Hehehe...thinking of buying a new home down the road in a few years time,hehehe...hence i am checking its pricing market. Harbour Bay residence thats just beside Harbour Bay Ferry terminal...
Comparing with Citra Plaza,Formosa Residence which is near to Citywalk mall.
I go to Batam to have my kind of fun.
One bedroom cost more than 1M Rupiah,, very expensive. Maybe they are targeting Singaporean I believe.
I guess such people are everywhere. Trying their luck to con others money. In TBK, theres this Chinese local chap. At coffeeshop and makan place most of the time. Will approach u and ask for money too.
On my first visit, after being greeted by a number of people in streets and malls (not only ladies) I thought "Hey this Indo people is so kind! So many want to speak with me!".
I even welcomed an Indo couple in my room at Formosa (she with hijab and speaking fluent English, he silent and only smiling because did not know English). I met them on the Barelang bridge, and she started to talk to me.
Surely I was so excited that my Western Sex Appeal was so strong, to catch the attention of that lady.
The day after, when she started to SMS me writing "Can we come to your room to play?", I was not sure how to interpret that, but I thought I just met one of the very few swinger couples with cuckold husband in Indonesia. Even more interesting, as they were obeying strict Islamic dressing rules.
After a few SMS, I accepted. They came to my room. I offered Coca Cola and I cared to sit opening the legs showing my best protruding from my pants.
She did not react to my attempts to sit closer, and the husband kept on smiling, just smiling dully. She did not react as I wanted, but she started proposing business in Batam and offering the service of her husband as "guide" for anything in Batam.
I will go against mainstream, but I liked it more on my first visits. Poor, essential, even misplaced as a big structure mostly empty in the middle of nothing. It made me feel entering a remote world, wild Fronteer.
Like a cowboy town in the past (which i prefer)? Hehehe... What's good if they turn Harbour Bay to become like Singapore shopping malls. Other than pricing, most Batam's mall cannot beat Singapore's mall in term of varieties,branding and at times,qualities too. I dont shop in Sillypore,and if they are going to turn it into a mall like those in Sillypore,hehehe...i will just give it a pass.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Black Page
That's a big bet. How many people who can afford to pay a Marriott, even with lower rates adjusted to Indonesia, will come to visit Batam? Maybe foreign executives coming for business. But is business in Batam taking a downturn up?
My last trip (Sept),i visit Swiss Bel hotel (Harbour Bay). Believe me,they have their ways of surviving when they price themselves to the sky. The visitors or guests of the hotel were different than that of those staying in 2 to 3 star hotels. They serve these minorities (the richer ones or those who are looking for class).
You know,those mentalities like :
"Hey! i'm driving a Lamborghini here,what the fuck Avanza car are you driving there?"
Quote:
Originally Posted by Black Page
In any case, if this hotel will be successul, it will attract more people with big money to spend. Not really the kind of people who LIKES to spend hours in investigating where to find a taxi which costs 2 SGD less than the one waiting in front of the door, just for the pleasure of finding the cheapest and saving some few dollars, even if it costs hours of investigation. (ahemm... yes, I am teasing you). This kind of visitors will simply push up prices of everything, as drivers might see a request for 100k for a short ride accepted without any complaint.
For those who are not really looking for the real value and may not know a place like Batam well enough, will mostly stay in Hotels like Marriot, Swiss Bel (Harbour Bay), Montigo Resort, Nagoya Hill Hotel, etc.
Another thing is perspective. I have brought friends from the 3rd world countries like Philippines,Vietnam, Thailand,Malaysia, India ,China etc to Batam before, they didnt like Batam as much as my friends from Korea,Japan, Portugal, UK and some other 1st world countries.
The summarized feedback gathered from my friends who were from 3rd world countries were, their countries already has what Batam has to offer, if not more. The overall ambiance is similar.
If i have a friend called Bill Gate going to Batam with me, i doubt he would like to stay in Formosa Hotel (given a choice) with me ,hehehe... so if i have a Bill Gate look-alike friends,i might house him in Marriot tho.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Black Page
I am not happy to see Marriott opening in Batam.
Neither do i,hehehe...not that i cant afford to stay in Marriot but more of the value of what Marriot can offer me. I can spend S$218 a night at Woda Resort hotel, and/or nearly S$400 in Montigo resort, but this 2 places offered me many things Marriot (as well as other hotels in Batam) wouldnt be able to offer me. But on the other hand, what Marriot offers me, Formosa (and many other hotels in Batam too) might probably do better,if not more.
Then again,thats just me. Other bros may differ.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Black Page
Don't do that in Formosa. I don't want to read that my hotel was destroyed by a big fire due to a group of imprudent Singaporeans.
(what happens if one fires a firework in the room of a big hotel in Singapore, say Marina Bay Sands?)
Actually this is purely a joke,fireworks in room and fireworks out room is different. Firework out-room needs to use fire,fireworks in-room no need to,hehehe...
Fireworks in-room = bonking and ejaculation inside room
Fireworks out-room = physically firing some firecrackers outside hotel
One bedroom cost more than 1M Rupiah,, very expensive. Maybe they are targeting Singaporean I believe.
When i see S$ there on the brochure,i assume they are already targeting Singaporean (or foreigners residing in Singapore). Applies for Formosa Residence, Harbour Bay Residence and Citra Plaza Residence. There was another brochure on land property which i dump it away. That one not in S$ tho (and much cheaper), but not meant for foreigners.
Formosa Residence basic apartment is about S$96k, Harbor Bay Residence is about S$85k and Citra Plaza one cost around S$40k plus. Then again, (for Citra Plaza) will have to look at the basic room size,the total number of people living in a single block (after-sale) and sharing the block's public compound, as well as its amenities when its being shared too. Its a Mega-block.
Nagoya Mansion and those apartments surrounding Harbour Bay ferry terminal used to cost about S$65k when they were new,hehehe...but look at the pricing today. It has drop downward by about 30% (due to their lease,i guess),hehehe...so i concluded that those new apartments that has "already been built" (or almost finished) and started selling isnt suitable for myself to buy, even if i have the spare cash,hehehe...
Anyway,i am definitely just observing for now. No plans to buy any Batam property anytime soon.
(as always,i am targeting not to pay for it,hehehe...so this will take me time)
Quote:
Originally Posted by hawkeye007
Actually, in Indonesian terms, 1M rupiah means 1 miliar rupiah, or 1 billion rupiah...