Bintan: The new Bali?

Welcome to your tent for the night when you check into The Canopi at Treasure Bay Bintan. ― Today pix
SINGAPORE, Oct 29 ― “The new Bali”. That phrase has been tossed around a lot ever since it was announced back in 2011 that Bintan was getting an injection of fresh projects, a new international airport and facelifts for existing resorts. This year, a flurry of openings has brought that vision closer to reality.

To start off, a new luxury resort The Sanchaya — the island’s first new luxury property in 10 years — officially welcomed guests in January. It was followed by the launch of The Lagoi Bay and Plaza Lagoi Mall in May, which included new hotels such as Swiss-Belhotel Grand Lagoi and a three-storey beachfront bar called Flyboyz opened by radio DJ Mark van Cuylenburg, aka The Flying Dutchman.

And this Sunday, Bintan reaches another milestone with the official opening of its latest attraction Treasure Bay Bintan. This 338-hectare project by Malaysian property development Landmarks Bhd boasts several firsts in Asia: It has Asia’s largest crystal-clear lagoon sprawling across 6.3 hectares (equivalent to 50 Olympic-sized swimming pools) as well as the upcoming renowned Canyon Ranch (the go-to wellness resort for Hollywood celebs such as January Jones and Jane Seymour). Already up and running at Treasure Bay is The Canopi Resort, which brings a taste of glamping to Bintan with 40 luxury safari tents that contain all the comforts of a hotel room.

“Treasure Bay Bintan is an intermingling of wellness, leisure, cultural, residential and commercial activities that are not found elsewhere on the island,” said the chief operating officer of Treasure Bay Bintan, Stefan Thumiger. “Both families and individuals can look forward to fascinating experiences and purpose-built resorts.”

New, old, new

November also marks the 20th anniversary of Banyan Tree Bintan. Yes, the iconic property is two decades old and looks every bit as striking now as when it first opened in 1995, having gone through an extensive refurbishment in 2012 to enhance and elevate the tree-top living experience with all villas raised on stilts.

Banyan Tree Bintan remains unfazed by the island’s winds of change. David Spooner, vice-president of sales and marketing, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, pointed out that there is much growth potential for Bintan. “It remains largely untapped. Its size is three times that of Singapore, while its population is only around 300,000,” he said, adding that the resort and sister property Angsana Bintan need not worry about becoming irrelevant in this new landscape.

“Guests have come back to us for the past 20 years because of our dramatic setting in the rainforest overlooking Bintan’s best beach. Banyan Tree Bintan has also won over 26 awards (such as its most recent Luxury Traveller’s Best Destination Hotel of 2014) to date — a testament to our authentic hospitality and service.”

What the inside of the safari tents of The Canopi looks like? Glamping it up indeed.
The Banyan Tree group is not resting on these laurels. Banyan Tree Bintan introduced a new Destination Dining experience whereby guests can dine on seafood on a kelong just five minutes away from its private beach. Meanwhile, its new hospitality concept Cassia Bintan, an apartment-styled accommodation with a living room and kitchen geared for families and groups of friends looking for a fuss-free holiday, will be ready end 2016. Spooner said Cassia Bintan’s “healthy property sales” prove that investors see Bintan as a vibrant destination that has something for every traveller, from nature trails and adventure sports to spa and dining.

Thumiger agrees that Bintan’s allure lies in its diversity, especially in light of travellers’ changing habits.

Visitors can enjoy an immersive health and wellness experience provided by international brands at the wellness cluster, while sports enthusiasts can go for a wide range of water sports and activities at Crystal Lagoon.

“We see more preference for purpose-driven holidays, such as health and wellness holiday or sports and adventure travel, which is why we have taken every effort to curate the experiences to heighten travellers’ visit to Treasure Bay Bintan,” he said.

More in store

At the moment, Treasures Bay’s recreational block Chill Cove has operators such as WOW Experience providing activities including the Jetovator, stand-up paddling and an inflatable water park, as well as Bintan Wake Park, a first in Bintan for visitors to wakeboard. Spooner revealed that more dining and retail brands will be announced for Chill Cove in the next few months.

In the works, too, are more hotels. After all, The Canopi Resort, which was soft-launched two months ago, has been seeing strong demand, with most weekends sold out. “Other international brands such as Mercure and Ibis Budget will be launching at Treasure Bay Bintan. We are also working with many other renowned hospitality brands that will bring innovative and new concepts into Asia,” added Thumiger.

The man-made Crystal Lagoon is the centrepiece of Treasure Bay Bintan.
Those mentioned by Thumiger are just the tip of the iceberg. With the airport slated to open in 2017, more hospitality players are falling over themselves for a piece of the pie. There is an antique liner Doulos Phos permanently berthed at Bintan to be transformed into a heritage ship-hotel coming up; Alila is launching its villas in 2017; Malaysian developer The Haven Sdn (which built The Haven Ipoh to great success) is starting construction for The Haven Bintan, and Singaporean company Far East Organisation is introducing its boutique Quincy brand to Bintan, too. All these developments are part of the larger Lagoi Bay’s staggering 17,500-hectare development.

Bintan now looks set to be more than just a weekend destination for Singaporeans. The comparison to Bali is inevitable as Bali went through “a similar transition and evolved into a world-renowned resort destination with its own unique character”, summed up Spooner.

But, perhaps one thing Bintan has over Bali is its sheer accessibility for Singaporeans: You can simply pop over for a day-trip — indulge in a spa treatment, a wake-boarding session and a luxe dinner — all before heading home.

So folks, are you ready for the new Bintan? ― Today

Source: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/travel/article/bintan-the-new-bali#When:04:55:24Z