Stayed in a suite over a long weekend recently. Not cheap (in my opinion) considering it's a 2 night stay for a family of 4 considering this is Batam. But went ahead anyway after reading rave reviews about this hotel in Tripadvisor. The hotel is pretty decent. There was no odour. Suite was big and clean. Gym and pool was ok. Staff was friendly. And it's convenient to get to the mall. Breakfast was a mess (crowded, food was not replenished quick enough, service was slow, etc) as expected given the long weekend. The only compliant i had was that the concierge did not follow up on my request to change the ferry timing even though they said they will. This resulted in a hiccup to on my return trip and i had to head to the ferry office to get the issue rectified. I would have appreciated if the concierge has given me early heads up.

Overall, the hotel stay was within my expectation. But the hassle to get there and back is a nightmare. There was no order nor crowd control at the ferry terminal and everyone is trying to squeeze their way through. I felt like my family and I are refugees trying to take the last ferry out of the place. I don't think i will be making any return trip ever again even if the hotel is very good simply because Batam is a not an ideal tourist destination for families (this is my personal opinion and no offence intended).

ROOM
Stayed 2 nights in Superior Balcony (Room 312) but nothing much to see from the balcony except the main road entrance and part of the swimming pool which is also on the same floor.
My neighbour next door has chairs in the balcony but not in my room.
Can see part of the swimming pool from the room but the shower room is just beside my room balcony, which I felt rather insecure as anybody could have just climb into our balcony from the shower area. So I had balcony door locked almost all the time.
I regretted taking the room with balcony end up I paying extra for insecurity. Probably thats the reason why they did not put any chairs in my balcony in the first place.
Other than that, the room is spacious and has modern facilities (aircon and lights on/off by tapping, no switches)
Clear HBO channels available in the room.
Reliable safe and extra pillows in the cupboard.

SERVICE
Almost all the staff are friendly and always ready for a smile.
Breakfast has decent variety of local and western food selection.

LOCATION
Abt 15min drive to Batam Ferry Terminal.
Abt 5min walk to Nagoyah Hill Shopping Centre, where you can find local and western food, spa centres and even a movie theater!

Almost every review here is from Singaporeans so a review from a 'westerner' may provide a different outlook and be helpful

First I would question why go to Batam. From what I saw there is no reason to go for leisure, unless perhaps you come from Singapore to do some cheap shopping and have some cheap Spa treatment. If you are in Batam on business then fine, but if you have no need to come then spend your hard earned money in a nicer resort type island such as (parts of) Bali - if Indonesia beckons - or Samui/Langkawi/Penang if not

The shopping mall every reviewer mentions is conveniently located a 3 or 4 minute walk away down a safe footpath and it is indeed worthy of mention - because there is nothing else to do in the vicinity of the hotel. The mall is big and there are plenty of food outlets, there is even an internet cafe and there are plenty of ATMs. However this is not a mall a la Singapore/KL/Bangkok - the shops are local and the merchandise of low quality. Nobody speaks English. Whereas most westerners could probably while away half a day, maybe some ladies a whole day, in the mega malls of the previously mentioned capital cities I don't think this would be possible in Batam

A short taxi ride from the hotel is an area of bars suitable for western visitors. All are very smokey, most are 'girly' and some looked rather seedy, at least from the outside. I tried 4 or 5 of the bars, some were pleasant enough, others not welcoming

Turning to the hotel specifically, the room was large and adequately furnished. The bathroom was also large with an efficient shower. There was some noise from the corridor, mainly room attendants shouting from one room to another as they were working. The breakfast was an enormous spread of almost entirely Asian style food, this obviously because 99% of the guests are Asian. The hotel staff spoke acceptable English and were helpful and efficient

The hotel has a night club which is akin to a meat market. Regular visitors to the far east will understand exactly the meaning behind that comment, and for this reason the venue is suitable only for those with broad minds who accept the way in which Asian men entertain themselves in such establishments

So to conclude, the hotel itself is fine, but do yourself a favour and go somewhere else other than Batam

Spend a short getaway with my girlfriend at I-hotel, Room was big and modern, the pool was small but lucky there were only just both of us during the time, I could imagine when its crowded, probably have to 'queue' for a dip !!
There was a spa with couple package and the massage was good, its 5mins walk from Nagoya hill mall, with many eateries, spas and a hyper market for groceries, shuttle bus is also available but please check the schedules. Breakfast was cold and a let down, a good stay overall.