Cassia Bintan is Banyan Tree’s latest offering of the Cassia branded serviced-apartment concept - characterised by a fresh, contemporary design and a marine blue colour theme redolent of the neighbouring South China Sea. With a wide range of services and facilities, guests can personalise their stay – from board games and outdoor activities, to in-room cooking.
Bintan is a tourist island situated on the Riau Islands – some way north of Jakarta and around one and a half hours by boat from Singapore. Its location and accessibility have made this island a favourite destination for Singaporeans and other Asian holiday-makers. Established in the mid-1990s, the area has also become popular with European travellers and, more recently, has caught the attention of the Indonesian market.
As the younger generation began to explore new places, the island expanded its target market from the niche luxury market to also include the millennial travellers. Banyan Tree responded to this new trend by launching Cassia, which was first introduced in Phuket, Thailand in 2015, and which opened its second location at Cassia Bintan last year.
Prior to Cassia, the group had already established Laguna Golf, Angsana and Banyan Tree on the island. While Angsana was designed to be a nature and family-oriented resort and Banyan Tree to be a luxurious leisure resort, Cassia comes with the different concept of a holiday apartment. Here, all the guest rooms have a living room, a terrace and a kitchenette so the floor space is bigger. They range from a one bedroom apartment between 42-52sqm, a Loft at 52-62sqm, and a two bedroom apartment with a floor space of 72sqm,
Cassia is designed for those who are young and young at heart, so the interior is very modern. It has touches of geometric patterns inspired by traditional local textile patterns. There are contemporary artworks in the living rooms and bedrooms depicting endangered Indonesian animals like the komodo and the one-horned rhinoceros. The colour scheme is predominantly white and turquoise, inspired by the clouds and the sea.
When entering each apartment, the guests come into the common room, with a living and a dining space, which is connected to the kitchenette. This area then connects to the bedrooms. The kitchenette has an array of fixtures and appliances – including a sink, electric kettle, coffee maker, electric stove and its exhaust hood and a toaster oven – and comes complete with turquoise cooking ware that matches the interior colour scheme.
Lofts are only available on the ground. They come with a private garden and some even have direct access to the beach. The lofts have a mezzanine above the dining area, overlooking the living room and out to the garden. The mezzanine area has an extended living area with a day-bed and bean bag, which gives extra capacity. With all this space, guests can just relax in their rooms or maybe have an in-house gathering.
The central meeting point at Cassia is in the lobby building which has a number of general facilities including the reception desk, swimming pool area and Vista, an all-day dining restaurant. As the hotel lets guests prepare meals in their apartments, there is a corner shop called Market23, where guests can buy cooking ingredients, instant food, fruit, snacks and a choice of drinks. The colourful murals on every wall make this area an iconic photo spot.
Cassia Bintan is located in the same compound as its sister brands; Angsana and Banyan Tree. They all share a serene private beach in a small bay in the Lagoi area in North Bintan, facing the South China Sea. You can enjoy the white sandy beach by taking a ride on a quad bike, or simply chilling on the gently sloping beach. And once you’re in the sea, the clear water is perfect for snorkelling and for water sports with banana boats or jet-skis. Back onshore, guests can enjoy a wide choice of culinary experiences by visiting Lotus Café and Xana Beach Club at Angsana, or trying Indonesian savouries at the Treetops restaurant and tasty Thai dishes at Saffron, both at Banyan Tree.
The beautiful scenery and built environment provide a perfect backdrop to Banyan Tree’s environmentally themed activities where guests can enjoy hands-on experiences like turtle release, soap making, jungle trekking and the famous Mangrove tour. Cassia Bintan’s serviced-apartments offer a new concept in beach vacations where you can personalise your way to relax and to have fun.