Woda Villa & Spa

I recently stayed at Woda Villa Batam and found the experience to be a mix of positives and areas for improvement. The highlight of the stay was the excellent service — staff were warm, helpful, and attentive throughout. That said, the villa’s cleanliness could be improved, and there were quite a number of mosquitoes during the stay. Some of the facilities and items were not well-maintained, which affected the comfort level. With some upgrades in cleanliness and maintenance, Woda Villa could offer a much more enjoyable experience to match the great hospitality of the staff.

Firstly, the good points: the staff are very nice. Polite and friendly. The location is within 5-10 minutes walk of restaurants, warungs and shops. Now, the bad points: the rooms back on to some external disco venue. Loud music thumps through the night, shuts off in the early hours, then starts again at around 07:00 AM! Very hard to sleep. This was mid-week, not weekend. Not exactly peaceful. The rooms are lacking mirrors. The bathroom is lacking light. Hard to shave / wear make-up with poor lighting. The shower is just a hose on a stand. It doesn’t attach to the wall. Can’t have a standing shower. Weird. Hot water is warm only, not hot. Hairdryer not working. The private pool is cold. The bed is uncomfortable, old and hard mattress and the sheets are itchy. WiFi is slow. The breakfast is sparse. You have to order the night before - that’s right, you have to choose whether you want rice, noodles or western the night before, whether you want tea or coffee (just one cup). Never known anything like this before in a hotel. It’s not a small B&B, it’s a hotel. I want to choose my breakfast in the morning and sometimes I like tea, sometimes coffee. Why must I choose the night before? And why can’t I have two coffees if I want? It’s just cheap filter coffee. It should be free-flow, buffet style, like every other hotel. So weird. Other than that, the place is in desperate need of restoration / redecoration. It’s tired and worn out in a lot of places. Decking with holes in it and warning signs put up. I had a massage and, while it was good, it lasted only 80 mins and not the 90 mins I paid for. Last year I went to another hotel with private pool, beginning with “M” in Nongsa. That place is about 40 SGD per night more expensive than Woda Villa - but it is well worth it. In my opinion and being generous, Woda Villa is a 600-800k IDR per night place (if you can put up with all the shortcomings) - but if you’re paying more than that and/or want a comfortable night’s sleep - just go elsewhere.

Although the drinks and food was terrible and unpalatable and the amenities was disappointing, the staff were polite and friendly.