Montigo

18th - 19th August 2013

It's another day for you, god picked another petals on your flower, wishing your flowers may bloom for year and bring you a curvy smile that sets everything straight and wipes wrinkle away.

 

It was bf's birthday celebration and trust me, I spent effort to plan even though I looked as if I didn't. I googled desperately for beautiful resort and hotels from Singapore to Phuket to Batam. It was like hell'man, you've got no idea that I nearly went blind because of gluing my eyes to the squarish screen, reading reviews and looking for real photos. Judging from website or even mediums are never sufficient, as you know, the photos are highly edited via HDR or other special effects. I got to visit TripAdvisor for the real existing photos. Believe me, TripAdvisor is one of the best websites with reviews and photos uploaded by patrons or visitors. 

 

I intended to give bf a short vacation trip to Phuket initially (saving troubles of buy present =x). Unfortunately, he had to attend night classes and my plan was affected. Credits to Ah Tard for her good suggestions and recommendations of hotels and resorts. I decided on Montigo knowing that bf likes sea sports. I'll get straight to the point regarding information of Montigo.

 

I booked my Hill Side/Top Villa at a weekday special promotion of SGD375nett inclusive of taxes. The package I've booked includes SGD50 off for food at Panthai or Tadd's restaurant (Either one only), 50% off for massage (exclude spa), breakfast buffet (up to a max of 4/5 occupancy). You have to email the resort for free transfer. Inform them the time of arrival and they will be there to pick you up punctually. Do take note that you have to pay a deposit of IDR3500,000 (Approx SGD400 ++) upon arrival. Upon your departure, they will deduct your expenditure and return the remaining balance if you have not exceeded. You will have to top up the remaining balance if you have exceeded the amount of deposit held.

 

 

Check-in time : 3pm (Indo time)

Check-out time: 12pm (Indo time)

 

Indonesia time is one hour behind us, so do your math, buddy.

 

Kindly take note that SGD375 is not the final bill. Charges for Spa & Massage, sea sport and food are not included yet. You may choose to pay by cash (Rupiah and Sing dollars accepted) or credit cards. Therefore, I requested everything to be charged under my credit card, so that I could settle the final bill all at once (Inclusive of Villa, Spa & Massage, Food).  

 

In my case, I had exceeded my spending and had opted to pay the remaining balance via SGD upon request.

 

#From Tanah Merah to Nongsapura Ferry Terminal  

We hadn't had a wink the night before as we went out to do grocery purchase. Bf marinated and packed the food till late. I took a powernap before heading to Tanah Merah Terminal. It was a 10am ferry and we had to be there by 9am. Fortunately, there was no crowd and we even had something light for breakfast before cruising off to Nongsapura. I purchased my roundtrip ferry tickets online via Batam Fast and paid SGD90 for 2 pax. You may check-in online if you wish to avoid crowd.

 

Upon our arrival at Nongsapura Ferry Terminal, the friendly staff was ready to receive us. He was punctual and we spent no time waiting for transfer services. We boarded the bus and it was just a ten minutes ride before we reached Montigo Resort.

 

The waiting time for check-in was rather long but I didn't blame them because I can see them explaining in details patiently to every guest at the frontdesk. Finally, it was my turn and the lady was kind enough to grant me an earlier check-in at 12pm because the previous guest had left at an earlier timing to catch his ferry.

 

#Lobby

 

#Bf and I at the Lobby

 

We wandered around the resort while waiting for the housekeeping services to be completed. We took a buggy to the nearby restaurants and shop. In fact, there are only 2 restaurants at Montigo Resort. Alternatively, you can request for In-Villa Dining if you wish not to stay in your villa for meals. It can be quite a distance to walk over to the public pool, restaurant and lobby. Hence, the resort provides buggy services. If you need the buggy services, simply call the front desk and the staffs will make arrangements for you. The waiting time for buggy is approx. 5-10 minutes.

 

#The Villas

 

#On the buggy

 

Finally, our room was ready and we took a buggy to our villa. It was all-so-beautiful, 3 storeys high with beautiful interior. Best thing about Montigo is that, the staff never fail to greet you with a friendly smile at all time.

 

#Out Villa

 

#The living room (1st floor)

 

#The Pool and Dining Area (1st floor)

 

#The twin bedroom and bathroom (2nd floor)

 

The villa was definitely big and cosy consisting a private pool where you can have a dip whenever you want. There are 2 bedrooms, a master bedroom and a twin bedroom. We were using the master bedroom and the twin bedroom was left untouched because there were only the two of us and I bet it was not a good time to stay alone during the Ghost Festival.

 

The bathroom was huge and you can simply lie in the bathtub comfortably and gazed into the sky. The bathroom was clean and cosy with sufficient amenities provided.

 

#The Master Bedroom and Bathroom (2nd floor)

 

There are a total of 3 bathrooms stationed at the 1st and 2nd floor. Well, that made our stay much more convenient than expected. You need not tremble in cold making your way to the 2nd floor for a hot shower.

 

#Sky Terrace

 

Last but not least, the Sky Terrace. You can request for In-Villa Barbecue Dining for dinner. But you have to do so 8 hours in advance so that they can make preparations accordingly. As for us, we were too engrossed in playing for the entire day that we did not request for the Barbecue Dining.

 

#Bf seated on the cosy bed

 

The bed was mad cosy and the pillow was slightly bigger compared to the usual ones. I just can't take my heavy face off that pillow because it was too comfortable. There's something I like about living room. There is a iPod Dock available. If you have an iPod or iTouch, bring it along with you and play some good music. The sound system is awesome.

 

We encountered some problems with the iPod Dock and called the reception area for servicing. They sent a staff over to fix it in less than 5 minutes.

 

#Bf and I at the living room

 

#Chef at work

 

#Cooking

 

#Food preparation

 

We brought marinated beef, gyoza, bacon shrooms and a radish cake in the fridge.

 

#Changed into swimwear

 

#Lunch

 

I was famished in the late afternoon. I went to change while bf does all the cooking and washing. Oh, poor chap, cooking on his birthday. Well, I meant good for him. It's always good to move around, taking it as a warm up exercise than to sit at the couch and laze around playing Wii.

 

#Swimming

 

#In the pool

 

#After our dip

 

#In bathrobes

 

We called for buggy services to fetch us to Batam View Resort Beach for seasport. Well, the beach at Montigo was not ready. The beach was still very muddy according to the staff. We took a dip after light lunch and played a few rounds of Wii, "air-drying" ourselves in bath robes while waiting for the buggy services.

 

#Out of the blue

 

The buggy services arrived and off we go for seasports and ATV ride. We took no photos because it wasn't convenient to bring devices along. Then we realised there were locker services provided. We should have bring our hp along with us at least. Jet ski was really fun and it was my first time playing it by myself with bf seated behind as a backrest just in case I flew into the sea.

 

I'll never take ATV ride by myself as it seemed hard to control especially when going up the slopes or stairs. I couldn't handle it and might probably give up halfway. Well, well, well, shall not take it again. It was rather scary than fun to me.

 

#Message from Montigo's staff

 

We came back to find this note left on the table. It was really sweet that their services went an extra mile. I was itching all over because of the sand and dirt. I have really sensitive skin and it itch from time to time. Oh, feels like a monkey now. My description sounded mad wrong.

 

I took a hot shower while bf stoned at the living room like a statue. I bet he's tired after a long day and I kept urging him to ask for the food menu. In-Villa Dining menu has limited varieties, therefore we decided to order a little bit here and there from different restaurants. We took a buggy to Tadd and sat by the awesome sea and pool view looking at the menu.

 

#Beautiful pool view

 

#Browsing menu on the Sun Tanning Lounge Chair

 

We read reviews online about the expensive dining at Montigo. True, it was expensive but considering the serenity, peaceful and quiet environment, you can't expect a buzzling street of restaurant and hawkers. I quite like the restaurant and food varieties. It was not a great variety but enough for me to choose.

 

#Laying down

 

#Waiting for buggy

 

 We took the buggy to Panthai to order food. Definitely, we had takeaways instead of dine in because to ordered from Tadd's too. We sat at the restaurant while waiting for our food. You may wish to consider dining in at the restaurant. It has great ambience with beautiful night view of the sea. The yellow lightings will make you comfortable with the gentle breeze blowing against your cheeks.

 

#Panthai


#Night scenery

While waiting for the delivery of our food from Tadd, I urge bf to quickly take a shower before our dinner's arrival. Being obedient, he went for his shower. The dinner came just in time. I told the staff that I preferred having my dinner indoor at the coffee table instead of outdoor dining. He arranged the table nicely for me knowing that it's a birthday dinner.

#Surprise

I made a mini scrapbook for bf. It took me quite a long while to complete it even though it was pretty small. I printed the photos from home and outsource for decoration materials. Some lousy brand glue simply refused to stick so badly that I had to paste a double sided tape over. My scrapbook turned out sweet and handy (self consolation, I was plain lazy) though.

 

I lurking around for a suitable gift a month before bf's birthday. I found a watch and there were some scratches on the watch that I wanted. I got the staff to reserve another piece at an outlet closer to my place. Thank god, it was a brand new piece wrapped intact with plastic with no slight damages.

#Birthday gifts


#Birthday sumptuous spread

The food was delicious. I enjoyed 90% of the food and so did bf. Bf finished almost everything. He eats a lot but pretended not to eat much because he wants the world to know that he was on diet (sarcasm). If he should go on diet, I should not live on earth anymore because my amount and layers of fat exceeded his way behind. Sigh.

 

I love the pasta and omelette best. The tar tar sauce for fish and chip tasted different from the usual ones we had and it was delicious. I hugged my tummy while having a power nap at a later time. Fat die me.

#Bf writing on the sky lantern

Bf and I spent some time writing on the Sky Lantern and decided to set it off at 12 am. We intended to take a short nap because we were too tired after a long day. Anyway, it was a trap to make him go sleep. Keeping him awake was as good as keeping an exploding bomb by my side. In any situation of coordination with the resort staff, he might just blew my plan. Knowing that he's a heavy sleeper (only when he's tired), I sent him to the bed and set the alarm

#Sweet message from bf

Poor me, as a lazy bum, I love to laze on the bed. I had no choice but to wake up without further delay, fearing that bf might answer the door when the staff sent the birthday cake to the villa. I sneaked out of the room like a mouse and called the staff to reconfirm the sending time. Great, the staff was punctual and he sent the cake at 11.45pm (Singapore time). He lit the candle for me before I strode my way up the stairs to the room with the cake. My heart throbbed each time the wind blew fearing that the flame went out. Thank god, I made it. Bf was sleeping soundly when he woke up to see his birthday cake.

#Happy Birthday, Baby. Love you always.

See how sweet I am. *Proud*Proud*Proud* of myself. Muahahaha...

#Sweet smile


#Happy Birthday to you <3 http:="">

We had the cake while playing rounds of Monopoly Deal (Not provided by resort, I brought it along for extra entertainment). Then we decided to set our sky lantern into the sky. Bf was really sweet because he knew that I had always wanted to play sky lantern. So, he travelled from his place (North West) all the way to Paya Lebar to buy the sky lantern for me.

 

That's sweet of him though.

#My endless wishes


#Sky Terrace at night


#Lighting up the candle


#Our sky lantern ♥

We had a fun filled day and we took the last dip before heading for bed. It was really awesome to have your own private pool.

#Tadd's Restaurant


#Buffet Breakfast

The variety of food at Tadd was fair. I loved their croissant and I had two of them. I have a special liking towards bread, I guess. I love bread with butter (fattest ever) and strawberry jam. We had a scrumptious breakfast before heading back to our villa on the buggy for the last dip. I was having a dip alone while bf was cooking. I had a great and wonderful time wetting the pool area, splashing water everywhere. I was reluctant to leave the place. Awww... sad. 

#Bf's cooking


#Sky Lantern again

Bf bought 3 sky lanterns altogether and we decided to set off the last two lanterns in the day. Only one made it to the sky because the wind was too strong. The sky lantern was making its way to the sky when a staff caught a glimpse of the lantern in the sky. Fortunately, he turned a blind eye to it otherwise we could be issued a warning. My lantern was about to rise when the candle falls onto the rooftop ledge. It was still burning and bf attempted to put out the fire with his spit because there was no water.

 

After several attempts of putting out the fire with his spits, he told me to get him water because he was running out of saliva. Hell' no, that was really disgusting of him. 

#Sending the lantern to the sky


#At the bedroom


#Spa & Massage


#That was me.


#Scenery at spa

Montigo has private cottages for individual and couple. You will not be sharing tubs or room with strangers. It was great to have own privacy definitely. Amenities provided for showers after massage. Not to worry about oily skin after a great massage. They have jaccuzzi and swimming pool for guest to relax after a comfortable spa and massage. You can stay there to slack and relax while waiting for your departure.

 

It was a great stay at Montigo and we had a wonderful time. We'll definitely be back again (I'll not be the one paying for SURE, the next time round. Ahem). Even though it was just a 2 days 2 night stay costing a bomb in my pocket, it was worth the price I paid.

 

Happy Birthday to bf, I hope you had a pleasant stay and enjoyable time at Montigo Resort. I hope you love the surprises even though it was just a simple celebration. Love you always.

Have a nice day.

Cheers,
Pzy