With the opening of a new direct route from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal in Singapore, getting to Desaru Coast via ferry can be a quicker and more hassle-free option than driving. However, I made the mistake of assuming that this route operates daily when in fact, it only operates on selected days (namely weekends).
Having already reserved our accommodation at Anantara Desaru Resort & Villas in advance, my husband and I had no choice but to extend our vacation by a day to accommodate the ferry schedule. As such, we took the opportunity to book a one-night stay at this hotel (bought via Trip.com) that seems to be quite a favourite among Singaporeans, presumably because it is the only one with a direct connection to the family-friendly Adventure Waterpark Desaru Coast attraction. If you’re new to Trip.com, you can sign up with my referral code here and receive up to $20 worth of new user promo codes (:
Alighting from the Batam Fast ferry at Desaru Coast Ferry Terminal, we promptly boarded a free shuttle bus that made stops at the three main hotels there (Anantara, Hard Rock, Westin) and a few other places of interest, including Desaru Beach. This made it really convenient to explore the area and dine at other hotels’ restaurants if we wanted to!
- Inclusions:
- 1-night stay in Rock Royalty Room
- Rock Royalty Lounge access
- Breakfast and evening cocktails (as part of club lounge access)
- Spent: SGD$10.14 + $292.87 in Trip coins
Check-in
The open-air reception area on level 3 was rather busy when we arrived. Safuang, one of the helpful roving reception staff, approached us to assist. Upon finding out that our room had club lounge access, he proceeded to usher us to the Rock Royalty Lounge on level 6 for our check-in.
At the lounge, I was grateful that we could comfortably sit and wait with a drink in hand as our room wasn’t ready yet. The staff checking us in informed that we could pick one amenity as part of the perks of the hotel’s free-to-join Unity by Hard Rock loyalty programme – we went with the 1000-points option.
Room
Our room was located on the same floor as the Rock Royalty Lounge, the topmost floor of the hotel. Aesthetics wise, the room was simply designed and furnished, except for the elaborate and colourful wall mural. There were fascinating elements of music incorporated, like the treble clef soap dish, as well as guitar embellishments on the sheets and pillow cases. I thought the ombré-hued curtains were lovely and unique too.
In terms of cleanliness, everything was fairly hygienic besides the fact that there were ants around the sink and in the drawer containing the sugar packets. We also noticed that the room was very damp when we first entered. Although it did get to a more tolerable humidity level by late evening, it generally felt like there was too much moisture in the air.
Given the proximity of our room to the main lobby area and the fact that it was facing Adventure Waterpark, it was expectedly noisy. With some sound dampening from the windows, the noises sort of melded together to form a background of indistinct buzzing spiked with the occasional scream. We weren’t too affected by this but if you prefer quieter rooms, do try asking for those in the blocks further away from these crowded spots.
All the items in the mini-bar were free-of-charge, including the Twisties snacks that my husband utterly enjoyed. Turndown service was provided upon request and came with bookmark amenity sets placed on the awesomely firm bed. Unfortunately, the firm pillows I requested for were a letdown, having all the density of a marshmallow (I had to stack two of them for better support).
Guests staying in Rock Royalty rooms and suites can access a programme called The Sound Of Your Stay. This entails a basket of complimentary musical experiences such as tuning in to their specially crafted Spotify playlist, listening to curated vinyl records on a Crosley turntable and jamming with one of their snazzy Fender guitars. We were advised to head to the concierge counter for more information on this.
Over there, we met Rosli, a super cool guy in charge of dispensing these items. From the impression I got, we could either borrow a turntable or a guitar but not both, so we opted for the latter. He then took out a menu for us to select our preferred guitar – we went for #17, the Jim Adkins JA-90 Telecaster. Alas, he said that it was already with another guest but that he would personally send it to our room once that guest returns it, so nice of him! We were required to fill in a form and put a deposit of MYR300 in case of any damages.
We came back after lunch to find Rosli gingerly placing this beauty in our room, along with a small Fender amp, Marshall headphones and a complimentary Hard Rock guitar pick that was ours to keep! The loudspeaker mode on the amp seemed to be disabled, understandably so as they probably don’t want the neighbours complaining.
Facilities
We had a late lunch at Sessions, the main restaurant located on level 1. When I was here earlier in the day to take some photos, Mamat, the restaurant manager, offered to show me around and introduced the music memorabilia displayed there. I really appreciated his initiative and friendliness on this impromptu tour. If you’re keen on a more comprehensive viewing of all these artefacts around the hotel, do register your interest at the reception for the Rock Through The Ages memorabilia collection tour (at no extra charge if I remember correctly).
The restaurant offers both buffet and a la carte options. I ordered the yang chow fried rice (MYR40) while my husband had the mamak mee goreng (MYR40). However, our order took an usually long time to come considering there were barely any customers at that time. I had a nagging feeling that the staff who took our order forgot to key it in. Only when we checked with them did our food arrive shortly after.
Thankfully, both dishes tasted pretty decent and the portions were large as well. In addition, we got a 10% dining discount courtesy of the Unity by Hard Rock loyalty programme (:
Besides Sessions, there are other dining establishments in the hotel to choose from. The Elephant & The Butterfly on level 3 is an open-air Mexican restaurant and poolside bar decked out in tropical colours.
Constant Grind is a cosy cafe on level 1 that serves sandwiches, pastries and coffee. It also doubles up as a mini-mart selling snacks, soft drinks and even instant noodles.
GMT+8 is the lobby bar right next to the reception area on level 3. I love the breezy ambience here in the day, its full-length windows bathing the entire space in natural light. There are live music performances almost every evening too!
During our stay, Project X was the resident band, entertaining audiences with three 45-minute sets between 8.30pm to 11.15pm. They were absolutely solid and such a hit with the crowd! Unfortunately, by the time we came, there were practically no seats left so we had to stand around. After that set concluded, we decided to watch the next one via a dedicated live stream channel on the television in our room, albeit with poor image quality and without sound. This was where our proximity to the main lobby area worked to our advantage as we could still hear the music loud and clear while watching their performance from the comfort of our room.
There are many other facilities in the hotel to suit a multitude of needs as well. For those looking for a workout, you can find the Outdoor Music Pool (equipped with underwater speakers) on level 3 and Body Rock fitness centre on level 1. For those looking for some pampering or retail therapy, check out the Rock Spa on level 1 or the Rock Shop on level 3.
For those with little ones, consider dropping them off at Roxity Kids Club on level 1 (fees apply) or letting them slosh around at Splash Zone, a water play area next to Roxity Kids Club. There is also a Roxtars Toys & Sweets shop should your kids need some appeasing or distracting.
As we were celebrating an occasion during our stay, we were given a card at check-in that allowed us to select two amenities out of three options. The first was a mocktail drink from GMT+8, the second was a chocolate cake from Constant Grind and the third was an embroidered patch from the Rock Shop. We opted for the latter two (: I thought this was a great way to let guests choose what they prefer instead of simply deploying a one-size-fits-all amenity.
In the middle of the afternoon, I visited the lounge to check out what refreshments were available. The space was fairly small but mostly peaceful and inviting, especially during the day. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were actually some substantial cakes and chocolate chip cookies up for grabs, though they weren’t particularly yummy.
Later on between 5pm to 7pm, evening cocktails and canapes were served. The food was regrettably lacklustre – the mac and cheese was hardened, the waffle fries were cold and soggy, there were barely any onions in the onion rings and the financiers were terribly dense. The only thing that tasted anywhere close to legit was the matcha panna cotta, but even then, its texture seemed overly solidified.
Free-flow alcohol options were limited to the ones they had displayed. Sparkling wine for my usual mimosa was sadly not one of them. No matter, I thoroughly enjoyed the hot chocolate here.
Breakfast was served in a buffet style at Sessions from 7am to 10.30am. There were festive displays of glorious food but unlike the lunch and dinner buffets, they didn’t put out the automatic spinners that were super helpful in keeping pesky flies away from the food. Plus I found a sizeable dust bunny on my napkin under my spoon, which was icky.
Anyway, the spread comprised a wide variety – from fruits, pastries and salads to curries, noodles, western and local delights. There were also live stations for eggs and pandan pancakes. Everything tasted quite okay, with the freshly cooked eggs, pandan pancakes and the local cuisine section as the relatively better ones.
Heading back up to the lounge to check out the breakfast situation there, I found it to be oversubscribed and understaffed. Seating capacity was maxed out during the later time slots so guests had no choice but to make their way down to Sessions instead. The spread here was a miniscule subset though, and we observed that a significant number of dishes weren’t being replenished, further decreasing the options available. Well, at least guests could still have made-to-order eggs from the kitchen. I would definitely recommend skipping the lounge altogether unless you want a slightly less chaotic environment and are fine with a tiny selection of dishes.
With a generous extension of our check-out timing to 1pm, we were able to hop on the comfy shuttle bus to Anantara after breakfast for a pre-registration before coming back to pack up. The buses run a bit differently across peak and non-peak periods so be sure to check the updated schedule (usually at the drop-off points) or ask the concierge for assistance if needed.
My overall rating of the experience: 4 out of 5 stars. Besides the excessive humidity and intermittent ant appearances, our room was quite decent and clean. If you’re looking for something luxurious, the rooms and facilities here might not hit the mark but they’re certainly sufficiently comfortable. I also appreciated the little odes to music, like the guitar bedsheets and pillow cases, The Sound Of Your Stay programme and even the name tags of staff that display their favourite bands! What really impressed me most was the service standards. Everyone was incredibly helpful and genuine, from the spontaneous greetings in the hallways to the impeccable level of assistance we received with all our queries. As we were there during the rainy season, staff were relentlessly mopping the corridor floors and clearing away dead leaves for the safety and comfort of guests. The one thing I’d do differently if we returned is to get a regular room instead of one with lounge access. It didn’t seem worth the additional cost given the less-than-desirable quality of evening canapes and the limited breakfast selection. Nevertheless, this hotel remains a good option to consider for a stay at Desaru Coast!
If this post helped you in some way and you’d like to buy me a coffee, I’d be incredibly grateful (:
Dania Experiences 