I Hotel Batam Reviews and 5 great things you must do in Batam!

My sister, Y, is a fan of Batam. She has gone to Batam three times with her boyfriend and she suggested going again her fourth time, but as for me. I had just returned from my church camp in KL and the very next day, I would be going Batam. I was looking forward to it because it felt so nice to have someone familiar with the place and she could be the tour guide. We booked a two day 1 night at I Hotel. I was so happy to know that trip advisor has given the hotel rather good reviews.

athttp://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Hotel_Review-g297717-d1465056-Reviews-I_Hotel-Batam_Riau_Archipelago_Riau_Islands_Province.html

My impression of Batam was a beach resort, but an inferior one. Surprisingly, my sister had planned a "no beach at all" trip. 

We parked overnight at Vivocity and the car park charges came up to around $40. We figured it was still worth it because to and from cab would probably cost around the same price. We lugged back quite a lot of things so we were very pleased that we chose to park at Vivocity as the taxi queue was very long. 

The ferry ride was only around 45 minutes. The tour guide, who picked us up for hotel transfer, warned us about pickpockets in Batam and told us to look after our bags. Nowadays, the pickpockets would steal your wallet and zip your bag so that you do not realise you have been picked. 

We paid $85 per person which included accommodation, breakfast buffet, hotel transfers and ferry tickets. $85 does not include tax. When we arrived at iHotel, we were served some complimentary drink which was too sweet for my taste. The best thing about iHotel is its location - beside a shopping mall "Nagoya Hills". We were also pleased to know that we could check in immediately. The room was clean and the toilet had a bath tub which was good because we both like to soak in warm water.

So what are the 5 things you must do in Batam?

1. Play Arcade

The first thing we did was to go Nagoya Hills and soak in the atmosphere. My sister took me to the arcade because it was SO CHEAP! It cost only 10 cents per token! Most of the games require 1 token only and some games require 2 tokens. We spent a lot of time in the arcade playing this electronic Monopoly game whereby you insert coins to push more coins down the slot. This game is very addictive. We also played UFO catchers type of games but we did not manage to catch anything.  We enjoyed challenging each other to basketball hoops, car racing and pushing this flat thing into each other's goal post on a smooth table. I persuaded her to play Dance Dance Revolution and she gave up after one try while I continued. By the time I had finished, my whole top was soaked. I was so convinced that it was a good form of exercise that I purchased 2 DDR dancing mats when I returned to Singapore. I hadn't have such childhood fun in a long long time.

2. Shopping!

Nagoya Hills is air-conditioned and has many small shops selling a variety of items. It has a departmental store called Matahari - Metro equivalent. I was so surprised to see Wacoal, Sorella and Felancy selling at a huge discount! There were other brands too but no Triumph. I think most ladies know that Bangkok is well known for their cheap branded undies but Batam too! We spent a lot of time at this section - shopping for bra and undies! We regretted spending so much time there because we ended up with no time to just window shop. We also stopped by a shop that sells girly stuff like hair accessories and make up kits. I purchased a eyebrow shaver at S$0.50. The hair accessories also cost around S$0.50 per piece. Before returning to our hotel, we stopped by the supermarket to buy Laurier sanitary pads at half the price in Singapore and also chips and water. 

3. Eat and Eat

Because of our mismanagement of time in the arcade and inner wear section, we could not go to the Kelong Restaurant as planned. It was too late so we had to settle our dinner in Nagoya Hills. The local food was very reasonably priced and delicious. 

Tom Yum Seafood Soup

S$2.80 Broccoli

S$6.80 - Soft Shell Crab coated with Salted Egg 

Mayo Prawns

The cheapest dish was the broccoli which cost S$2.80 and the most expensive dish was the soft shell crab S$6.80. Don't bother ordering their steak because it wasn't very nice. After dinner, we went to the supermarket to shop till 10pm. When we went back to our room, my sister suggested ordering room service because it was nice and cheap.

Divide by 1000 to get S$ value

I ordered Avocado shake with chocolate sauce. It was yummy! The chicken nuggets with fries was only S$5 for hotel room service. They were the best nuggets I have ever eaten - juicy and served hot. Remember to request for Thai chilli sweet sauce. It went well with the nuggets.

The next morning, we had our buffet breakfast at iHotel. Surprisingly, the spread was good. It also had its Live Eggs station. 

4. Massage

After eating our breakfast, we went to check out the massage spa at our hotel and it was fully booked. Disappointed, we returned to our room and took a rest. After a while, we decided to venture out to check out if there were other massage places nearby. There is a huge decent and comfy massage place just across the road from Nagoya Hills. We chose a 60 min massage - foot reflexology, head and shoulder massage at S$8! 

5. Sing KTV

We deliberately chose our ferry departing time to be 4pm so that we have time to sing KTV. We went to the shopping mall that is connected to the ferry terminal. We asked around and managed to find a KTV at the top floor and decided to have our lunch while singing. The local food was cheap. The wings were good. It was clean and looked even better than our K Box. The songs were very updated and the sound system was good. All these at S$9 for 3 hours of singing. 

We also wanted to watch a movie and swim at our hotel swimming pool and relax at the Jacuzzi but we had no time. I enjoyed myself very much!