Club Med Experience

[kcng]

I tried Bali Club Med once, with my parent, my kids (9 and 5) and my wife. Quite a relax vacation. Kids love there, lots of activities for them, for adult, we just relax and eat and drink and eat and drink and sleep~ haha

 

Actually kids are quite easy to satisfy on their age, you bring them to beach, they will happy whole day already, my mum ever said: "Such a waste, took a flight here and play sand only" haha

 

Simpler to say, Club Med is a land version of cruise :) You like cruise? You will enjoy Club Med. If you like Club Med, somehow you will like cruise too. It's kind of vacation that you need not to think, to plan much, everything is cover. Everyday just watch the blue sky~

 

Of cos, most important is what kind of vacation you looking for.

[Shorty]

my kind of holiday. where i can keep the kids occupied while i relax. don need to go here n there n plan wat to let them do. 

[Donut]

Hi guys, i hope this has not been discussed yet cos i searched n find no result for club med. 

 

planning to bring my parents n 2 kids to club med bintan for dec holidays. anyone been there b4? or any other club med in asia? how is the experience like? i understand that a lot are included in the package. does it include all the meals? n is it true that food is available round the clock?

 

my plan is to let my kids participate in all the kids' activities while we adults jus laze ard, massage n mayb do some of the less tiring activities. pls also advise what are the additional expenses that i can expect.

 

been to Club Med Bintan once. 

 

Well, its a pretty good experience.  Fuss free and no need to rush.  Kids club is free for 4 yrs old and above.  Younger than 4 yrs old, need to pay about $200+ for 3 days stay

 

The good thing about Bintan is u take ferry, and only a short ride.  Not like you have to rush to take plane at airport.

 

Cub Med will take care of your transport. So no need to headache about it.  Staff are friendly and welcoming

 

as an adult, can just laze ard, and wait for meal time.  most activities are free, archery, yoga, cycling around Bintan, gym, table tennis, mahjong, etc. only a few need to pay, like massage.

 

Got night performance, its mainly to entertain the kids. The kids at the kids club will put up the performance.  And after the performance, they will also have some games for adults like casinos, mini telematch.  

 

the good part is food and drinks are free.  So you can basically eat and drink silly.  drinks are served all day and night. you can walk to the bar and order. Food is good enough.

 

Bintan has nice beach for you to just laze around.  Got a bar on the beach. can just order drinks and sit on the sofas. Best experience. LOL

 

Room is just decent. no fancy furniture.  Because its Club Med, they expect you to be out of the room all day long and doing activities.

 

But take note that these days, alot of PRC tourists will be there.  Club Med was been sold to some Chinese company. So they are promoting it to PRCs.  When i was there, most guests are PRCs. :(   

 

 

now got 50% discount right?  LOL.  I'm also looking at it now.  

[Shorty]

been to Club Med Bintan once. 

 

Well, its a pretty good experience.  Fuss free and no need to rush.  Kids club is free for 4 yrs old and above.  Younger than 4 yrs old, need to pay about $200+ for 3 days stay

 

The good thing about Bintan is u take ferry, and only a short ride.  Not like you have to rush to take plane at airport.

 

Cub Med will take care of your transport. So no need to headache about it.  Staff are friendly and welcoming

 

as an adult, can just laze ard, and wait for meal time.  most activities are free, archery, yoga, cycling around Bintan, gym, table tennis, mahjong, etc. only a few need to pay, like massage.

 

Got night performance, its mainly to entertain the kids. The kids at the kids club will put up the performance.  And after the performance, they will also have some games for adults like casinos, mini telematch.  

 

the good part is food and drinks are free.  So you can basically eat and drink silly.  drinks are served all day and night. you can walk to the bar and order. Food is good enough.

 

Bintan has nice beach for you to just laze around.  Got a bar on the beach. can just order drinks and sit on the sofas. Best experience. LOL

 

Room is just decent. no fancy furniture.  Because its Club Med, they expect you to be out of the room all day long and doing activities.

 

But take note that these days, alot of PRC tourists will be there.  Club Med was been sold to some Chinese company. So they are promoting it to PRCs.  When i was there, most guests are PRCs. :(   

 

 

now got 50% discount right?  LOL.  I'm also looking at it now.  

50% prc?!?!?! oh no....there goes my plan. i already cannot stand prc working here. n after the horror stories of prc tourist...i will wanna avoid them. mayb club med cherating can b an alternative.

 

not sure how much discount...but i calculated based on 4 adults n 2 kids, only abt 3400 total.

Edited August 25, 2016 by Shorty

[Donut]

50% prc?!?!?! oh no....there goes my plan. i already cannot stand prc working here. n after the horror stories of prc tourist...i will wanna avoid them. mayb club med cherating can b an alternative.

 

not sure how much discount...but i calculated based on 4 adults n 2 kids, only abt 3400 total.

It's ok la. The place is huge. U won't even notice them except during meal time.

 

Just that I was caught by surprise, that they are found in Bintan. Lol

[Shorty]

It's ok la. The place is huge. U won't even notice them except during meal time.

 

Just that I was caught by surprise, that they are found in Bintan. Lol

running into them during meal time is the worst. i wont b able to eat in peace! hehe. nvm...i try to see if can there are any latest reviews of this place. 

[Donut]

running into them during meal time is the worst. i wont b able to eat in peace! hehe. nvm...i try to see if can there are any latest reviews of this place. 

 

the truth is you can't totally avoid them.  They are everywhere in the world.  Cherating will have them as well.  And it takes you 5 hours to drive up. Waste of time and safety issue.

[Lotr]

50% prc?!?!?! oh no....there goes my plan. i already cannot stand prc working here. n after the horror stories of prc tourist...i will wanna avoid them. mayb club med cherating can b an alternative.

 

not sure how much discount...but i calculated based on 4 adults n 2 kids, only abt 3400 total.

 

 

i encountered more prcs at club med cherating than the bintan one 

 

I think it is unavoidable nowadays. not too bad actually, just a bit loud, a bit kiasu like hogging the buffet line to load up more food on their plates ... just ignore them, you will be fine

[Lala81]

I've been to club med bintan with my classmates.

i feel if your kids are the right age, ok bah. Let them shack themselves out doing the activities.

The beach is quite good at bintan. 

 

I'm not very adventurous with activities so i feel it's a waste of money for me.

 

I was there in 2005, if the rooms haven't been renovated, then it's pretty old liao.

The room is about 3 star in quality then.

[Spanly]

Update from my latest Club Med - Bintan stay.

 

This is my 2nd visit with the last one back in Jun 15.

 

In my last visit, the room was indeed dated & this time round, managed to get the newly renovated room. I understand they've started the renovation to the resort since last year. Most are completed but renovation to some of the blocks are still in progress which i supposed should be completed in time for the major Jun holidays. The renovated rooms are indeed 

 

Another observation was that I hardly see any ang mo GOs around compared to my last visit... could be the new Chinese owners decide to do away with the more costly 'expat' GOs & replaced with more local GOs    Anyway, to be fair, I didn't noticed too much diff in the GOs standard; perhaps slightly lesser interaction with the guests during meal time which i think most of s'porean didn't really mind as they want to be left alone to makan..

 

Food is still of very good standard & drinks readily available.

 

One sad point is the pollution... not sure if is due to the recent oil spill, there's some oil tar (not obvious) on the beach where some unlucky ones may find our slippers or bare feet stained... they do provide baby oil at the bar/towel counters to remove these sticky stains.

 

Sharing some pics of the newly renovated room.

 

[Dleodleo]

running into them during meal time is the worst. i wont b able to eat in peace! hehe. nvm...i try to see if can there are any latest reviews of this place. 

 

My relatives went to Club Med Bintan in Dec 2016.  It was raining and monsoon season in bintan.  Can't do watersports and outdoor sports.  They find waste of $ - so dun go in Dec better.

[Shorty]

My relatives went to Club Med Bintan in Dec 2016.  It was raining and monsoon season in bintan.  Can't do watersports and outdoor sports.  They find waste of $ - so dun go in Dec better.

yeah la...true also. shelving the plan for now. will go other places 1st.

[Tohto]

My relatives went to Club Med Bintan in Dec 2016. It was raining and monsoon season in bintan. Can't do watersports and outdoor sports. They find waste of $ - so dun go in Dec better.

Bintan rain season should be same as here mah.

[Spanly]

This time round cannot do snorkeling as i think the monsoon not fully over... May onward should be fine but i think the Jun holiday would be more crowded & hotter weather.

 

Can still bring the kids to feed the fishes at one side of the beach though  (remember to kapo the bread from breakfast).

 

[Tohto]

This time round cannot do snorkeling as i think the monsoon not fully over... May onward should be fine but i think the Jun holiday would be more crowded & hotter weather.

 

Can still bring the kids to feed the fishes at one side of the beach though (remember to kapo the bread from breakfast).

Bintan beach water is so clear?

Sorry I shua ku, still never visit Bintan before.

[Spanly]

Bintan beach water is so clear?

Sorry I shua ku, still never visit Bintan before.

Yes, i'm surprise too when i first visited... never cross my mind that we can get such clear water in Bintan... for those nearby SG, only can think of Tioman & Redang.. Beaches at Port Dickson really CMI.

 

So indeed quite a fun experience for kids (esp those still too young or afraid to go snorkeling) to be able to see fishes swimming around them without venturing too far into the water... just need to wade to around waist level water can liao.

Edited March 20, 2017 by Spanly

[Dleodleo]

I also read that Bintan water is clear but just  beware of black tar.  They may stain your clothes.

[Karu]

Bintan's room looks nice... Just came back from Cherating. Room is quite old. The rooms have the rustic kampong feel with wooden flooring indoors & along the corridors. GOs were great.

 

There were lots of Ah Tiongs too but most seemed ok. Maybe these are the better off ones without the bad habits. Beach at Cherating seems nicer.

 

I don't mind the 7 hrs drive though. Next time wanna try the newer  ClibMed resort in Sanya Hainan. Looks very nice from the pics.

Edited March 21, 2017 by Karu