Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Relaxing Stay at Tempat Senang

The Husband and I just returned from a 3 days 2 night stay at Batam.

Now, I've never really been on a leisure trip to Batam. My last trip (also my first visit) was as a volunteer to help build a house for a family as part of the Habitat for Humanity program.

Batam is a small island belonging to Indonesia, about an hour by ferry from Singapore. Although very near Singapore, this island never struck me as a place to visit for leisure. Say Batam and I think of a place where dirty old men go in search of cheap sex. Not exactly the kind of place I would like to visit.

But I have been feeling down of late and seeing that I have a few days off, The Husband suggested we go somewhere nearby for a short break. After considering various options, I decided to give Tempat Senang, a boutique resort in the middle of nowhere in Batam a try.

 View of Tempat Senang from the golf club next door

Tempat Senang is situated pretty much in the middle of nowehere, 30 minutes by car from the largest shopping mall in Batam, Nagoya Hills. It is located next to a golf course and apart from that, I don't think there is very much else nearby.
The golf course was very pretty.. and very quiet.. 
maybe because it was a Tuesday when we were there..

The resort is built in a Balinese style - with stone paths and pools separating the various houses. The resort has 7 rooms - each with a different theme. We stayed in the Indonesia room, which I really liked.

View of the plunge pool

Everything about the resort is very Balinese

The room we stayed in - I love the lights!

The other rooms looked pretty good too!

We took their weekday promotion package for a 3 days 2 nights stay. At 580SGD, the package included a 3 hour spa for each of us, daily breakfast, transfers from the ferry terminal and a nice, spacious room. This place is rather expensive by Batam standards, and I didn't think the resort was that luxurious to have commanded a 5-star hotel price.. It was a beautiful place and had a really homely feel about it.. but I complained to The Husband about how pricey it was.

I loved the pathways all around the resort..

And the fishes..

And many plants and flowers..

The place is even more charming at night


But.... but......


It was a really nice place to relax in, away from all the city noises. We spent our 3 days watching a few DVDs... lying by the small plunge pool reading a book under the sun.. watching the clouds (and insects) drift by.. enjoying massages and herbal compresses.. playing pool.. listening to all kinds of insect noises... eating a lot.. and sleeping a lot.

I enjoyed my massage session at the spa a lot

I left Batam feeling refreshed.

So maybe... just maybe... I will return again someday.

 View of the sky whilst I lazed by the pool

Tempat Senang
Indah Puri Sekupang
Batam, Indonesia
http://www.tempatsenang.com/

2 comments:

Blur Ting said...

I had exactly the same feelings about Batam before my trip but was surprised at how much I enjoyed the stay there. Having the right companion(s) is important too.

Open Kitchen Concept said...

Yes, right companion is important! :)