We enjoyed a one night getaway at Turi Beach Resort which was awarded “Best Resort in Batam” by the Batam Tourism Office in 2014. Located at the northeastern corner of Batam island, Turi Beach Resort is just a short 30 minute hop across the Straits of Singapore, making it a perfect beach getaway for city folks to relax and recharge.
Our weekend escape started at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal. There are two ways to get to Turi Beach Resort in Batam. One way is from Singapore's Harbourfront Ferry Terminal to Batam's Sekupang Ferry Terminal. The second way is from Singapore's Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal to Batam's NongsaPura Ferry Terminal.
We chose Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal because both the sea journey and the land transfer from NongsaPura Ferry Terminal to Turi Beach Resort are much shorter. Using Batam Fast ferry service, we arrived at Batam's NongsaPura Ferry Terminal in just 30 minutes.
After clearing immigration, golfers can launch into their game at Tamarin Golf Club straightaway with one of these red hot Ferraris 😄
A ten minute shuttle bus ride took us from NongsaPura Ferry Terminal to Turi Beach Resort.
The road leading to Turi Beach Resort is lined on both sides with a green wall of arching bamboos.
The Delightful Durian Elephant is the centrepiece at Turi Beach Resort's spacious airy lobby. Turi Beach Resort bought this at the auction of Asian Elephant Foundation to raise funds for Asian elephant conservation.
The covered bridge linking the lobby to the cottages of Tirta Wing.
First things first. Our first business after checking in was lunch at Taming Sari Café. It's a bright and spacious space serving Indonesian as well as Chinese and Western dishes.
From the window seats we enjoyed a warm sea breeze and splendid view of the sea.
This was my first time tasting Rijstaffel, a heritage Indonesian dish with Dutch influence. It is basically items from the Indonesian menu served with nasi kunyit rice beautifully presented in banana leaves.
Everything in the Rijstaffel was nice and the most memorable was this beef rendang ala Turi. It was tender with a firm spring. We can smell the mild spice aroma with every bite. The taste was well balanced mildly sweet spicy, so most people will be able to enjoy this rendang. (The Rijstaffel requires pre-booking.)
Executive Chef Dani and his crew make the beef rendang with spices from scratch, frying the beef in spices and coconut milk for at least 5 hours till the curry is reduced to a paste. Made in the traditional way, every fibre in the beef is deeply infused with spice flavours and aroma which are released with every bite.
We rounded up our delicious taste of Indonesia on a sweet note with creations by pastry Chef Eva.
The best thing to do after our sumptuous and scrumptious lunch was to stroll around and enjoy the beautiful land and sea around the sprawling 7.7 hectare resort. The entire sea facing resort is enveloped in leafy tropical green. These are the sea facing Tirta Wing cottages - you can get from your air conditioned suite to the warm white sands in 59 seconds flat 😄
Green lawns, shady leafy trees, swaying palms, sandy beach, the blue horizon, sound of gentle lapping waves, the smell of the sea, the sea breeze softly touching our skin.
It's a wonderful escape from city life, even if it is just for a night or a few days.
How we want to live is up to us.
Turi Beach Resort is one of Batam's best sea sports centres. There's jet skiing, kayaking, snorkeling, fly boarding, banana boat, parasailing and more.
Fly boarding makes a good backdrop for a beach photo. (Out there on the horizon is the famous 220 metre long Turi jetty which was under renovation during our stay.)
The Jack Nicklaus designed Tamarin Golf Club is reputedly relatively challenging. Being a nine hole course, it is great also for novice golfers and families.
While admiring the beautiful greens of Tamarin golf course, a Batam Fast ferry boat trundled up the channel towards NongsaPura Ferry Terminal.
After a tour, it was time to check into our rooms in the Riani Wing. The deluxe rooms were spacious, clean and smelled fresh, all basic amenities were provided, and all fixtures were working perfectly. (My pet peeve in hotels is stale smelling rooms and was pleased that my room at Turi smelled so fresh and clean 👍 )
Free wifi with good signal strength was available in the rooms, lobby, restaurants.
We met at the in house Nogusaya Teppanyaki and Grill for dinner. (Taming Sari Cafe was serving seafood BBQ buffet.)
I always look forward to teppanyaki meals because I love to watch the chefs in action.
We called it a night after a 3 hour long dinner of teppanyaki beef, chicken, fish and prawns 😄 The sweet zesty pancake and ice cream dessert was memorable - be sure to order this when you are at Nogusaya Teppanyaki.
I was dead tired by the end of dinner, so I sunk into bed after a good shower. The thick mattress was firm and I slept like a log till I was woken up by the sound of pattering rain splashing on leaves at dawn. I would prefer to wake up to the chirping of birds but it was raining the morning we were in Turi Beach Resort. Which also meant that I missed Turi's famous, spectacular sunrise, this round 😂 Better luck next round, hopefully.
We had buffet breakfast at Taming Sari cafe to start our day. The spread consisted of local and Western breakfast dishes. Quality was good. Ingredients were fresh, flavours were balanced with nothing too salty or sweet. The food was also not overly greasy. The brewed coffee was good - the blend had nice body and robust flavour. I am happy to have breakfast here.
Our stomachs filled, we were out to enjoy the scenic beach again.
This was the view of Turi Beach Resort as we took a walk on the beach westwards towards Nongsa Point Marina.
It takes just 15 minutes of leisurely walking and stopping for photos to get to from Turi Beach Resort to Nongsa Point Marina.
Beautiful boats from around the world at Nongsa Point Marina.
Luxurious sea facing villas at Nongsa Point Marina.
While walking the beautiful grounds of Nongsa Point Marina, we bumped into Executive Chef Koh.
Chef Koh whipped up lunch for us.
Lunch at Nongsa Point Marina's well appointed Selera Restaurant which serves Indonesian, Chinese and Western cuisine. Selera Restaurant is bright and the open verandahs let the sea breeze in on all sides. It has a really nice, relaxing luxury resort feel.
Chef Koh's elegant modern interpretation of the Rijsttafel is a fusion of Indonesian and Chinese dishes. There's ayam penyet, otak otak as well as mini yam ring and stir fried beef. The portions were just right and the food was delicious with an interesting mix of textures and flavours. (The rijsttafel needs pre-booking.)
Chef Koh's fried rice was so... tasty. The rice grains had nice nutty tender mouthfeel, well infused with mild savoury flavours to complement the rice's sweetness. It had a bit of toasty wok hei and was not overly greasy at all.
👌 Pro tip: If you stay in Turi Beach Resort, do pop by at Nongsa Point Marina's Selera Restaurant for lunch or dinner to maximise your stay 😄
We took the Batam Fast ferry from Nongsapura Ferry Terminal to take us to Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal. The sea journey took 30 minutes.
👉 We had a good relaxing time at Turi Beach Resort and also Nongsa Point Marina. I think Batam is a good hassle free weekend / holiday escape which is highly accessible from Singapore. There is no stressful Causeway or Tuas jam like JB 😄
Thank you Antonio H. Canovas, GM of Nongsa Resorts for your hospitality.
Screen grab from Google Map
Nongsa Resorts include Turi Beach Resort, Nongsa Point Marina & Resort, Nongsa Village, Tamarin Golf & Footgolf Club, Nongsapura Ferry Terminal and Infinite Studios.
Turi Beach Resort
Address: Jalan Hang Lekiu Nongsa, Batam, Riau, Indonesia
Tel: +62 778 761080
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