November is a holiday month for me. I’ll be away some days for a well-deserved break with the family on board our first cruise adventure as well as a couple holiday to London and Paris. While I’m holidaying, I’ve got some friends over to will share their travel stories with travel tips as well as places they have visited.
Today, I’ve invited the lovely Angeline who blogs at Princess Dana, where she chronicles her lovely daughter’s growing up years as a vivacious and cheerful girl. I love how her family has so much fun singing, dancing and travelling the world together.
Angeline has just returned from a recent holiday that she’s taken with the family not too long. For those who love your resort get away, this will be right up you alley and suitable for the whole family!
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Our first Club Med vacation took place in March 2012. My husband and I have gone on many resort holidays but Club Med truly takes the cake.
Reception and Welcome: Hassle-free and speedy! Upon arrival at Bintan Ferry Terminal, our luggage was collected and sent directly to the resort. We boarded the Club Med coach which brought us to the resort 15mins away. Teams of smiling G.Os (Genteel Organizers or Club Med Staff) lined the main lobby waving their hands and dancing to the Club Med theme song as the coach pulls into the resort driveway, offering a warm, exuberant welcome. After a brief welcome speech by the Chief De Village (Mike), each family was personally escorted to our hotel room by a G.O.
Resort Room: It is a habit for us to research on Trip Advisor to check out what fellow travellers say about the accommodation. A handful of reviewers criticized the rooms at Club Med Bintan for being tired and in need of refurbishment so we lowered our expectations before the trip. To our pleasant surprise, the rooms turned out to be above average – similar to those you would normally get in a 3-4 star regional beach resort. Intitially, we were given a room at Blk A which was right next to the main pool with the Aqua Aerobics and other water sports going on. We found it too noisy and requested for a room change which was promptly attended to. We liked the location of our re-assigned room at Blk B. It was spacious, clean, warmly lit and comes with a large attached bathroom (pity no bathtub though). The balcony opens up to a lush coconut grove with the ocean beyond. We loved it that we could hear the sea waves lapping onto the shore, very therapeutic. The Queen bed could have been more comfortable as it was actually 2 single beds joined together but we can make do with it as we are out enjoying the resort facilities and participating in the activities most of the time.
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| The Queen Bed |
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| The Balcony |
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| View from the Balcony |
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| The little window alcove which became Dana’s sleeping area… |
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| The bathroom |
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| The daily surprise from the Housekeeping crew! |
Resort Ground: The resort is set in a lush tropical forest with a clean private beach. Its compound is well-kept with beautiful cocout trees swaying in the sea breeze and beautiful flora (such as orchids and ferns) and fauna (squirrels!). We found beetles and other insects on the resort grounds at night and in the early mornings (esp. after rain the night before) but they are part of the eco-system. The beach is clean and suitable for swimming except on the last 2 days the waves were too strong.
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| The sprawling, well-manicured lawn… |
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| The private beach… |
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| Tranquility abounds… |
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| The main pool… |
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| Thumbs up after checking out the pool! |
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| Colourful flags lined the compound… |
Resort Meals: In true Club Med style, all food and beverages are served free-flow all day. The main “Waterfall” restaurant serves a great variety of dishes from Japanese sushi, Korean Ramen, Indonesian Prata, Chinese Porridge to a whole array of Western soups, pastas, pizzas and salads, appetizers and desserts. Menu items were slightly different everyday (except for breakfast). We found the quality of food to be below average and nothing to shout about. On those days when we had a late lunch at 1.30pm, the food had turned cold and unpalatable. What salvaged the otherwise poor dining experience was the company of the enthusiastic G.Os. They would approach guests to politely ask for permission to dine with us. Initially this took a little getting used to but by the second day, we were looking forward to these friendly conversations with new G.Os at each meal!
We dined at the Ala Carte “Terrace” Restaurant thrice. The lunch items were served buffet style and again were cold and unacceptable. The main courses for dinner was ordered ala carte and this tasted much better (at least the food was warm and not overcooked!). The hubs ordered Grilled Tenderloin steak, Dana had Salmon Steak and I opted for the Grilled Indonesian Ayam Pengat. We would love to dine more often at the Terrace if not for the tardy service staff (birds were happily feeding on the fruit buffet but no staff noticed) and there wasn’t any air conditioning which can be a tad too humid and balmy in the evenings.
Resort Booze: We love the free flow of Beers, Wines, Cocktails, Mocktails, Fruit Juices and Smoothies at the bars located at prominent locations within the resort. The hubs joked that, each time he stretches out his hand, he’ll get a new drink in seconds. The Santai Bar even has a dedicated Kids’ Corner where little guests like Dana can order their own beverages! At certain times of the day, there will be a small selection of canapes and board games placed next to the bar for guests’ enjoyment. How thoughtful!
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| Lost count of the cocktails we tried… |
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| Mojitos or Juices – which do you prefer? |
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| Booze by the Beach…how good can life get? |
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| Her very own Kids Bar! Cool, isn’t it? |
Resort Activities – Kids’ Club: What truly made our vacation at Club Med Bintan exceptional is the excellent Kids’ Club Programme. We’ve travelled a fair bit but we’ve never seen such a comprehensive, well-organised Kids’ Club Programme anywhere in the world. From Day 1, we knew our daughter was in good hands. She was meaningfully engaged in both outdoor sports (e.g. kite making and flying, swimming, sand-castle building, flying trapeze) and indoor fun games (e.g. limbo rock, kids bingo). Not forgetting the many sessions of impromptu Crazy Sign Dances! During our short stay, there was even a mass Garden Tea Party for the kids and a Big Fun Fair (complete with an Elephant Ride) on the Coconut Grove! What incredible coordination and ingenuity by the Kids’ Club G.O.s!
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| Carnival on the Lawn! |
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| All decked out for the party… |
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| Chefs at hand to serve the kids… |
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| Having a whale of time… |
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| Free Elly Rides right on the compound! |
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| Her first DIY Tye-Dye Tee… |
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| Kids doing the Crazy Signs! |
Something memorable took place at this Club Med vacation – Dana performed her first Flying Trapeze stunt – an act which would make even adults go weak in the knees! Our hearts literally stopped a beat as we watched her ascend the tall ladder to take the leap of faith…After she made the jump successfully, our trepidation was replaced by a strong overwhelming pride for our daughter’s courage and tenacity…That’s our girl!
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| One of the anchor highlights of Club Med’s Kids Programme! |
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| She has her eyes set on the Flying Trapeze the moment we arrive…and here she goes! |
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| The sense of accomplishment after she completed her first Trapeze! |
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Cruising on the low element rope balance
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| She likes it so much she did it again on the second day! |
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Dana made so many good friends with the other kids at the Mini Club and the G.Os! We commended the Kids’ Club G.Os for their boundless energy, charming charisma, attention to details, patience and genuine concern for the kids. They made the holiday so memorable for the little children and the smiles on their faces were simply priceless! If we had to pick one reason why we would return to Club Med Bintan again, it would be to bring Dana back to the Kids’ Club!
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| Dana with some of her favourite G.O.s – Here’s Sonny… |
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| Lee and Clayton… |
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| Gita and Melody… |
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| And the most fun-loving of all – Diego! |
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| With Dr. Olivia, the friendly resident doctor in Club Med Bintan. |
Resort Entertainment – Another outstanding trademark of a ClubMed vacation is its nightly performances put up by the entire G.O team. They sang, danced, acted, trapezed, boogied and practically spared no efforts in putting up incredible shows night after night. We thoroughly enjoyed the ‘MJ’ night, ‘Glee’ night and ‘Circus’ night but our favourite was the surprise ‘Stand-Up Comedy’ Night by the Poolside which was super hilarious and utterly entertaining. The nightly Crazy Sign Dances were infectious and fun too. We liked it that everyone joined in the dance without any inhibitions, regardless of how old you are or where you are from.
Resort Spa: Since Dana is well-taken care on at the Kids’ Club, we rewarded ourselves with a heavenly two hour spa treatment at the Aspara Spa on our second day of our stay. The spa therapy room overlooking the ocean was built on cement pillars rising above the mangrove swamps. It was soothing to hear the sound of the lapping waves as we enjoyed the bodyscrubs and massages.We highly recommend that you don’t miss this little spa indulgence while you’re at ClubMed!
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| Spa set in Mangrove Swamps… |
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| The couple spa treatment room |
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| The Spa Lounge… |
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| Little touch of Nature… |
Resort Farewell: On the day of our departure, the G.O.s once again congregated at the main lobby to bid us a warm farewell. Plenty of photographs were taken, and hi-5s and hugs exchanged. As a final surprise, the little kids were each given a certificate from the Kids’ Club! When it’s time for the coach to leave, the G.Os lined the driveway and waved to us. This was a sincere and heartwarming touch which no other resort has replicated. It truly made us feel like family. We went to Club Med Bintan seeking for a short respite from our hectic lives back in Singapore and were not disappointed. It’s not just because of the all inclusive F&B (or even the booze) neither was it purely the fantastic Kids’ Club Programme. It’s the whole Club Med experience which makes one rethink the idea of a holiday. Our first vacation with Club Med has been so totally awesome and we’ll love to return in a heartbeat the next time a good promotion comes along!
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| Can’t help but give the thumbs up!
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We’ve been to Club Med Bintan twice and like Angeline mentioned, we love the vibrant atmosphere in the resort where there’s lots to do and the GOs are always so sporty and fun-loving. We can’t wait to go back again now that Sophie is older so that we can relax and enjoy a massage too while she enjoys all the fun with the other kids of her age.
Are resort holidays your perfect getaway too?
We’ve been there 4 or 5 times now, and really enjoyed it each time.
Each time except the last time that is. Rained the whole time, daughter had diarrhea, I got sick, we lost our car keys somewhere. Oh boy, what memories!
Not Club Med’s fault though, and yes, the GOs were terrific.