Before we get to the trip itself, I'll be going through the details and things to take note during the preparation works. There is a lot of details coming your way(quite lengthy with a lot of photos), so take a screenshot if you need!
Booking of Hotel:
https://bcchotel.reserve-online.net/
Overall Rating on the BCC Hotel: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Facilities: 10/10
Food: 8/10
Cleanliness: 7/10
Convivence: 10/10
Would I come back: YES!
Step by Step Ferry: (Horizon Fast Ferry)
Harbor Front Ferry Terminal (Singapore) >> Harbour Bay Ferry Terminal (Batam)
1. We did the online booking on the website (http://horizonfastferry.com)
2. Print out the confirmation email (contains barcode)
Bring along to Batam
3. Collect the "To Batam" ticket from Harbour Front Ferry Terminal (level 3).
You can proceed to redeem the ferry tickets once confirmation email is received. You can collect a few days before departure- well just in case.
4. Board the ferry on the actual day. Check screen for gate opening time.- Be there early!
5. Upon arrival in Batam, head to the Fast Horizon Ferry Office to collect your return tickets.
6. Board the ferry on the departure date and we are home!
Getting From the Ferry Terminal to Hotel:
1. Taxi- they are everywhere
2. Grab- We learnt that in Batam, Grab services are NOT ALLOWED to pick up customers from Ferry Terminals, Airports and Shopping malls. (only allowed to drop passengers off)
Since it was our first time in Batam we were quite intimidated by the TAXI uncles, so we decided to grab instead. At that time, we didn't know about the Grab Service ban rules. So we called for a grab and the uncle informed us about it through text. He was sweet enough to direct us to the nearest possible pick-up-point- Pacific Palace Hotel (10 mins walk) and picked us up from there. Grabbing to our hotel costs us only $4.
SIM Card:
(Harbor Bay Ferry Terminal)
Right outside the customs check point- picture below
Hope all that information will make this trip a lot easier to plan.
And now let's go into the itinerary of this trip!
We arrived at Harbor Front Ferry Terminal at around 9am to have breakfast before catching our 10.45am ferry (gates opened at 10.20am). It is good to arrive earlier to ensure you secure a good seat for yourself as it is free sitting inside the ferry.
It was quite crowded for such a early ride. Lucky for us, only our ferry was headed for Harbor Bay. All the others were towards Batam Centre Ferry Terminal, imagine how crowded that will be!
We did our homework prior and found out that lesser ferries stop at Harbor Bay, hence making it a great choice if you want to skip the waiting at the customs. Plus Harbor Bay Terminal is closer to our Hotel!
The ferry was quite packed, but it was clean and nice.
The ride was approximately 45 minutes and we touched shores at about 10.30am. Haha funny how it seems like the 45 minutes of ferry ride didn't happen as Batam is behind us by 1 hour!
To breakdown what we did upon arrival in Harbor Bay:
1. Got our passports stamped at the customs.
2.Buy a SIM card.
The shop is right outside the custom checkout point.
3. Collect the return ferry tickets.
It is recommended to collect the return ticket immediately instead of on departure day itself to avoid possible mix ups that could cause you to be late for your ferry. You can go directly to the express queue if you bought your tickets online.
*Note: Counter staff will require you to show the confirmation email as proof before issuing you your return tickets.
This is a screenshot on my Grab to show you guy a clearer picture of the distance.
Harbor Bay >> Nagoya Area (5-7 mins)
Harbor Bay >> BCC Hotel/ Batam City Square (10- 15 mins)
Nagoya Area >> BCC Hotel/ Batam City Square (5-7 mins)
We met the most friendly and helpful taxi uncle.
Also that was when we learnt of the ban of Grab Cars picking up from Ferry Terminals, Airports and Shopping Malls. They are only allowed to DROP OFF passengers at those 3 places.
Luckily for us, the uncle guided us to the nearest hotel to pick us up from there. The ride was about 10 minutes and it cost us from $2.5- $4. We paid $4 and tipped the uncle for his guidance and patience!
So this will be the hotel we will be staying in for the next 2 nights, the BCC Hotel and Residence. We reached about 12pm and were worried that we won't be allowed to check in. But lucky us, there was room available and we had an early check in.
Even better news was, we got a free upgrade from our executive room to a premium suite!
Here is a little footage of how the Premium suite looks like.
We were given the smoking room since we checked in early and no other rooms were available.
However we sadly realize that the hot water in the room was not working and there were a bunch of small roaches.
OMG right! A case must have just hatched as there were so many of them all over the room!
Yes we ended up changing the rooms later that evening, after informing the counter staff.
(that particular staff was not very friendly, she seemed very unwilling for us to change rooms)
After settling in a bit, we went to explore the facilities of the hotel.
Starting off with the pool~
The area is very clean and pretty. Too bad we ended up not visiting for a dip. The pool is open from 6am- 10pm, so you can drop by for a evening swim as well. There is a food store right beside the pool where you can get your food while you rest from swimming. Do note that no outside food is allowed within the pool area.
There is also a well sized gym right beside the pool area. Too bad we didn't get to visit as well, hence the photo from outside hehe.
Also on the same level s the Spa & Massage area. Pricing is not exactly very cheap so we gave it a miss.
We headed down a level to P4 where the lounge and KTV is.
Since its World Cup season, there was also a big screen set up with decorative where we could chill and watch the match.
After the little tour, we finally head out for a late late lunch.
There is a huge ass Sushi Tei right beside the hotel(2 minutes walk- turn right), so we headed there! Yass the Sushi Tei is cheaper there too! And I do have to add in that the people in Batam are all generally very friendly and service although slow is mostly good. We ate so much and were so full, the bill totaled up to a $45 for a pax of 2.
After lunch, we walked to the Batam City Square mall to check it out! The mall is just 2 mins away from the hotel, making it very convenient for us! Here are a few photos we took of the mall.
The first level of the mall mainly sells imitation goods as you can see from the photo below. Forget Paris, you could easily get a Birkin here guys! There are also quite a few shops that sells gold, I am not so sure about the authenticity though so it's at your own risks. Before I forgot, B1 is where you will find all the phones & gadget accessories.
Here are a few of eateries we saw in the mall. I would say they have quite a selection.
There are more eateries on the top level and also snacks and drink stores! Everything here is cheaper than in Singapore.
So back to level 1, we obviously couldn't buy anything there as it was all so Branded haha. Instead we headed to their super mart, which is a must visit place for cheap food to bring back to your hotel or even back to SG. I couldn't get many pictures as photo taking is not allowed. They have a box of (12 packets) Yupi for only $1 plus?!
So we got a bit of food, which I'll show you later when we get back in the hotel.
Also wanted to throw in that the Volka here was very affordable, $20 for an entire bottle. The hotel sells it at $60. So if your here as a group, this is something you can consider. The shop is right beside the super mart.
Next up, we went to explore the other floors of the mall. I dropped by a accessories stall called APink and got myself a pair of earrings. It costs about $7 sgd and the quality is splendid. Happy girl!
I really wanted to have my nails done but wasn't sure of the pricing here in Batam. So we went up a few levels and found there were a couple of Nail salons that I can visit. Comparing the prices, there were all about $13 to $18 for classic gel.
I wanted to get something slightly fancier but wasn't sure how the pricing works here, hence the hesitation. I ended up going to this nail salon called the KONAD Nail Art, and man was it a great choice!
Their classic gel nail costs $15 sgd. I took a photo of their prices to share with ya'll as well!
The pricing is really quite reasonable?
I choose a design inside their book and it looks so pretty and trendy! The other shops had rather tacky designs hahah. Anyways the best part is that I managed to do my nails at only $18! OMG right! Sooo affordable for this set of design. In Malaysia this would have costs $50 easily!
Here is me getting my nails done. The staff was super meticulous and detailed. She doesn't chatter much and just focuses on doing the nails. As compared to the Malaysia ones (too much chatter and sloppiness) I really enjoyed the experience here.
Click on video to see the close up of the nail details!
After doing my nails, we headed upstairs where we bought some sweet potato fries from Shilin and Bubble Tea from Sharetea. Looking much like a tourist in this photo. A fat happy tourist I'll say.
After our snack purchase, we decided to head back to the hotel to catch some rest. Ah yes, this is where the roaches story continue. So we went back to our free upgraded hotel only to find the situation even worse then before. Roaches party in the house man, it was all over our stuff and even on the pillow. That was so not cool, so we requested for a change of room and changed back to our executive size room on the 21st story, non-smoking (hotel has 22 stories). This room is soooo much cleaner. No signs of roaches at all! The room was still very big and comparable to the premium suite. There is no bath tub and extra couch but everything else is the same.
So by the time we got everything sorted out, it was already quite late and so we decided to head down to the lounge to watch some World Cup and chill. There is a pool table and a bar there too.
Pizza was $9, Beer $4.
You can get Heineken for $1.2 in their super mart and put in the room's chilly chill fridge. And chilly in your room instead. But then means no soccer la.
That's all for day 1 folks!
And now for day 2, shall we begin~
So let's start off the morning by waking up late and going down to the breakfast buffet bare faced. We reached the breakfast place at 9.30am. 30 Minutes left to eat.
Awesome start.
So the timing of the breakfast operations are as follows.
The morning breakfast was quite of standard. They served the basic toast bread, pastries & cereal. There was also rice, fish, curry and porridge. Oh and they also had their own egg station. Food and service is 4/5! Quite fresh and tastes good too!
After our quick and fulling breakfast, we headed down to the counter to ask about the shuttle service to Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall. Apparently, this service only applies to customers whom had booked through BCC's direct website (not trough Agoda, Trivago, etc).
And since we did our booking through their website, we get to enjoy this benefit. The counter staff advise us to head back down at 11.45pm to inform her and she will let the driver know. She gave the driver a 15 mins prep time there.
So we headed down at 11.45pm sharp and damn was the queue at the counter longggg. That is because 12pm is the hotel check out timing. So by the time it's out turn it was already 12pm. So the counter staff alerted the driver while we waited at one side. Within 5 minutes, the driver showed up and led us to our shuttle service. Which was a 7 seater car. It felt so VIP-ish as the car looked grand and new. Didn't manage to take a photo of the car but I took a selfie inside of it haha. To show ya'll my outfit of the day as well. Yellow sunny side up Summer Look!
The ride to Nagoya Hills was approximately 10 mins. We communicated with the driver to pick us up at 3pm at the spot when we were dropped off. So into the mall we go, after reading a few blog reviews, many people tend to favor this mall compared to the Batam City Square, so I had my hopes up and entered. Well, I'll say that the mall has a very similar vibe to the BCS one, selling similar food and fake goods.
Also did I mention how classy their cinema looks, with a glass door separating it from the rest of the mall, to being fully carpeted.
The tickets were only $4.50! But it should be even cheaper if you watch on a weekday! The theater was cozy and the chair was spacious and comfortable. Incredibles 2 is a must watch!
Back in the hotel and hre's a short video of me showing ya'll what we got.
We ordered 3 main dishes with 2 bowls of rice.
I would recommend the tofu seafood! It's really tasty!
The chicken is one of their best sellers, and it's good, but too many bones for my liking.
We also ordered a tom yum soup, which is delicious! It doesn't have much tom yum taste, but more of a super spicy seafood soup taste. The prawns weren't very fresh but other than that all was good! Last but not least, Tei Tarlik!
After our dinner, we were craving something cold and sweet and there we saw Llao Llao! Our favourite yougurt store (which sadly no longer available in Sg). It was $4.5 sgd for a medium size with 3 toppings!
After our food, we went back to the super mart, got more noodles and beer and that was our supper!
Also did this Origins Rose clay mask, which is awesome and I'm going to do a full on review on.
We of course went to have our breakfast first. No makeup on and yes in the same dress as yesterday because I didn't bring a second set of cltohes. The Long Tong I'm having is sooo good!
We still had about 2 hours before we have to cab over to the ferry terminal (our boarding time was 2.50pm, ferry depature time was 3.20pm).
Since we hd our return tickets collected on the 1st day, we didn't need to head down earlier to do that. So we walked over to the BCS with out bags to chill at J.CO.
*Do note that the hotel does provide baggage storing service
It was 85 cents for a donut, and every drink comes with a free glazed donut.
After having our donuts and coffee for an hour, we decided to take a walk and see what else we can do before having to leave. And that's when we decided to go do some bowling! The arcade includes bowling, pool and bumper car!
I won't say the facilities are the best, but it was of okay standard and nothing glitched or got stuck, so it was pleasant to me. The shoes are a bit old and tattered but it was 30 cents for rental so guess can't complain much. We played 2 rounds (I won both) and called it a day. The pricing can be seen in the receipt I took below.
As always I hope that this post was useful to you guys and can help ease the whole research process on your first trip.
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