We were allowed early check-in at 12.30pm after arriving from our ferry. Staff around the resort grounds are friendly and responsive when we chat with them, less so when we needed them to send things to our villa.

We had 4 adults but only 2 towels provided when we entered our villa. No bath mats or dish racks were provided too. The phone in the living hall was faulty - this is the very 1st time i encounter this on holiday! Took us quite a while to finally get through to them to change the phone. Extra towels took 2 hrs and at least 3 calls to arrive. Buggy service to bring us to the resort lobby or resort centre was also slow. Walking would take about 15 mins if you didn't mind the scorching sun.

The villa was also old and could do with some refurbishment. The bedrooms were all situated upstairs and this could be a problem for elderly who have to climb the winding stairs many times a day.

The villa was TERRIBLY run down. Air con in all 3 rooms were leaking when we arrived. The leak was so bad that the water soaked through the daybed that was under the aircon and dripped onto the wooden floorboard. A large area of the floor was damp and sticky as a result.

The rooms had a musty smell from all the dampness and were definately not conducive for staying. When we requested for a change in villa, the staff turned us down immediately and said they were fully booked, despite us seeing alot of EMPTY  villas throughout the time we were there.

The TV remote in the master room was missing and when we requested for a new remote the staff said it had been missing for 3 months and they won't be able to replace it within the 3 days we were there, which makes us wonder Why they didn't replace it during the 3 months in the first place.

It rained on the 2nd day and the roof  LEAKED! The master room bed frame was broken, room safe was spoilt and room door to the 2nd bedroom jammed and had to call the staff to get a locksmith.

Bintan have such nice sandy beaches but it's a pity the resort by Costa sands is so terribly maintained.

There are plenty of better places to stay in Bintan than this hotel. Problems we encountered:
Leaking toilet in Ensuite meant that room was unusable for most of our stay.
Run down villa, very tired no where near the quality you'd expect for the price.
Every single sun bed by the villa pool was broken.
They charge extra for everything, even a game of table tennis on a rackety old table was $5.
Towels are treated like gold, every one is numbered and you have to bring the same number back or get charged $25 per towel. The towel would cost about $2 max.
Towels are collected earlier than the pool closes! if you don't hand it back- $25 per towel.
Over charged on checkout for room service I didn't have. When I proved it wasn't mine still no apology given.
When I wrote a letter of complaint post trip, they didn't even acknowledge it.

Do yourself a big favour and stay somewhere else.

We booked the 3 room Villa. We asked to be moved as the first Villa we were given was very unclean and had a bad smell to it. The second was much better. Overall the Villas are good. There is an en-suit in the main bedroom and another family bathroom, air-conditioning is only available in the bedrooms which makes the downstairs very hot during the day. The kitchen was well equipped with a fridge and microwave. You are able to use any of the facilities including the swimming pools within the Nirwana Gardens resort. The resort is very family oriented which was great as we were traveling in a group of 7 (5 Adults and 2 children [9 and 6 years]). The Management staff are a great help and are very friendly, as are all the domestic staff. My only complaint is that the pillows and bedding are very stained. I would have thrown them out years ago and replaced them. The pillows need pillow protectors on them so they can be removed and laundered after each guest. If I was to return to these villa, I would bring me own pillows with me as the ones they have on the beds, can only be described as disgusting.