Love the hotel! It was my first trip to Batam and this hotel came recommended by a friend. Big, spacious and overlooking the city of Batam. Had no problems with checking in and out. I prefer to take the hotel cab which is slightly pricier but definitely a lot more comfortable and cushier than the cabs hailed from the streets. The children had a pretty good time at the pool but as we went on over a weekend, the hotel was pretty crowded.

Next to the hotel was a mall, while nothing much to shop or look at, it does provide an avenue to buy some munchies at the supermarket. Right below the hotel was an open air food centre which sells fantastic food and the hawkers are friendly.

Traffic is pretty horrendous and you basically run across the road as and when possible.

Big, clean and Spacious new hotel located near the BCS shopping mall which has supermart, fast food and whatsoever. Right behind the hotel is an open concept "A2" food center with loads of food choices. Note that the food center is only open at night.

However, for those who fancy beaches or love to have their short trip spent in the water, this hotel may not be adequent. Location wise, it is a 15min ride from the ferry center and sea.

Batam - love it or hate it. I haven't been back for many years so Batam seems a little foreign to me. Not interested in gimmicky deals with free lunch and tour thrown in, my friend and I opted for free and easy instead. Based on the reviews of BCC, I thought this would suit my taste as I generally prefer newer hotels.

It was the Hari Raya Haji holiday hence early check in was not available. No problem. We left our bags at concierge and proceeded to the BCS mall next door. Turn left as you leave the hotel, it's probably about  2 minutes walk. BCS mall isn't a typical Singaporean's cup of tea. Levels after levels of fake branded bags, a few restaurants including Ayam Penyet Ria, KFC, BFC (probably a KFC wannabe!), spa, supermarket, local clothing stores, a couple of bakeries and a coffee joint. Nothing struck our fancy so we crossed the road to a Singapore-style non-air con coffee shop and had a quick bite of nasi campur and ayam penyet.

After check-in at BCC hotel, we rang Spa Secret for an appointment (see separate review on this). Our deluxe room was on the 19th floor, quite a lovely view of the harbour on the left, could even make out Marina Bay Sands on the horizon. Awesome. We were more than happy with the modcons. The bathroom was also spacious however the shower faucets were a tad confusing- you have a choice of rain shower, hand-held shower and a normal tap. At one turn of the tap, both hand-held shower and the tap spouted water so I gave up and left them be. The safe wasn't working, we kept having " batt-L " flashing on the small screen. I figured it could mean low battery.

When we returned at midnight, the water heater didn't work and so did the wifi. No fun taking cold showers. 

As for the lift, which was always slow, we had a bit of a scare coming down for breakfast. Breakfast hours are from 6-10am. At about 9.30am, with the lift loaded with people, there was a sudden jolt as the lift stopped at lobby level. The doors wouldn't open and someone pressed the buttons but nothing happened. I started thinking I would miss breakfast, haha. Thank God it was just a couple of minutes before the doors opened. As I recall, there were a few panicked faces there.

Breakfast time! Okay, where do I start? 
At first they wanted to seat us at the makeshift tables at the lobby which we refused (aren't we a bunch of trouble?) We didn't mind sharing a table as long as we get to sit in the restaurant. I was just a little surprised the restaurant was crowded towards the end of breakfast hours, I wasn't expecting so many people queuing up for omelette at the egg station. I know some people have commented on the quality of food here but I would say it's passable. Neither good nor bad, somewhere in between. The usual buffet spread  on offer -  salads, fried noodles, fried rice, variety of breads and traditional kueh, porridge, cereals, fruits. The pineapples were delicious though, and they didn't even top them up. What a pity. Aside from diluted fruit juices like guava, apple and orange, there's coffee and tea. Oh, I must mentioned the hashbrowns were so crispy and yummy, I reckon the Indonesians are great at fried stuff. 

From our room, we had this view of Top 100 Plaza. A quick google confirmed it's a small mall but big on local snacks. Turn right when you leave the hotel and cross a busy road to get to this mall. We headed straight to the supermarket and snacks galore awaits you. We oohed and aahed at the prices of stuff which were a fraction  back home. Happy to stock up on shampoo, conditioner, beauty products and snacks. Mission accomplished. Now if only roads were easier to cross.  Be careful when crossing roads to get back to hotel, cars zoom faster than you think. 

I didn't have time to swim at the pool, had a look around it though, nice fully equipped gym overlooking the pool, children's pool, sauna, showers, spa next to sauna, quite the package. Didn't have time to visit A2 food court either due to so many choices out there. 

Would I stay at BCC hotel again? Let me think about it....

Details
Date: 11 Oct 2012 - 14 Oct 2012 (3 Nights)
Paid: SGD$282
Stayed: 10th Floor, Deluxe Room (Facing Singapore)

My second stay at the hotel in 6 months. Decided to come back here due to the good experience earlier in the year. My earlier review is still valid but I do need to highlight a few areas for improvement:

1) Had to wait close to haf an hour to check-in even though we already reached an hour after the stipulated check in time.

2) Housekeeping needs some work. There would be some amenities which were not topped up i.e. toilet paper being probably the most essential and shower foam the next. Bathroom towel was also missing one of the days after housekeeping was done. We immediately reflected this to the counter staff to prevent any misunderstanding. We also reflected a faulty bathroom light but it was not fixed even till the day we checked out.

I would have rated it 5/5 but because the service standard dropped since my last visit, I have to be fair and drop the rating as well. Still 4/5 isn't too shabby. I still like it for it's proximity to
food and shopping. Will I come back? Yes, but I hope they work to improve their housekeeping and maintenance team.