Step Aside, Maldives. There's A Luxury Private Island Paradise Just Off Batam - And This Is What It's Like To Holiday There

Private island, charter seaplane, eco-luxe surrounds, and plenty of Instagram opps. And we only had to go on a two-hour journey to get to this pristine private resort island, located off Batam. But a vacay at Bawah Reserve is nothing like what Singaporeans know of Batam holidays. This eight-month-old private island checks all the right boxes on a bucket list worthy of royalty (or celebrities). You’re in your own world, sorta — after all, only a maximum of 70 guests can stay on Bawah, which makes you kinda feel like you’re part of an exclusive club. You may even find yourself hobnobbing on a sunset cruise with a World Cup player from Switzerland and his girlfriend (true story).

It’s the sort of getaway where money is the last thing on your mind...

…Once you’ve paid for the holiday upfront, that is. Bawah Reserve is an all-inclusive private island resort where everything — transportation, all meals (except alcohol), all activities (except for diving), a fully-stocked mini bar, and unlimited spa treatments — is included in the package price. Room rates start at US$1,780 (S$2,428) for two people per night. It costs a pretty penny, but hey, it includes the ticket for the seaplane flight (an adventure in itself, but we’ll get to that shortly), which in the Maldives can cost up to US$500 per pax.

The pampering starts even before you get here. In fact, you’re treated like royalty the moment you leave home.

Every booking comes with a chauffeur service that picks you up from your doorstep to Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal (and on the return trip too). At the terminal, a perky Bawah rep hands us our ferry tickets, and accompanies us on the 30-min ride to Batam Centre. We get off the boat and instead of joining the line with the hoi polloi, we’re whisked off to the VIP immigration clearance where everything’s settled quicker than you can say, “The queue is damn long!” It’s a 15-min car ride to Batam’s Hang Nadim Airport, though it feels shorter because we’re inundating our guide with questions about the next leg of our journey, and possibly the most exciting yet — our 80-min flight on a charter seaplane.

You take off from tarmac, and land on a water runway. If this amphibious seaplane isn’t the epitome of cool, we don’t know what is. When you book your luxurious stay at Bawah, there’s a field on the form for you to fill in your weight. Weight, what? This is for the purposes of the seaplane’s capacity limit (luggage allowance is capped at 15kg per person as well). You’re weighed again at the Batam airport upon check in, so don’t even think about lying.

Once we’re finally on the seaplane that seats about eight to 10, we’re greeted by the jovial pilot (who flies barefoot, by the way). No amount of frequent flyer miles collected will prepare you for your virgin seaplane experience. For starters, you’re given ear plugs (it gets loud in here) and a foldable fan. There’s no aircon in the plane, but the pilot tells us “we’ll fly to 7,000 feet to cool you off” [via air vents]. Natural aircon. Whee!

Of course, there are no inflight TV screens on board, but all you need to do is look out the window for entertainment. The flight is mostly smooth, though we do get sweaty palms during a bout of turbulence. We constantly replay what our guide had told us in the car about the safety of the seaplane: “Touch wood, if anything happens, at most it lands in the water, like it’s supposed to, right?” Soon enough, we begin our descent and this is where it gets really fun. It’s hard to miss Bawah and its acres of untouched forestry and the surrounding sparkling blue water with corals peeking from beneath. The landing in itself is an experience. The pilot circles the plane around the island a couple of times (“for photo opps”) before he finds a sweet spot on the water to arrive with a big splash.

“Welcome to windy Bawah!” our personal host hollers as we disembark the plane. Guests are each assigned a personal host who’s like your personal (younger, friendlier) Alfred who do everything from help plan your itinerary to bespoke experiences (more on that later). From ‘airport’ to room, the journey — down this jetty and a short buggy ride through the resort — takes all of five minutes.

The resort has 35 eco-villas — some cocooned by the island’s greenery, others merely steps away from the powder white sandy beaches. Located in the Anambas Archipelago, Bawah Reserve is among Indonesia’s first marine conservation areas, something that attracted the British-born, Singapore-based businessman owner of the islands to acquire the cluster of previously uninhabited six islands in the first place.

There are no room numbers at Bawah, just the names of the guests written Survivor-style on wood panels. These hang outside our private garden that leads to our uber-spacious safari tented luxury villa with a sprawling beach-facing patio, just steps to the beach. Life could be worse.

Instead of walls, sturdy safari tents line the room, so the cool breeze from outside seeps in and the gentle lull of the crashing waves can always be heard. Averse to heat? You’ll be happy to know that there’s aircon, artfully hidden behind the bed, under the mosquito net. Talk about having the best of both worlds.

Bawah is all about sustainability, so bamboo and other recycled materials are used to build each of Bawah’s ultra-luxe villas.

We were initially slightly aghast to learn that there’s no TV in rooms, so we arrived ready with a phone full of Netflix shows downloaded. Turns out, TV was the last thing on our minds. After all, we found ourselves short of time with a whole host of activities available. Water sports? There’s snorkeling, kayaking, sailing, and the totes Instagrammable stand-up paddling (pictured) on offer.

Photo: Bawah Reserve

Step aside, Maldives. Snorkelling in Bawah, which is a designated marine conservation area (so fishing is illegal), is just as spectacular. Spotted in the water on a snorkel trip: clownfish and parrot fish. A perk of holidaying in a private luxury escape like Bawah? The crowds aren’t thronging here, so snorkelling instructor-to-guests ratio are kept low.

Photo: Bawah Reserve

Indulge in a spa treatment every day at Aura, the resort’s wellness epicentre, if you like. The package price comes with unlimited spa treatments, after all (but don’t forget: the staff and the number of hours in a day are limited, so it’s not cool to demand, like, three massages a day). There are also daily yoga, pilates and meditation classes held at Aura’s totes-’grammable wellness pavilion.

There’s no wi-fi in public areas (only in rooms). But take it from one social media addict to another, it’s really easy to be coaxed into getting disconnected with the outside world when you’re here.

The folks here weren’t kidding when they said whatever you want, you can request for over here in Bawah. While the resort has three F&B outlets — a jetty-side bar, a beachside joint and a treetop restaurant and bar — there are unique gourmet experiences you shouldn’t miss out on as well. Like this specially-prepared picnic brunch on an island that’s yours and yours alone to enjoy.

Our host picks us up from our doorstep in a boat and whisks us to the private Turtle Beach that’s 15 minutes away for our picnic, which comes replete with a full three-course meal (order your menu of choice the day before) and even a sun lounger thoughtfully set up by the staff. Great for pretending like we’re on a Survivor reward challenge.

We requested for breakfast to be set up in, not our villa, but an available overwater bungalow, just for kicks. Of course the ever-accommodating staff here said okay. How will we ever return to the hustle and bustle of normal life without a personal butler?

There are plenty of stories about this cluster of islands that’s rich in history, way before Bawah resort came to be. There’s no better way to learn about it than a sunset boat ride around the pristine islands and beaches, where the water is so clear, you don’t even have to get wet to spot the amazing marine life in those turquoise waters. Plenty of fun, and even more content for the 'gram.

Our guide Didi, a Batam native, regales us with stories about the history and stories of Bawah on the sunset cruise. Be nice and he’ll even point out the owner’s sprawling private villa that’s perched atop an islet, which can accommodate a party of up to 20 people once completed. The villa may also be up for rent for private parties and events once completed, and we hear it’s perfect for weddings.

Each room comes with a hiking map for trails around Bawah. Being the intrepid explorers that we are, we took the longest trail, which is about 30 minutes one way and takes you to the hilltop of the main island for this amazing view.

But don’t expect nicely paved walkways, a la MacRitchie Reservoir or Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. The rustic trails here are marked by spray-painted markings on trees. And don't worry - a sign like this can only be found at the peak of the trail, where common sense will tell you that you shouldn't teeter too close to the edge anyway.

Don’t leave without taking a #Jettygram at Bawah.

This trip was made possible by Bawah Reserve (https://www.bawahreserve.com/). All pictures taken with a Canon EOS M6.

Photos: Jasmine Teo