You make your own luxury stay at this modern apartment-style hotel
A while ago, we had the great opportunity to stay at Cassia Bintan for a two day, one night weekend. You just need a quick 50-minute ferry ride to get from Singapore to the island of Bintan and its spread of resorts, so a weekend stay sounded just nice to us. Once we saw the calming beach and the wide list of fun activities, though, we wished we had another day.
Overlooking the expansive South China Sea, the resort offers super chic apartments in one or two bedroom units. The newest hotel under the internationally renowned Banyan Tree Group, just launched in August 2017, Cassia Bintan is designed especially with youths and millennials in mind. It's popular among groups of friends, young couples, and young families.
We immediately felt the youthful vibes once we entered the hotel lobby. Lots of modern yet locally-inspired, colourful murals line the walls from the lobby to the apartment blocks.
We took lots of cool photos by the wall art!
If you, like us, only have the weekend to spare, Cassia Bintan makes for a wonderful two-day getaway. Here's our guide to what you can do at the resort over a weekend.
When at the Banyan Tree resorts, you have to try the award-winning spa experience! Though the Cassia resort does not offer spa, guests can enjoy it at Angsana and Banyan Tree. The spa at the Banyan Tree villas (note that it’s different from the Spa Centre experience) is most renowned and traditional, so we chose to try it there.
We certainly see why the Banyan Tree Spa has been voted World’s Best Spa for several years – the service and quality is incredible! First of all, when you book the spa at Banyan Tree Bintan, you have the whole villa for you and your loved ones, or, if you’re doing it alone, all to yourself!
You can choose from the extensive menu of indulgent spa treatments from gentle to strong pressure levels. The therapist will also ask if you have any sensitive areas (like around the chest or stomach) you’d like to avoid, and customise the treatment for you. We had the traditional Balinese massage of medium strength, and our therapist really worked to relief our tensions while keeping us relaxed and pampered.
We were very impressed by the excellent service throughout. Even before the spa began, the therapist offered us a healthy beetroot and carrot juice to promote good blood circulation. At the end of the whole experience, we were served a hot cup of tea and some fruits, which we could enjoy while looking out at the gorgeous setting sun on the beach outside.
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