Batam Spa Hotels

"My intention here is to provide a 100% fact based, detailed and balanced assessment of the 360° experience of this property. But before we jump in to the details, let me first say that *for the discounted VIP member price* paid on this occasion, we are 100% satisfied with our stay at MAXONE Batam (with one notable exception, see below). A big thank you to the management and team (especially front desk and concierge) for an *almost* perfect 👌🏼 stay. First visited MAXONE Batam six months ago when newly opened. A very positive experience, but my initial impressions were that overall facilities available were quite limited given the ambitious price point. This second stay confirmed my initial observations, after 6 months of operation. Quality of welcome is very good, front desk and concierge extremely professional. Well done 👏🏼. Main public areas and rooms are immaculately clean and well maintained. If you want 100% immaculately clean rooms, this is, however, probably your best choice today in Batam. Linens are top quality, fresh and clean. Abundant and carefully selected pillows. Very large king bed. If your objective is a good sleep, this is pretty much guaranteed. However, we have the following observations that indicate the typical prices asked for the standard Deluxe King rooms are ambitious and too high for what you get: - Breakfast not included - No pool or gym - Deluxe King rooms very narrow and claustrophobic for two people with luggage and shopping (but the bathrooms are a good size) - It's clear from the layout that whoever did the interior design of the Deluxe King rooms is not accustomed to, and does not have appropriate experience of, designing for compact room dimensions - much could be learned from the efficient layout of similarly compact (19m2) rooms in eg Denmark, Sweden, about the optimal use of space. - Unacceptable WiFi connectivity, whether you are a business or leisure traveller. Latency (often over 1000ms) in particular is problematic. Over 100 tests conducted on 5 different devices over 48 hours at different times of day and at all locations at the property. This is clearly a conscious cost based decision by the hotel operator and not a technical limitation, certainly not in a newly constructed property. This is particularly an issue for local business travellers such as myself because 4G/5G cellular connectivity with XL, Telkomsel etc at this location at Jln Sriwijaya / Kampung Pelita is extremely poor and always has been. *Summary and conclusions* We've stayed at almost all 3*, 4* and 5* properties in the Riau Islands over the past 10 years. This includes the two most recent 5* star properties and several newly refurbished 4* star properties in Kota Batam. As a ”user chooser” business owner who travels and works remotely 300+ days a year, I don't have a set ”budget” or ”price range” for hotels and apartments I select. I'm interested in the services and facilities received in relation to the actual price paid (after my usual VIP / frequent traveller discounts). On this occasion, my VIP member prices mean I paid very competitive prices for this stay. As a result I'm 100% satisfied with my stay at MAXONE Batam, with the exception of the WiFi provision which remains unacceptable in such a property given the kind of target customers the property would like to attract as guests."