It was awesome, banyan tree had an office at the Bintan ferry terminal that arranged transportation to the resort within minutes...check-in was quick, and Buggies!! they have buggies all over to get you from place to place on the resort. The room was incredible, a large 4-post bed that looks out to a open sky deck - on the deck is a lounge sofa, chill-out chairs/table and of course a hot water jacuzzi, from which you have a private view of the sea. To say the least, it fits the bill of a relaxing, tranquil and romantic destination. And the staff of Banyan Tree...these guys really go out of their way to create an incredibly cozy environment - folding animals out of towels, placing flowers on the bed/around the jacuzzi, with tea candles and such. Herman Buspa is a manager at the bintan resort, and having met him, its no wonder he has a highly motivated staff-team that works hard to create an excellent environment, smiling, genuinely asking what they can do to make the stay better and doing incredible things to make it a special getaway. Two thumbs up and now that I wrote this review, I miss it!

Overall the experience was not worth the money. Whilst the villa was of 5 star standard having been recently renovated (another 4+ villas were under renovation) the resturants and pool areas were very tired and in need of renovation to 5 star standard. The timber decking and stairs around both pools and down to the beach were in very poor condition and unsafe with some pieces of decking collapsing.

The resturant staff were very hit and miss and not appearing to be overly attentive. It took some time to clear messy tables once guests have left let alone have your order taken or get another round of drinks.

The ferry transfers to and from Singapore was a shambles at the Bintan end with only one agent on duty for the full compliment of passengers.

my family of five checked into a sanctuary villa. we were stunned by the amazing view. the infinity pool was breathtaking but be careful with kids. on closer inspection, the villa was a little dilapidated and some facilities were cracked/chipped. However, the hotel had great food and great service. the general manger was extremely helpful. all in all a good stay. the only minuses were that the hotel is undergoing renovation so its hard to get rooms.

The resort is lovely and our villa had an excellent view. Service is friendly, usually prompt and pleasant throughout. Bathroom amenities are not exactly luxurious for the exorbitant room price they charged (we went direct and did not use any travel agency). Likewise, they even charged for a call to their sister hotel when I rang the reception to make a dinner booking! The reception staff had problem communicating in English and when we rang to ask them to remove a long worm in our room, they did not understand us.

I do not like the idea of being billed USD2 per night for THEIR CSR programme which I PERSONALLY do not care about. Upon check out they did not even bother to explain and just slapped the amount in my bill.

Tree Top restaurant is even more overpriced and quality of food does not match the price charged. One of the staff actually did not even know how to direct us to an appropriate seat but suggested putting us right at the entrance corner, when there had been so many nicer seats available.