The Residence Bintan

The service was super amazing, truly letting me experience the charm of Southeast Asian travel. The public areas aren't fancy, giving off that raw, authentic island vacation vibe, but every day was filled with joy and the stay was quite comfortable.

The hotel service was excellent. They emailed us beforehand to ask for our cruise schedule so they could pick us up. Staff accompanied us throughout our stay, and the food was delicious. For a hotel, the quality of the food was exceptional. My only minor gripes are that there weren't many activities at the hotel and the beach wasn't very long. Other than that, everything was great. It's a really good resort overall.

We had a wonderful time staying at this hotel. I'd like to highlight a few points: 1. Cleanliness: The room was cleaned daily. 2. Friendly and customer-oriented staff: We were checked in early, and they congratulated us on our wedding anniversary, which was a very nice touch. They also granted us a late check-out until 4 PM. 3. Delicious breakfasts: Plenty of food and a good variety. The chef prepares eggs to order. 4. Pool with a view. This hotel is exclusively for family vacations or for those seeking peace and solitude. We highly recommend this hotel and would gladly return!

The service was truly exceptional, you could feel the genuine care. I experienced two different room types, both with unique charm. I upgraded to a beachfront pool villa for two nights at the front desk. When I decided to switch back to my original room type for the second night, they processed the refund very quickly. The detailed attention was wonderful. Every staff member I met, no matter when I saw them, had a smile on their face. While the room hardware might be a bit dated, the service and overall resort feel were truly impeccable. It's definitely Singapore's backyard. However, apart from the hotel's three restaurants, the surrounding area is quite remote with not many other options. It's a resort built in the middle of a large wasteland, so transportation isn't very convenient. Three days and two nights felt just right, not too much and not too little.

Our stay at The Residence Bintan from August 15-19, booked through Trip.com, was a complete disaster. We chose this hotel for its advertised beautiful sea views and excellent dining, hoping for a great family vacation. Instead, it turned out to be the worst hotel experience in all my years of travel. I strongly advise all Chinese tourists to avoid this place! First, the dining hygiene was severely substandard, with unclean ingredients and extremely poor food quality. After eating at the hotel, my child suffered from diarrhea and stomach upset, which ruined our family vacation. The food safety issues were incredibly infuriating and completely unacceptable for a hotel positioned as a high-end resort. Second, the hotel engaged in arbitrary and unreasonable charges. When we accidentally lost our room key card, the front desk aggressively demanded a $4 replacement fee. They refused us entry to our room until we paid, showing no flexibility or humane consideration. The charging policy was outrageous, making for a terrible experience. Most unacceptably, one male front desk staff member was blatantly discriminatory towards Chinese guests. He treated foreign visitors and Chinese visitors completely differently, being dismissive and arrogant towards the latter while being warm and polite to the former. This blatant favoritism was unprofessional and deeply offensive, seriously hurting the feelings of Chinese tourists. Finally, the hotel's marketing is severely misleading! The pristine blue sea and stunning ocean views displayed on Trip.com are completely fake! In reality, large areas of the beach were dried up, with no sign of a clear blue sea or sandy beach whatsoever. The actual scenery was vastly different from the promotional images, a classic case of buyer's regret versus seller's show, which severely misleads consumers. Due to my child's illness from the food, combined with the abysmal service and misleading environment, we were forced to check out early on August 16th, not staying for the subsequent three nights. However, the hotel refused to issue a refund and made the process of seeking compensation incredibly difficult. I genuinely recommend everyone avoid this hotel. It has poor hygiene, terrible service, discriminates against Chinese guests, and engages in false advertising. Absolutely not recommended!