Weekend getaway: Spa Central Batam Review 2018 at Batam, Indonesia

I recently went to Batam, Indonesia for a quick 2D1N stay and spa there. For most Singaporeans, they might think, "What? Isn't Batam the place where dodgy uncles go to visit their mistresses.." But no! My perception of Batam (ok I always just thought of it as a slightly more run down version of Bintan) completely upgraded after I've stayed at a really clean and modern hotel and visited a solid good spa called Spa Central Sukajadi for a 3-hour spa package at the no. 1 rated spa in Batam Center on TripAdvisor, with Stephanie my friend. 

Batam is also way more accessible than Bintan because the ferries depart from Habourfront, not Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, so that's a plus point. Anyway, here's my review of Spa Central (sponsored) and stay (not sponsored).


We were picked up from our hotel (more on that at the end) in the morning for our 10am session at Spa Central Sukajadi. The car had the wifi password for the spa, which was awesome. Our driver lady was really friendly. After a short 10-15 mins ride, we arrived at the 2nd floor of the compound (they have a kids pool outside so it was really crowded on a Sunday!)


Going upstairs, we were greeted with an entirely different world of serenity and peace.


Here's a quick vlog of us at the spa.
 

Here are the ala carte services/prices - everything is very clearly laid out and prices are really affordable too. Check out the use of Nuskin products in the facial section - I like how they actually have 'branded' products.


For the 3 hour package, we chose a 90 min massage, a 60 min treatment and a 30 min treatment each. 


This was our room. It's comfy!


Spa buddy Steph!


Started with a foot bath.


And there I am, naked except for a disposable undie and cloth that will cover me! I was slightly excited and a little fearful about how painful/ticklish the massage might be, as I am not the biggest fan of massages... but it turned out to be alright. I had a herbal one but it wasn't super oily, though I did smell like a TCM shop for a bit after. 


For my anti-ageing facial, I had my face thoroughly exfoliated, cleansed and masked! My skin did feel really clear after that. Here I am after my shower... rejuvenated.


Guess who opted for an all-natural facial and found herself wrapped with cucumber slices? Hehe it was really funny when I walked in to check on her and found her lying there...


Like this. ehehehe.


I also had an express manicure using OPI polish and here's the end result! Very neat - something I could never achieve if I paint my nails at home.


We also sampled some local delicacy such as the snake fruit! It was crunchy but not juicy (think of a garlic, with the slightly sweet taste of mild jackfruit). I was apprehensive at first to try because it smells a little repugnant but I was glad to have tried. It wasn't bad at all! 


It was also during our lunch time that we met Leon, the owner of the spa. He shared with us how he came over as a Singapore and built the spa with the aim of providing good, clean and affordable spa service for mid-income Singaporeans looking for a weekend getaway. 

His vision however is even greater and admirable - he wants to create a safe haven for single mothers and ladies in Batam to work, at a good pay, so they are engaged and empowered. It was a really noble mission and once we heard about this, we couldn't help but support it even more! 

He mentioned that a new Spa Central Nagoya is coming up in May featuring incredible landscaping, so look out for it! I know I'll be.


We had a really good time - thanks to Spa Central Batam (and Brad!) for inviting us. If you like to book your own spa, visit www.spacentralbatam.com (they have online and even WhatsApp booking!)

After our spa session (and a super fun tour of Batam's housing estate with Leon), we were dropped off at Mega Mall just opposite the Batam Centre ferry terminal. Guess who decided to have a quick snack and shop (cassava chips and indo mee) before boarding?


Hi Rooty!!


It was nostalgic to enjoy a root beer float (and we tried their matcha latte too, which was yum) and fried chicken + curly fries? We wanted their waffle too but it was going to take 20 mins so .. 


And then it was time to go home. 


Sad faces all round. But it was a fun trip and I highly recommend everyone to try it!


Rewind a day before, when we were en route to our hotel after an hour plus ferry ride/disembarking/immigration. The sun was already setting as we took the late ferry that day (which we almost missed due to an expired passport situation lol). 


Our Best Western Premier Panbil room was really clean and modern - no complaints except for the guests who were noisy in the corridor (not the hotel's fault!). They are a 4-star hotel with 4.4/5 stars on Google among 814 reviews and top on TripAdvisor so you know they are legit! It was really cheap too - only $$75 a night for two. Check out www.hotelscombined.com for a good price there. I am not sponsored or anything by them to say it, but I really think this is super decent for a weekend getaway.


The pool was mid-building (not on the roof, unfortch). The hotel overlooks a lake and a forest, so we are not beachfront, which was fine since its not really a beach vacation!


Headed to the pool to check it out! Excited, could you tell?


Here's the infinity-ish pool. It was really nice actually, though again, if it gets crowded in the day it might be a little less so. During dusk it was great. 


After the water turned cold, we got upstairs, showed and called a Grab car (so good and convenient) to go outside for a seafood dinner at Seienam Seafood Batam. Turns out its Steph's JC classmate's restaurant! We had to choose someplace that isn't too far of a drive and also relatively highly rated on TripAdvisor and Google. This was a good pick! We ordered lots of dishes such as the salted egg prawns (good) and cereal crayfish (that was so so), along with soup and veggies. It only costed around $25 each I think!




Ended the night at the rooftop bar of Best Western with a cold one. It was really windy and the view of the night sky and twinkling lights was really relaxing. 


That's about it for my blog and spa review! Again I highly recommend this combination of ferry to Batam from Habourfront > Best Western Premier Panbil stay > seafood dinner at Sei Enam > breakfast at the hotel in the morning > spa for 3 hours at Spa Central > shopping at Mega Mall > ferry back, if you only have a weekend to spare. Otherwise spend more time here - we saw some hipster cafes and breweries that we didn't have time to check out. 



Thanks again Spa Central! I'll be back :)

1 comment
  1. I see that you took grab at batam. is it dangerous? see from some site, grab is dangerous in batam

    ReplyDelete