Karen: What richard said... =) Thanks richard...

let me know if you have other questions.. cheeersss

Thank you Chandrana - your extremely helpful. Have a lovely day.

Hi Chandrana, I am visiting Batam for the first time and am deciding whether to stay in Harris Batam Centre, BCC in Nagoya, or Turi Beach.

I will like to enjoy some relaxing space, go for massage with hubby, and also some simple shopping.

As transportation is only via taxi, it is a dilemma on where to stay. Hope to get some advice from you!

Also, is Golden Prawn a good place to have seafood instead? If I stay in BCC, then Sri Rezeki is too far away. Or please recommend a seafood place we can go?

Any reviews about Eska spa? Or shall we just head down to Spa Secret?

Hey april,

hahaha.. just stick with one thread is okay =)

Depends on your budget, but BCC is definitely the better hotel. With that said, you will be happy with either one. Harris is good because it's just next to the ferry terminal and cheaper too. So my pick goes to Harris. forget about turi for your first trip =)

Seafood, definitely Sri Rezeki for starter. There are other options but this one is easier to find and has good standard no matter how many times you go there (aka. consistency).

Adi8 is my #1 choice but it's che zar style. The address is just Adi8 in Baloi Mas. Not many taxi knows but local chinese people would know. In any case, let me know when you come. If I am in town, I can bring you there since I go there every weekend or so =)

Just head down to spa secret and pay the premium. But if you are shopping in Nagoya Hill, then go check out Eska and asks for a viewing. If you don't like it, then head to Spa Secret and take a look.

Let me know if you have further questions =)

cheeerss

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g297717-i9135-k500…

Check out this thread for her experience and Adi-8 review. This girl knows her food.. and yes I totally agree with her =) hehehee

cheeerss

Thanks for info!! We'll choose betwn BCC and Harris. Btw, off peak rates for BCC is around S$100/night.. Is it a reasonable rate?

Love to try Sri Rezeki but it is far away from town, 2 way taxi is around S$30. What's your take on having dinner at Harbourfront Bay, Wey Wey seafood or some other restaurant?

Thanks for offer to bring us to ADI-8! Btw, we'll just head to Spa Secret coz there is no response from Eska, even after several messages. Any good masseurs to recco for 2 pax?

Well the cheapest I ever gotten for BCC through local agent is SGD95/night, breakfast included. So yeah, your price is definitely reasonable.

Hahhaa.. yeah Sri Rezeki can be quite a hassle that's why I only offered to take you to Adi8. lol. I only go Sri Rezeki when I am in the mood...

Wey wey is decent but it's more like a zi char place than a seafood restaurant. I would definitely choose Adi8 over wey wey at anytime or day =)

For masseurs, sorry I don't go there too frequent to know but normally what I do is I ask them if there is any experienced one available. And tell them your preference on hard or soft massage.

seems like you will have a blast here! enjoy april!

Hi Chandrana

It was most wonderful getting information from you and through tripadvisor, and I am going to share my experience in Batam as contribution.

I have just returned from 3D2N in Batam, staying in BCC Hotel. The hotel has huge rooms, we stayed on 18th floor, and amenities in our room was sufficient, and staff are friendly. However, there were renovation works which we could hear from our room in the day time, toilet gave out some smell during night time, and swimming pool was rather small. All in all, I would still give thumbs up to stay in BCC, as I still found the room and environment comfortable with good security, and central for travelling within central of Batam.

We tried food at Cobain, A2 food court (next to our hotel), Adi-8 (yes, we found it!) and bought JCo donuts back. Food was good, but I found pricing in A2 food court's price high for local standards, like Newton Circus in Singapore. We liked Cobain's food (except for their ayam dishes), Adi-8 was really interesting, and there's this uncle's claypot rice in A2 that tasted wonderful. We did not go Sri Rezeki for seafood as it was too far (prob next trip if we stay nearer), and reckon that we can still eat chilli crabs in Singapore, and we are not huge fans of seafood. There are still lots of local things we did not try, as we were too full from our meals and buffet breakfast each day. :)

Spa Secret was wonderful. For anyone going there, it is next to The Hills (opposite Nagoya Shopping Mall). We spent some time locating it. We had the traditional Bali massage package for Rp480,000 per pax, and as it was a weekday morning, there are fewer people and we had a more relaxing time doing our spa.

As for shopping, if you are a person shopping for things in Orchard Road, Batam is not really suitable for this activity. Things that we bought are mainly from supermarkets. We went Nagoya Hills, BCS mall and Batam Centre Mall, and always ended up in their supermarkets. :)

As for transportation, we went around by taxi. I found taxi prices expensive compared to other things we spent in Batam, but that's the only way to move around Batam for tourists there. Hotel prices will be more expensive, but in newer taxis. If you take from the mall, taxis are much older and air-cons do not function that well on hot days. :) Thanks for tips on taxi fares, as it really gave us a good guide on how much to pay from one place to another.

All in all, we had a good time in Batam. It was as if we had been transported back to our old days in Singapore, where pace was slower.

Yes, we will head back for spa and food.. and prob try another location to stay next time round. After all, it is just a 45min ferry ride from Singapore!! Oh yes, BatamFast ferries are comfortable for us, and we had a chance to sit on the open air deck for sea breeze and views!!

Hi, may i know if there are more factory outlets in batam centre or nagoya town? I'm planning to purchase apparels like tudung, t- shirts in bulk quantites for business purpose. Or is there any better place near batam to shop ? Thanks in advance.