MICE CENTRAL & EASTERN EUROPE

VIDEO: Bintan Lagoon Resort – MICE events at the largest resort on the Indonesian island of Bintan

VIDEO: Bintan Lagoon Resort – MICE events at the largest resort on the Indonesian island of Bintan

VIDEO: Bintan Lagoon Resort – MICE events at the largest resort on the Indonesian island of Bintan
November 07
13:48 2017

By Zuzana Adamson

 

If your business or leisure activities have a connection with Singapore, or if you are planning on rewarding your employees with an exotic trip, this luxury resort should make your list. Bintan is part of Indonesia and is very affordable. Wealthy people from Singapore regularly head for Bintan for a weekend getaway. It is just a 75-minute ferry ride from Singapore, and as the resort operates the ferry, it will take you directly there.

 

The Bintan Lagoon Resort is the most extensive property on this lovely island and is ideal for congresses, conferences and a variety of celebrations including romantic weddings. You can find more luxurious resorts on the island of Bintan, but this one is very comfortable and suitable for your MICE events as it offers the most extensive capacity.

 

Bintan Lagoon Resort is very green and covers more than 300 hectares of the island with beaches, the blue and green waters of the South China Sea, a peaceful atmosphere and friendly staff. You can take your entire family there as the resort has an excellent infrastructure and offers fun and sports activities for children as well.

The beaches are peaceful, and nobody will disturb you by pushing you to buy souvenirs and drinks and other services, which is a regular occurrence at some other exotic Asian beach destinations. What is more, the resort possesses two great 18-hole golf courses, designed by famous golfers Jack Nicklaus and Ian Baker-Finch, including the Bintan Lagoon Golf Club where VIP golf tournaments take place.

 

As well as golf, there are plenty of other activities available to meet your team building objectives. One of these is jet-skiing – which I tried and would highly recommend. This fun activity will clear and clean your mind. Of course, a day at the spa with massages included is part of the package.

 

The 4-star accommodation offers 470 rooms, suites and villas where you will find tea and coffee-making facilities, WiFi, quality mattresses and lovely rich breakfasts where you can choose from a lot of local specialities.

 

The resort – full of tropical elegance – has proper structures in place for organising large congresses, conferences and events for large numbers of people. For example, the big Congress Hall can host up to 1,300 delegates.

 

Gerald A Hendrick, who recently took over as Senior Vice President of Resort Venture Pte Ltd is also General Manager of Bintan Lagoon Resort (BTL). A Malaysian national and a seasoned hotelier, Mr Hendrick has 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry. He is responsible for the administration and operation of Bintan Lagoon Resort, which employs 500 people.

 

During my visit to the resort, which was managed by the lovely Selena Oh, PR and Marketing Consultant, there was a romantic wedding on the beach. Customary nice weather blessed the couple, and the wedding celebration included a fireworks display. Although such shows are widespread in Europe, in Singapore, for example, if you want to organise one, you need a special permit to do so. At the Bintan Lagoon Resort, this is not a problem, and many people from Singapore come for the fireworks.

 

From a security point of view, the resort has excellent protection, and security personnel guard its entrance. Bintan inhabitants live in villages and small cities, and if you want to visit more of the island, you can do so by car, motorcycle, or you can use a bicycle, which is very popular here. This destination is very peaceful and calming. It has a relaxed atmosphere, the people are friendly, and at the same time, even though you are in the resort you will not feel “isolated”  because the resort offers everything that you need.

 

In some luxury resorts in Indonesia and Thailand, you feel a distinct separation between the local people and tourists and visitors. Sometimes, this can lead to ill-feeling, but on the lovely island of Bintan, everything is very cool, including the people who are already there and sharing its space with you.

 

Regarding the local culinary options, there are lots of seafood specialities that are worth trying, as well as various international foods such as fish and rice with cashew nuts.

 

In the nearby Lagoi resort, you can find a delicious restaurant called Kampoeng Kelong Seafood Restaurant at Mangrove River. The restaurant is located on the Lake Lagoi, and you can reach it by boat.

 

From the point of view of a luxury travel professional, I have nothing critical to say about the Bintan Lagoon Resort. The only thing I could perhaps note was the waiting time at the Golf Club at lunchtime when all the hungry golf players arrived! However, you can instead take your time over an aperitif and savour the relaxing atmosphere. There was also a group of Chinese tourists who found it difficult to keep quiet in the morning (they were making noise at 6 o’clock) which can be disturbing.

 

Elsewhere on Bintan, well worth a visit is Bintan Eco Farm and Safari Lagoi where the staff treat and care for injured animals before reintroducing them to their natural environment – if they can. Here you can see animals including orangutans, gibbons, Komodo dragons, sun bears, elephants, six-metre long crocodiles, various amazing birds and much more! The farm takes an ecological and environmentally-friendly approach towards nature, and you can taste its produce, accompanied by a cup of strong ginger tea

 

PS: If you want to see on VIDEO what a gibbon does when he wants to mate, and he is temporarily alone in his cage because of his aggression and past traumatisation, check out my Facebook page. It is a real massacre!

 

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