[nono1973]

Originally Posted by localbest

Although the hotel is new but pricing wise still feel a bit steep. The cheapest of the room which is the standard room of 288k cost much more than Lailai hotel standard room at 200k.

But Lailai superior large room only cost 260k which could be much spacious than the standard room of the city central hotel.

Hmm..i have heard a lot about Lai Lai before. I havent stayed there before,so i couldnt make a fair comparison as yet.Will be looking to stay there for at least for one night in the near future,hehehe...

Originally Posted by localbest

Unless the price is made cheaper, or else I doubt it could attract people to stay in it. Furthermore, new hotel may always tend to have problem with building defects in hotel room like sink choke, unfinished work, etc. The facilities in the hotel sometimes may not be fully ready yet for guest to enjoy.

Therefore there's always a pro and con in staying in any newly constructed hotel but for me, I would try new hotel room if the room is "reasonably" priced, hehe which is the most important factor

True,true...i stayed there for my 1st night already so much issue due to their inexperience. I guess it probably takes a bit of time for them to get adjusted when it is still new.

Honestly,when i choose to stay in a 2 star hotel,my standard and expectation already drop by 50%,hehehe...but i am actually staying at their 588k junior suite room the last time and yet...

Originally Posted by localbest

1) Must have queen/king bed and not twin single beds.

I think most Batam hotels would not have an issue on this,hehehe..

Originally Posted by localbest

2) In-room massage a must to have as I am a sucker for massage be it erotic or non hanky panky ...

I believe we share similar thoughts on this one...hehehe...

Originally Posted by localbest

3) Preferably having a room service food order cos sometimes lazy to go out.

Know why i have so much "combat ration" in my last trip? The room service closes at 10pm!!

Originally Posted by localbest

4) Room must be spacious enough at least more than 300 square feet inclusive of toilet space, so can fxxx around in the room,hehe...

Oh,to me room size doesnt matter. But must have a desk and chair becos i need it for a comp. And i dont like too big a room,air con sometime cannot cover all parts of the room and refuse to cool the room enough for more than 2 pax,hehehe...

Smaller rooms are good for playing games too,hehehe...

Originally Posted by localbest

5) Must have many many provision shops or makan places nearby for supper.

Definitely a must for me for provision shop! No need many,just 1 provision that sells what i need will do. I avoid 24hr shops like K-Mart tho,cos they are expensive from my perspective.

As for food,i eat to live,worse come to worse will order Mc or Hotel room service food. As usual,if the situation dont work my way,i work around it. It Batam,food will never be an issue for me 24 hour round the clock,hehehe...

Originally Posted by localbest

6) Reception counter area must have safe deposit box so that all valuable belongings like spare cash, passport, other important items can be kept safely as the safe box require 2 keys to be slot in concurrently in order to lock or unlock the deposit box. One key will be handed to hotel guest and one key kept by reception counter. However, I am not 100% confident with in-room safe deposit box.

I still prefer my personal "safe box". Room safe isnt 100% safe when room service can anyhow enter room when guest are not in (the whole safe can also be stolen). Keeping with the receptionist also not 100% in case they mishandle it,and for the 2 keys safe box...losing one of the key is going to be another problem too.

So i came out with my own personal "safe box",hehehe...it is safest becos only i know its location.

Originally Posted by localbest

7) Must have reasonably good Wi-Fi signal in room, lobby and reception hall.

Hehehe...i rarely need wifi when there is a LAN. But not every Hotel provide a direct Lan connection nowaday.

Originally Posted by localbest

The reason why I would rather put cash as a deposit and would never place passport as a deposit during my check-in is because if the hotel reception made a mistake by returning the wrong passport to the wrong hotel guest, then I think the problem will be unimaginable ²»¿°ÉèÏë. Afraid to go through all the hassle if passport lost and could not get back in time for work end up may lose my job. To me passport is more important than any other assets that I carry during my trip in batam.

3 things i always kept in mind to never lose when i am travelling.

1. Passport
2. Mobile Phone
3. Wallet

And i agree that passport is the most important.Then again, I still keep my passport with the reception tho. Its just a perspective,if i am meant to lose it,i will lose it but i am always equip with the knowledge what to do if i ever were to lose it. This applies to all my travels around the world.

Originally Posted by localbest

Therefore I always consider Lailai hotel and Formosa hotel as a benchmark or point of reference for comparison for 1 star and 3 star hotel respectively.

Agreed with you on Formosa and as for City Central,i am secretly hoping the price will come down,hehehe...just like i have hope for on Da Vienna Hotel in the past. I learn one thing in my last trip,to avoid seeing familiar faces,i need to avoid 2 star hotel,hehehe... almost every working ladies from booking joints that stays in that hotel during my 3D2N stays seems to "know" me.

Originally Posted by localbest

Now I see the reasons why permata indah mami Lely was so firm and non negotiable when come to bargaining the booking price of her high end cewek (1 juta&above) as they can be used to entertain tamu during the evening hours.

Yep,and their girls earns some small tip each time they serve a drinking customer. In one way of another,its a win-win for the mami,the joint and the girls. But do note that their karaoke is pretty rundown,so most time it is frequent by older customers.

Originally Posted by localbest

Bargaining indeed requires some negotiation skill and wayang skill in order to succeed. However, one should not let the outcome of the bargain to affect his mood to enjoy the companionship with the cewek during his stay in batam.

Yes,bargaining definite require some skills and the understanding of the person you are trying to bargain with. The understanding of the business culture and knowing how things work in it is an added advantage too,hehehe...

Originally Posted by localbest

One must always remember that the main purpose to batam is to in search of fun and happiness and not anger and disappointment.

Raising both my hands and legs to agree on this one.

Originally Posted by localbest

There is a popular Chinese saying : " 旧的不去，新的不来 "

If the old doesn't go, the new will not come.

You can't make progress by clinging to old notions...

Also apply to booking girls :

Old batch of girls don't change, new batch of pretty girls are not available...

Exact reason why i like booking joint girls,most are on at least 3 to 6 months contract,once every month i do see at least few new girls from the intervals and it is especially so after this Hari Raya,hehehe...then again,new girls also mean new risk factor. In my last trip,one of my friend got a new girl who serves him exceptionally well perhaps maybe due to her trying to build new customer base and another choose to take an older girl who didnt turn out too well. (old/older here do not refer to age but to the time the girls were working in the joint)

Both old and new girls has some risk factor. My best girl and my worst girl in Batam were both new and both were from MM,hehehe...