about $85. If you are not sure what to do at Batam, or want a fuss-free weekend getaway, this package will be a good choice.
[Arrival]
As Indonesia is 1hr behind Singapore, we arrived at Montigo at around 8:45pm (Indonesia time). The ferry ride was about 40mins, and the ferry terminal is just 5mins away from Montigo. Upon arrival, welcome drinks are served - with a lemongrass stalk as straw, which I thought was quite creative and environment-friendly. You can always call for buggy service within the resort area, but sometimes walking is a lot faster than to wait for one to arrive, which usually takes about 10-15mins. The villa and the furniture were definitely a little old, since it was built 10yrs ago (in 2008). However, it is still very clean and housekeeping is done twice a day. After renovation, 1-bedroom, 3-bedroom, and 4-bedroom villas were built. If you want newer villas, you should consider these.
Explored the villa and took some photos. 1st floor was the living room, kitchenette, outdoor dining area and the pool. The kitchenette has a mini fridge, kettle, microwave oven and induction cooker. 2nd floor was the 2 bedrooms. The master bedroom comes with a king-sized bed, a couch, a huge bathroom with separate toilet and shower room, and a large tub with an open ceiling. This bathroom was a little warm and stuffy, since it's an outdoor bathroom. The other room comes with 2 single bed and a bathroom. After showering, we had a round of monopoly before we call it a day.
#2: Travel size Monopoly, too cute! The game board is just the size of a palm!
#3: Travel size Monopoly.
[Day 2]
It was pouring so heavily with thunders and heavy wind, that it woke me up at just 6:30am. Breakfast was at TADD's Restaurant, which is a sheltered open space dining place with great views of the ocean. The spread was amazing, but the food is actually quite normal. There were multiple live stations, and all kinds of food that you could think of to cater to everybody's needs.
#4: Breakfast with a view!
#5: Right outside TADD's Restaurant.
#6: Right outside TADD's Restaurant.
#7: Right outside TADD's Restaurant.
#8: Right outside TADD's Restaurant.
#9: Right outside TADD's Restaurant.
#10: Saturday's breakfast!
The plan was to proceed to Sea Forest Adventure for some outdoor and water activities, but since it was raining, we decided to return to the villa first. While waiting for the rain to stop, the housekeeping was here to clean the place. The skies finally cleared up at around noon and we proceeded as planned. It took a while to get a cab, so Montigo offered to send us there. We had ATV and zip line. We needed to wait around for quite some time, so it was about 3pm when we were done. The tide has not rise enough for water activities, so we decided to return to have a shower.
#11: ATV.
#12: View from our villa.
#13: View from our villa.
#14: View from our villa.
#15: View from our villa.
#16: View from our villa.
#17: Pool at our villa.
#18: All villas are equipped with your own private mini infinity pool!
#19: Nice sun rays, almost sun set!
#20: Sunset view.
#21: Sunset view.
#22: Sunset view.
The location of Montigo is actually not that convenient, and has not much things to do outside of Montigo. It is about a 40mins drive to the city. It is quite difficult to get a cab or grab at Montigo's location, so we opt to get Montigo's private car service. A 2-way service to the city area is RP460,000, paid directly to the driver. However, if you want to try your luck or is lucky enough to get a cab or grab, it is about RP120,000/trip to the city, which is half of what we paid. Since there were 4 of us, it was quite affordable, which is just $11/pax for 2-way.
If you are not sure where to go, BCS Mall is a safe choice as it has almost everything - food, cinema, KTV, massage, supermarket, bowling alley, and so on. People love to have some yummy local food at A2 Food Court, which is located just beside the mall. However, we had dinner in the mall instead as it was getting quite humid outdoors. Chose an Indonesian food place for dinner, the food were so good and affordable! We ordered 4 Ayam Penyet (fried chicken rice), Bakso Kosong (beef ball soup), Gado Gado (blanched vegetables, fried beancurd, peanut sauce), Omelette, Goreng Pisang (banana fritters), and 4 drinks, and we paid just RP245,000!
#23: Indonesian food for dinner!
We went to the supermarket next, and it was huge! If you love Indomie and Yakult, don't forget to get some here! The noodles are just $0.20 per packet and the Yakult is at $0.90 for 5 small bottles (65ml). The ones you get in Singapore is at 100ml. There were so many kinds of Indomie, and I just want to get them all! Thinking of my luggage space, I only got some original, mee soto, and the premium goreng special. Also got some Paldo Jjajangmyeon as it was also really cheap, about $1.50/pkt! Everything here is not just cheap, but very cheap, even better than grocery shopping in JB.
Other than Indonesian food, you can also get a huge variety of food from other countries like Korea, Taiwan and even Llao Llao. Got some Shilin chicken cutlet and sweet potato, Sharetea, and J.Co's donuts for supper!
[Day 3]
The first thing to look forward to is definitely Montigo's breakfast! The spread is the same but almost all the types were changed. Meaning for example, we had pancakes yesterday, and today was waffles. Yesterday was Roti Prata, and today was Roti Jala. Was looking forward to try their Nasi Lemak and Porridge today, as I didn't managed to do so yesterday. Didn't expect them to change it! The porridge was same but the toppings were all changed! What amazed me was there were at least 25 types of toppings to choose from like eggs, century eggs, salted eggs, braised peanuts, fried shallots, ikan bilis, salted vegetables, and so on. There wasn't any century eggs, salted eggs or braised peanuts today...
#24: Sunday's breakfast!
Today's breakfast was packed with people as it's common for people to spend just the weekend here. There were a little bit more variety today. Walked back to our villa and prepared for check-out. Since we booked through the travel agency, the check-out procedure was really quick!
Book the 2-way private drive service again to bring us to Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall. Our driver recommended us a massage place that is located just opposite the mall, called The Spa Secret. Our 1.5hr massage session (1hr on foot, 30mins on head, shoulders, back and arm) was RP260,000. It is pretty affordable and the massage was good!
Nagoya Hill Mall is better and newer than BCS Mall, so things are more expensive here. We had A&W for lunch, and it was pretty disappointing and expensive. Shopped around for a while and got some toys for my nephews. Went back to Montigo to collect our bags and kueh lapis that we ordered yesterday. We ordered from Diana Layer Cakes, recommended by my friend, which is one of the best kueh lapis in Batam. They only do original or prune version, whereas other bakery shops do have many other flavours like cheese, pandan and rainbow. Not quite sure if there is a physical shop, but we got the reception to help place the order and get them to send over to Montigo. The reception helped to do the payment procedure and kept in their fridge till we leave Montigo. Original 1kg is at RP250,000, prune 1kg is at RP300,000, and if you order a mix - 1/2kg original + 1/2kg prune is at RP275,000. They use Sunkist prunes, so don't worry that it will not taste good. If 1kg is too big for you, you can also order 1/2kg ones at half the price. All 1kg orders are stored in plastic containers, whereas 1/2kg ones are in cake boxes.
#25: Diana Layer Cake, information taken from Google.
#26: Price and types of Kueh Lapis, information taken from Diana Layer Cake's Facebook.
We left Montigo at 5:30pm to catch our ferry leaving at 6:30pm. Montigo Resorts is definitely worth visiting at least once, the service here is really good! However, 1-2 nights is more than enough time to spend in Batam as there is really nothing much to do on this small island.
Expenses
Sea Forest Adventure:
- Admission, RP60,000/pax
- Zip Line, RP65,000/pax
- 2pax ATV, 30mins for RP175,000/unit (RP87,500/pax)
- Locker (small), RP20,000
Kueh Lapis 1kg, RP250,000
2-way car service to BCS Mall, RP460,000 (RP115,000/pax)
Dinner, RP245,000
Sharetea, Taro Cocoa Rocksalt and Cheese (large), RP30,000
J.Co Donuts, 6 for RP49,000
Supermarket, RP197,100
- Indomie x3pkts
- Indomie Mee Soto x2pkts
- Indomie Goreng Special x2pkts
- Paldo Jjajangmyeon x3pkts
- Froot Loops cereal x1 box
- Hello Panda (small) x10pkts
- Choco Pie x2pkts
- Yakult (55ml) x4pkts (5btls each)
- Pringles x3
2-way car service to Nagoya Hill Mall, RP460,000 (RP115,000/pax)
1.5hrs Massage at Nagoya Hill, RP260,000
A&W, RP100,500
- 2pc Fried Chicken set with fries and drink
- Change to Root Beer float
- Add Corn Cup with Cheese Sauce
Remote Land Rover toy, RP188,000
Remote Police Lamborghini toy, RP198,000
Miniso, Apple Cable (so sad my cable spoilt during the trip), RP109,000
Total: RP2,089,1o0 = $200.50