A Little Birthday Getaway to Bintan

Sometimes, a family holiday doesn't need a packed itinerary.

For Ethan's birthday, we decided on a little three-day getaway to Bintan. Nothing too ambitious. Just somewhere the boys could have fun, we could enjoy some family time, and hopefully everyone would come home happy.

With two young boys, our priorities have changed quite a bit. A beautiful resort is nice, but these days, an indoor playground can be a much bigger selling point.

Starting the holiday with Emerald Class

We decided to splurge a little on Emerald Class with Bintan Resort Ferries.

Was it necessary? Probably not.

But travelling with young children and luggage, we've come to appreciate anything that makes the journey a little easier.

Smoother check-in, comfortable waiting areas, better seating and convenient luggage handling were exactly the sort of things we were looking for.

And after experiencing it, we'd happily pay the premium again.

Our verdict: Emerald Class isn't just about a nicer seat. For our family, the convenience made the extra expense worthwhile.

Choosing a resort around the boys

When we were deciding where to stay, Holiday Inn Resort Bintan Lagoi Beach caught our attention for a few reasons.

It was relatively new, had swimming facilities and beach access, and offered activities for children.

But the real attraction?

An indoor playground.

We also liked that the resort organised children's activities, including cooking workshops.

The idea was simple: instead of spending our holiday travelling from one attraction to another, why not choose somewhere the boys could enjoy themselves without us constantly having to leave the resort?

It sounded like a pretty good birthday getaway.

Not exactly a budget getaway, but we weren't necessarily looking for the cheapest option.

We wanted a comfortable trip, a resort with plenty for the boys to do, and a chance to celebrate Ethan's birthday together.

So, did Holiday Inn actually live up to our expectations?

Well, judging by how often the boys wanted to return to the indoor playground and feed the koi fish, we were definitely onto something.

One thing we've realised after travelling with the boys is that we don't always need to plan a lot of activities to keep them entertained.

Sometimes, the simplest things are enough.

And that was pretty much how we spent our three days at Holiday Inn Bintan. Between feeding koi fish, playing indoors, swimming and spending time at the beach, we didn't really need to venture far.

The koi fish that kept us coming back

Of all the things available at the resort, I didn't expect feeding koi fish to become one of the boys' favourite activities.

But somehow, we ended up doing it every day.

We'd already chosen Holiday Inn because of its family facilities, so the fish feeding was really just a bonus. I suppose that's the funny thing about travelling with children. You can spend ages researching activities, only to discover that something as simple as feeding fish is what they keep wanting to do.

I'm certainly not complaining. It was an easy activity to fit into our day, and the boys enjoyed it.

The indoor playground was a winner

Remember how the indoor playground was one of the main reasons we booked Holiday Inn?

Well, thankfully, that turned out to be a good decision.

The boys loved it. We went back every day, and having it right inside the resort made things so much easier. Whenever we wanted a break from swimming or didn't feel like heading out, there was always somewhere for them to play.

I also managed to capture a funny little moment of Lucas and Ethan facing off in a dance battle inside the playground.

I'm not sure what started it, but watching the two of them dancing opposite each other was hilarious.

It's probably one of my favourite clips from the trip.

For families travelling with young children, I can definitely see why an indoor playground would be a big selling point. It certainly was for us.

Pool time, splashing around and the beach

Of course, we also spent plenty of time in the water.

Both boys had been attending swimming lessons for about six months by the time we visited Bintan, and we could see how much more confident they'd become in the water.

That made swimming a lot more enjoyable for everyone. The boys were happy to spend time in the pool, and we enjoyed seeing them put some of what they'd learned into practice.

The resort also had a splash playground, and we made time for the beach.

What I liked was that we didn't have to plan our days around getting from one attraction to another. We could go swimming, take a break, head somewhere else in the resort and just see what the boys felt like doing next.

That's one of the reasons we chose a resort holiday in the first place. With young children, sometimes it's nice not having to worry about an itinerary.

Cookie-making: A nice idea that could have been better

We also signed the boys up for a cookie-making workshop organised by the resort.

This was actually one of the activities we were looking forward to. We thought it would be fun for them to try something different from the usual swimming and playground activities.

Unfortunately, the session wasn't quite as well organised as we'd hoped.

Initially, parents weren't allowed to accompany the children. But as the workshop went on, it became clear that the children needed more help, and parents ended up having to assist.

I felt the resort could have done a better job with the supervision and coordination, especially since the activity was meant for young children.

It's a pity because I still think the idea is good. Having activities like this is a nice addition to a family resort, and we'd happily let the boys try another workshop.

Hopefully, the experience will be smoother next time.

The food deserves a mention too

Warung Pak Lagoi

We had some enjoyable meals at Warung Pak Lagoi during our stay.

The food was good, but I also wanted to mention the service because a few of the staff really stood out.

Riani, Ridho and Yardi were particularly friendly and attentive, and we appreciated the way they looked after us.

It's always nice when you come away from a restaurant remembering not just what you ate, but also the people who served you.

SugarBEATS at Hotel Indigo

Another thing we discovered was how convenient it was having Hotel Indigo right next to Holiday Inn.

It's only about a 10-minute walk from our room, but since there was a complimentary buggy shuttle, we decided to take that instead. Especially with the boys around.

We headed over to the beach in front of Hotel Indigo first and let the boys enjoy themselves before going to SugarBEATS for lunch.

We enjoyed our meal there, and it was a nice change from spending all our time at Holiday Inn.

If you're staying at Holiday Inn, I'd definitely suggest checking out Hotel Indigo next door. Between the beach, restaurants and buggy shuttle, it's quite convenient to explore without having to arrange transport elsewhere.

Three days without much of an itinerary

When I think about this trip, I'm quite glad we didn't try to squeeze too much into the three days.

We spent a surprising amount of time feeding fish and visiting the same indoor playground, but the boys were happy, so why not?

We still managed to enjoy the pool, beach and a few other activities along the way. Not everything was perfect, especially the cookie-making workshop, but overall, the resort worked well for the kind of holiday we wanted.

And somewhere between all that swimming, playing and eating, we also had a birthday to celebrate.

After all, Ethan was the reason we came to Bintan in the first place.

The whole reason we decided to visit Bintan was to celebrate Ethan's birthday.

We didn't have anything particularly elaborate planned. No big birthday party or packed schedule of activities. We just thought it would be nice to get away for a few days, let the boys enjoy themselves and celebrate together as a family.

And while most of our time was spent swimming, playing and exploring the resort, we did manage to have a little birthday celebration along the way.

A birthday song during dinner

One evening, while we were having dinner, there was a live band going around the restaurant performing for guests.

When they came to our table, we thought, why not ask them to sing Happy Birthday for Ethan?

It wasn't something we had arranged beforehand. We just happened to be there, the band was performing, and it seemed like a good opportunity.

So we asked, and Ethan got his own birthday song during dinner.

It was a nice spontaneous moment, and definitely one of the highlights of our trip.

We had also informed Holiday Inn beforehand that we were celebrating Ethan's birthday, and the hotel arranged a complimentary slice of birthday cake for our room, with "Happy Birthday Ethan" written on the plate.

A nice little touch to round off the celebration.

Just the kind of birthday getaway we wanted

When we first planned this trip, we weren't really thinking about organising a big birthday celebration.

We just wanted to take Ethan somewhere the boys could have fun, and spend a few days together without having to worry too much about our usual routines.

The birthday song was a lovely moment, but the rest of the trip was really about enjoying our time together.

And I think that's what made this birthday getaway work for us.

We didn't do anything particularly extraordinary, but we had a good time, the boys enjoyed themselves, and we came home with some lovely memories of Ethan's birthday.

Three days and two nights went by surprisingly quickly.

When we planned this getaway, we weren't looking to explore every corner of Bintan. We just wanted a comfortable place to stay, somewhere the boys could have fun, and a chance to celebrate Ethan's birthday together.

And I think Holiday Inn turned out to be a pretty good choice for that.

Would we stay at Holiday Inn again?

Yes, I think we would.

The biggest reason is quite simple. The boys enjoyed themselves, and that made the trip a lot easier for us.

We didn't have to spend much time thinking about where to take them next. Between the indoor playground, swimming facilities and other activities, there was usually something for them to do.

Having Hotel Indigo next door was a bonus too. We could enjoy a change of scenery and try somewhere different for lunch without travelling far.

Of course, not everything was perfect. The cookie-making workshop could have been better organised, particularly when it came to supervision and parental involvement.

But overall, we enjoyed our stay, and I'd be quite happy bringing the family back.

Would we book Emerald Class again?

Definitely.

We paid S$730 for five return ferry tickets, which certainly wasn't cheap.

But with two young children and luggage, the smoother boarding experience, comfortable waiting areas and easier luggage handling made the journey much less troublesome.

In fact, after experiencing Emerald Class, I don't think we'd want to go back to travelling without it.

It's an additional expense, but for us, the convenience is worth paying for. We'd happily book it again on our next Bintan trip.

What would we do differently?

Actually, not much.

I liked that we didn't have a packed itinerary. We could take our time, revisit the activities the boys enjoyed and not worry too much about fitting everything into three days.

If we returned, we'd probably explore more of the dining options around Holiday Inn and Hotel Indigo.

And if we signed up for another children's workshop, I'd check how the session was organised and whether parents could accompany the children.

Otherwise, I wouldn't mind repeating much of the same holiday.

Maybe we'll be back with a few more families

One thing we realised during our stay was that Holiday Inn could actually be a pretty good place for a getaway with other families.

With the playground, swimming pools, beach and children's activities all within easy reach, the children would have plenty to do without everyone having to organise outings every day.

And that got us thinking about Lucas.

Lucas will be graduating from kindergarten in 2027 before heading off to primary school. There's a chance he might not end up in the same school as some of his close friends.

So we've been thinking it might be nice to organise a little graduation getaway with a few of his kindergarten buddies and their families.

Nothing has been arranged yet, of course. We'd still need to discuss it with the other parents and see whether everyone is interested.

But having stayed here ourselves, I can imagine the children having a really good time together.

We came to Bintan to celebrate Ethan's birthday, and now we're already thinking about coming back to celebrate another milestone for Lucas.

Not a bad outcome for a little three-day getaway.