Batam, the closest Indonesian island to Singapore, has been a favourite\u00a0destination amongst Singaporeans for the past 2 decades. \u00a0During the recent long weekend, when we headed to Batam for our second getaway, we saw\u00a0thousands of people standing in line at the Harbourfront waiting to get on the ferry to Batam. \u00a0In this sequel to our maiden Batam getaway at\u00a0Holiday Inn Batam<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, we decided to try\u00a0a new hotel called Batam Radisson Golf and Convention Centre<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Opened just a few months ago, Batam Radisson Golf and Convention Centre is a great choice for a short and relaxing family getaway from Singapore.<\/p>\n Comparing to other hotels on hotel booking websites, this hotel has one of the nicest rooms near the town area of Batam.<\/p>\n The only flip side was that each room could only accommodate up to 2 adults and 1 child. \u00a0Adjoining rooms with interconnecting doors were only available between the suite (below) and a double\/twin room. \u00a0As we wanted to hang out together as a family and did not want to be separated by a common corridor, we upgraded one of our double\/twin rooms to the suite.<\/p>\n Needless to say, my kiddos loved the Batam Radisson suite. \u00a0It came with a kitchenette, a spacious dining and living area, and a bedroom with a large bathroom with separate shower room and bath tub.<\/p>\n Everything looked new and modern. The room we stayed had a good view of the infinity pool and golf course.<\/p>\n The Batam Radisson also had another covered\u00a0swimming pool on the tenth floor (see the floor with floor-to-ceiling glass panels), a fitness centre, a spa, and a sauna but unfortunately they were closed for maintenance.<\/p>\n This family-oriented hotel had a kids club, and fun\u00a0activities such as segway, hoverboard, smart skate board and archery. \u00a0\u00a0In the evening, the lounge chairs by\u00a0the pool offered a great spot to relax and enjoy the sunset overlooking the golf green.<\/p>\n The\u00a0hotel also had a good breakfast spread with freshly-made pancakes, waffles, crepes, and eggs; western pastries, western sausages, hash browns, cornflakes and local Indonesian cuisine.<\/p>\n Batam Radisson Hotel felt like it was far away from the city with its lush putting greens, and unblocked views, but it\u00a0was only about 15-20 minutes by car\/taxi to Nagoya, the busy part of town. \u00a0It\u00a0is within walking distance to\u00a0Kepri Mall<\/strong>, restaurants, a popular and reasonably-priced spa called Spa Central, and\u00a0a fabulous halal Italian restaurant which we discovered during the trip called Piccola Stella d’Almanna<\/strong>.<\/p>\n You can check out the rates and availability on Booking.com – Radisson Golf & Convention Center Batam<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Piccola Stella d’Almanna is Batam’s\u00a0best kept secret. \u00a0This cosy Italian restaurant serves one of the best wood oven pizzas we have tasted.<\/p>\n We finished every single slice of their popular double-decker pizza as well as the four cheese pizzas. \u00a0They also served wood oven baked lasagne and cannelloni; fresh homemade\u00a0gnocchi, ravioli, and tortellini and many more. \u00a0We loved their\u00a0food so much\u00a0that we ordered from them again the next evening, and\u00a0had it delivered to our hotel.<\/p>\n We highly recommend this Italian restaurant when visiting\u00a0Batam, especially when staying at Batam Radisson Golf and Convention Centre.<\/p>\n Address:<\/strong> Dermaga Kuliner Sukajadi blok RK-1 no. 9, Batam Center, Riau Islands Province 29432 Indonesia.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Other than Piccola Stella d’Almanna, we also ate at the Barelang Seafood Centre. It had a great selection of seafood picked fresh from the water. \u00a0We were able to pick\u00a0our fish, crabs and lobster to feast on, and choose the sauce and style of cooking.<\/p>\n Barelang Seafood Centre\u00a0had “VIP rooms” with private tables overlooking the water.<\/p>\n The lobster’s meat was\u00a0thick and succulent,\u00a0the chilli crab was loaded with flavour and the fish was tender and fresh. \u00a0\u00a0 This is definitely a great seafood place to try when visiting Batam.<\/p>\n Other popular seafood restaurants in Batam include:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After lunch at Barelang Seafood Centre, we passed by Batam’s popular\u00a0Barelang Bridge<\/strong>. \u00a0This bridge is made up of a chain of 6 bridges that connects several islands under the municipality of Batam. \u00a0There is also a viewpoint with a fantastic view of the bridge. \u00a0See top picture.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n One of the best places in Batam to go for shopping and dining is at Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall<\/strong>. \u00a0This mall is massive\u00a0and has a wide variety of eateries\u00a0including Japanese, Chinese, Western and, of course, Indonesian.<\/p>\n The girls were also so happy to be able to enjoy Wendy’s juicy burgers and chocolate milk shake again. It is too bad that Wendy’s and A&W restaurants have ceased to operate in Singapore.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Panties Pizza anyone?<\/p>\n As if the hundreds of shops in\u00a0Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall were not enough, there were even more shops surrounding the mall. \u00a0One interesting shop we saw was a\u00a0hip and trendy barber shop that could almost be mistaken as a cafe. \u00a0The nearby mosque also had a very unique clear glass minaret tower that glowed in the evening.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n There were many spas and massage centres outside of Nagoya Hill mall. \u00a0One of the most popular spa was Majesty Spa and Massage Batam\u00a0<\/strong>because it offered free transportation to and from the hotel or ferry terminal and even included transportation to any nearby restaurants before sending\u00a0you back to your final destination. \u00a0They recommended\u00a0Wey Wey Seafood<\/strong> restaurant at the harbour where we could enjoy the sunset, but we had our hearts set on ordering\u00a0pizzas and pastas from\u00a0Piccolo Stella d’Almanna.<\/p>\n As the spa was close to the mall, those who did not want to go for a massage could easily hang out at the mall.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Another mall to visit is the Batam Centre Mega Mall. \u00a0It is located across the road from the Batam Centre Ferry Terminal. \u00a0There was an overhead bridge that connected the terminal to the mall, making it convenient to do some last minute shopping before heading back to Singapore.<\/p>\n This mall was modern and had a variety of shops including a toy shop, the Matahari department store, a supermarket and several restaurants.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The “kek lapis” or layered cake is one of the top souvenirs to buy from Batam. \u00a0Our driver said \u00a0that\u00a0the best layered cake\u00a0was from Batam Layer Cake<\/strong>. \u00a0True enough, their layer cakes were soft and moist and had a generous portion\u00a0of ingredients\u00a0like\u00a0prunes, cheese and chocolate.<\/p>\n We bought the Batam Layer Cakes from the factory itself, located within the same carpark area as Golden Prawn 933 and 555 seafood restaurants.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The best way to get around is by renting a private car with driver. \u00a0We hired a private car with a driver\u00a0to bring us around Batam. \u00a0Their website is Batam Driver<\/a><\/strong>. This company has a few types of transportation\u00a0ranging from a 7-seater MPV to a \u00a025-seater minibus.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We enjoyed our stay at Batam Radisson Golf & Convention Center Batam (hotel details here<\/a><\/strong><\/span>), and would recommend it for a getaway. \u00a0Apart from Batam Radisson,\u00a0other hotels to consider for the family are:<\/p>\nBatam Radisson Golf and Convention Centre<\/h2>\n
![\"Batam](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Radisson_Batam_Room_1.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Batam](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Radisson_Batam_Room.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Batam](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Radisson_Batam_Suite.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Batam](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Radisson_Batam_Suite_Dining.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Batam](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Radisson_Batam_Bath.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Batam](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Radisson_Golf_Batam_Pool.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Batam](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Radisson_Golf_Batam.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Batam](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Radisson_Batam_Pool.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Batam](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Radisson_Batam_Breakfast.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nLocation of Batam Radisson Hotel<\/h3>\n
Places to Eat<\/h2>\n
<\/h3>\n
Piccola Stella d’Almanna<\/h3>\n
![\"Halal](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Piccola_Stella_DAlmanna.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Top](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Wood-fire-pizza-halal-batam.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Piccola](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Best_Pizza_Batam.png\")
<\/p>\nBarelang Seafood Centre<\/h3>\n
![\"Barelang](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Barelang_Seafood_01.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Fresh](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Barelang_Fresh_Seafood.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Seafood](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Barelang_Seafood_Batam.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Seafood](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Barelang_Seafood_Centre.png\")
<\/p>\n\n
Things to Do in Batam<\/h2>\n
<\/h3>\n
Take a scenic drive along\u00a0the Barelang Bridge<\/h3>\n
![\"Getaway](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Batam-Getaway.png\")
<\/h2>\nBe spoilt for choice\u00a0at Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall<\/h3>\n
![\"Nagoya](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Nagoya_Hill_Batam.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Nagoya](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/AW-rootbeer-float.png\")
\nThose 80’s kids who missed A&W can reminisce the past with an A&W<\/strong> root beer float in a chilled\u00a0glass mug.<\/p>\n![\"Halal](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Panties-Pizza-Batam.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Nagoya](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Nagoya_Hill_Mall_Batam.png\")
<\/p>\nEase your aches with a pampering spa and massage<\/h3>\n
![\"Top](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Majesty-Spa-Batam.png\")
<\/p>\nLast minute shopping at Batam Centre Mega Mall<\/h3>\n
![\"Batam](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Mega_Mall_Batam.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Shopping](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Batam_Centre_Mega_Mall.png\")
<\/p>\nBuy Batam Layer Cake as souvenirs<\/h3>\n
![\"Kek](\"http:\/\/www.adventureswithfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Batam-Layer-Cakes.png\")
<\/p>\n\n
Other Things to Do in Batam<\/h3>\n
\n
Getting Around Batam<\/h2>\n
Places to Stay in Batam<\/h2>\n
Near Batam Center Ferry Terminal and Nagoya town area<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n
Near Nongsa\u00a0Ferry Terminal<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n
Near Sekupang Ferry Terminal<\/strong><\/h4>\n