Nirwana Gardens Resort - Banyu Biru Villas

A lovely resort and beach, and the staff were really friendly. We had a good time and it’s a nice place to relax. The downsides were that the first floor had no air conditioning and getting drinking water was difficult.

The resort was pretty empty, so we hardly had to queue for activities. There are buggies to get around, plenty to do, a beautiful pool, and the seafood restaurant was great. The accommodation was decent and service generally good. Water was scarce, or you had to pay $5 a bottle. The first floor of the villa had no aircon, and the coffeeshop food was just okay.

On our third visit, we stayed in a Banyu Biru villa with a kids’ waterslide, together with family friends. The pool had no lifeguards, security, or staff around, and there was no sun shelter. We moved our chairs under a big tree about 15 meters from the pool to get out of the strong sun. My four-year-old daughter was playing hide and seek with her friend beneath the slide when her leg, from the knee down, became trapped in the water intake. She was close to drowning and had swallowed a lot of water before I realized what was happening. My son held onto her and called me. I rushed over, but the suction was too strong for me to free her. I shouted for help and nobody came. A boy nearby found the switch and turned the system off, which finally freed her leg. Her calf had turned black and purple, and her knee area was covered in scratches. When I reported it, the staff only offered ice. They didn’t provide medical help, and management didn’t seem to take the incident seriously. After we got home, I emailed them, but their reply wasn’t satisfactory. They said they’d added mesh over the intake and lowered the pipe, but there was no empathy in their response. The customer care was badly lacking, and management let us down. I’d warn other parents of young children to be extremely careful around pool intakes. It’s astonishing how little support a large hotel offered in such a serious situation.

We had two three-bedroom villas for nine adults and eight kids from 1st to 4th December 2022. The villas were in okay condition, though there was no air conditioning in the living and dining area. Toiletries weren’t provided unless we called to ask. The staff were friendly and helpful, buggies came when called, and breakfast was okay. The bigger problem was feeling stuck inside the resort. Everything was too expensive, and Grab food and transport weren’t allowed in. To get groceries and snacks from local marts, we had to hire a hotel cab, which cost 10 times what a Grab car would. On our first night we were too tired to go out, so we ordered room service. The food wasn’t tasty and the bill came to about 4 million rupiah. Another night, we hired a hi-ace van to eat outside. It cost 750 000 rupiah for two hours, compared with about 60 000 rupiah for a Grab car that still couldn’t enter the resort. For our last dinner, we went to the Kelong, which also belongs to Nirwana Gardens resort. The bill was 7 million rupiah. It felt like the meal would have cost less than sgd400 in Spore. Even taking unfinished food away would have cost extra, so we left it. Most facilities weren’t open. The kids club and the pool table in the lobby both cost extra, though we’d thought the kids club was included given what we paid for the villas. The mini zoo was no longer operating. To keep the kids from getting any more bored, we rented four buggies. We were quoted 210 000 rupiah per buggy for an hour, but at the office found out that was before taxes. We ended up paying 254 000 rupiah each. It was a super expensive vacation, even with the ferry ride only 45 minutes. We’re never going back to Bintan for a vacation. EVER.