My extended family and I stayed one night at the Angsana in December. The weather turned out to be better than expected, given that it was supposed to be the monsoon season. My children (aged 13, 8 and 6) had lots of fun at the sea and the beach - which was clean and uncrowded. The beach was the main reason we were there. We were actually having extended holidays in Singapore and Bintan was a hop-away by ferry.
The service at the resort was good. Although checking-in took a bit of time (as expected, since arrivals were in bus-loads from the fixed ferry arrival times), we were provided with a welcome drink and snacks in a separate room while waiting. At the Lotus Cafe, we asked for non-refrigerated bottled water, and the waiter took some trouble to locate a bottle for us. The staff at the reception area was always ready to recommend activities or restaurants. The buggy service which ferried us to nearby restaurants was prompt.
However, the major let-down were the rooms. They need some major upgrading. No doubt the rooms were clean and the basic amenities were there, but they are no match for some newer beach resorts in the region which offer better value for money. The facilities in the rooms were reminiscent of hotel rooms 15-20 years ago (which is probably the age of the hotel?)
The best thing about the rooms? It's the...My extended family and I stayed one night at the Angsana in December. The weather turned out to be better than expected, given that it was supposed to be the monsoon season. My children (aged 13, 8 and 6) had lots of fun at the sea and the beach - which was clean and uncrowded. The beach was the main reason we were there. We were actually having extended holidays in Singapore and Bintan was a hop-away by ferry.
The service at the resort was good. Although checking-in took a bit of time (as expected, since arrivals were in bus-loads from the fixed ferry arrival times), we were provided with a welcome drink and snacks in a separate room while waiting. At the Lotus Cafe, we asked for non-refrigerated bottled water, and the waiter took some trouble to locate a bottle for us. The staff at the reception area was always ready to recommend activities or restaurants. The buggy service which ferried us to nearby restaurants was prompt.
However, the major let-down were the rooms. They need some major upgrading. No doubt the rooms were clean and the basic amenities were there, but they are no match for some newer beach resorts in the region which offer better value for money. The facilities in the rooms were reminiscent of hotel rooms 15-20 years ago (which is probably the age of the hotel?)
The best thing about the rooms? It's the view. From its layout, I would think almost all rooms at the resort would have breathtaking views of the South China Sea.
We tried the other services. The Spa was well-deserved of its reputation. The Kids' Club offered a good range of activities. The associate managing the Kids' Club was friendly and helpful, but I felt she could do with more help (there was only one assistant), especially when there were more than 10 children there at one time, of different age groups, embarking on different activities. As a result, I had to stay there for a while to supervise my two younger children, which sort of defeats the purpose of the Kids' Club. But the kids enjoyed themselves.
Our best experience was lunch at the Treetops, a restaurant at the neighbouring Banyan Tree resort. The hotel provides free buggy service to the restaurant. The view from the restaurant was magnificent and the veal was to-die-for. I would highly recommend it. Also, it was not as pricey as we expected. Eg the veal was USD30 which would be in line with prices in a good class restaurant in a 5-star hotel.
On the whole, we enjoyed our...More
Show less
