Rest and Relax at Nirwana Resort

We had wanted a quiet weekend escape just to rest and relax and do absolutely nothing except nuay around so we headed for Bintan Resorts - a consortium of resorts located in the north of Bintan Island. What we didn't bargain for was that things at Bintan Resort wasn't exactly cheap. The 2 days 1 night trip seemed cheap enough. S$150 for room, return ferry trip and breakfast. But when we arrived there, we found out that it was like we had never left Singapore. Every darned thing was in SGD and expensive like hell. Anyway, we were there already and had to make the best of it.

We had randomly picked the Nirwana Resort hotel to stayed in. It looks nice from the pics on the web and cheaper than Banyan Tree or Club Med and better than Bintan Lagoon. We were not disappointed in this aspect. The resort itself is actually part of Nirwana Garden which was situated on a huge sprawling piece of land and actually comprises several resorts - Nirwana Resort; Mayang Sari, Beach Club, Banyu Baru and the Indra Maya.

After checked in, we escaped from the resort and took an hour car ride to the other side of Bintan to a quaint and unique spa - the Aroma River Spa. More of that here.

Back at the Nirwana Resort, we went for dinner at the Kelong Restaurant, suppose to be one of the best on the Island. The set dinner at S$44 per person again wasn't cheap but it was a full 8 course dinner and did came with a bowl of shark fin soup, crab and prawns. There wasn't much to do for nightlife so we walked around and sat on the deck chair where I promptly fell asleep much to the annoyance of M who wanted to just sit there and do small talks and admire the stars.

The next morning after a forgetable buffet breakfast (ain't all hotel buffet breakfast), we went for a walk around the resort. There was a mini zoo with crocodiles, a soft shelled turtle, a snapping turtle, what looks like piranha, Arapiama, Alligator Gar, Giant catfish, a vulture which spread its majestic wings for us to look, a Brahminy Kite, a lot of White Cockatoo, and some Amazon macaws. That show how mini the zoo is since I can remember all the animals.

The chalets at the Beach Club looks lovely, so rustic but a bit ulu and away from the main building.

The highlight of the resort was of course the beach with its movie like scenery; coconut trees swaying gently in the wind, stretch and stretch of long white sand and beautiful clear blue water.

After checkout, we went over to the pathetic looking Resort centre but found a hidden gem when we discovered a food court selling food at very reasonable S$ as in $6 for a bowl of noodle. There was also a sports wellness centre offering a whopping 50% discount off all treatment. How to pass up such a offer? We gleefully went for another round of massage, this time a 'sport' massage at $35 for an hour before heading back to Sg.

Compared to Batam 2 weeks ago, this was heaven. Although not exactly cheap, we did achieve our objectives of resting and relaxin and to me that is money well spent.

More pictures here