On Boxing Day, Dec 2012, I returned home from Montigo Resorts,
Batam, infuriated by a series of horrendous experiences I received while I was
holidaying at the resorts. I sat down and wrote one of the worst review I had ever written on my blog and also on tripadvisor.
Soon after my review was published, I received emails and
phone calls from the management of Montigo Resorts. Apologies were made and
they had extended an invitation to have me and my family back for a 2D/1N
complimentary stay. Seeing that Montigo Resorts was sincere to make amends and
had valued me as a guest, I told them I will be back, however I wasn’t ready to return so soon. As I felt it would only be fair if I gave
myself time to calibrate, so that when I revisit Montigo Resorts, I would be
able to enjoy my stay without prejudice.
Close to
half a year went by, and I was able to put the past behind and give Montigo
Resorts a second chance to impress me and my family. This time, I chose to
return on weekdays, believing that with lower occupancy, there would be no
excuses for their service to be compromised.
And I must
say, they went out of their ways to accommodate my requests. I had travelled in
from Batam Centre Ferry Terminal instead of Nongsa, where the resorts’ land
transfer is provided. Montigo Resorts made special arrangement for my family to
have land transfer for Batam Centre at no extra cost.
When we
arrived, I was rather taken back to see the GM of Montigo Resorts, Mr. Aloysius
Michael, himself, making a point to welcome us. Gosh! It made me felt like a
rock star!
They had
arranged for us to be put up at one of their finest villa, The Spa Villa, where
the villa has an extension to a little cabana with fantastic view of the
sea-front and the resorts’ spa. The cabana was one of the best places in the
villa to chill, unwind and to catch some amazing sunset! My husband and I spent some quiet time, lounging on
the bean bags and listening to the sounds of the night when our children had
turned in.
I was very
impressed by the little details they put in to delight us – we were given complimentary
wine, fruit baskets, cakes and cookies, and even two stuffed toys for my young
children. There was also a hand-written welcome card by the GM.
Our villa pool was awesome! It was definitely the favourite place for my kids. They had recently started lessons on swimming, but they still can't swim without some help. My son, the dare-devil of the two, fell in love with jumping into the water. He was tireless, doing his little stunts.
The
services that we experienced during our stay this time was phenomenal. Everything
was prompt and on time. I called up and asked for a kitchen knife to cut a
pineapple I’d brought, I was told they were unable to provide me with a knife,
due to some policy. However, they quickly offered to send someone to pick up my
pineapple to have it cut up at their kitchen instead. Wow! That was an excellent
initiative!
Everywhere
that we went, when we mentioned our villa unit (we stayed at #100), we were
treated with extra care and the staff seemed to know the profile of us very
well. While we were at the ‘unofficially opened’ Kid’s Club, a staff (we never
met him before) came along to play with my son and he asked about my daughter
(she was playing at the main pool with my helper and husband). Hmm… he must had
already ‘done his homework well’. And the same staff drove us back to our
villa, knowing exactly which villa we were staying. I suspect, there might even
be a picture of me pinned up on their staff notice board, marked “notoriously difficult
guest, handle with care!”
The most euphoric part of this trip was our DIY roof-top BBQ that we had. We brought along some chicken wings that I had marinated back home, beef steaks and lamb kebahs and bought more food at the local supermarket. My super husband bought some moscato at the duty-free to complete our star-lit dinner. After dinner, we lighted up some fabulous Kong-Ming lanterns and sent our wishes up into the sky.
If my last
trip at Montigo Resorts was hell, this trip must be heaven! Everything was near
to perfection! Yes. It did feel staged, but at least, they had proven to me
that they are capable of providing top-notched services if they want to.
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