Roka Resort by ARKasia Foundation

Free kayaks and SUPs, amazing staff, quietness, and beautiful beach.

Brilliant place for some quiet time with wonderfully friendly and kind staff.

Nothing

Great place for a quiet weekend

Food came out at different times.

Staying at the Roka Resort has been an absolute dream. Everything together made our stay here more than 10 out of 10. - The staff is wonderful, so attentive and kind. - Food in the restaurant was very very good; a great variety of choices and all freshly prepared. - The view is so beautiful and the overall atmosphere of the resort is just magical; so quiet and peaceful. There are only 12 rooms on the property so the small scale of the resort also was a plus for us. - The rooms are spacious and super clean, aircon works great. - Pool is lovely, with a stunning view. The other facilities include kayaking and stand up paddling, very nice addition as a fun activity. All together we enjoyed staying here so much and was very sad to leave. Will be back!

Just to inform other guests, no negative points, but rather good to knows: - There are mosquitoes and sandflies, therefore either bring insect repellant / mosquito repellant (with DEET) or ask the staff. They offered us repellent right at the check-in. - The resort is approx. 45 minutes from the Bintan Ferry Terminal - the resort can arrange taxi transfer for an additional price around 25€ per person. We had some difficulties contacting the property to arrange the transfer, but we booked only one day in advance so I’m sure if you book earlier it’s no problem to confirm the transfer. If you don’t rent a car I would recommend the transfer via the hotel. - Around the area there is not a lot to see or do by foot, so either renting a car or a scooter (for a day or longer) could be a good idea if you’d like to sightsee on the island a bit. Not a must, because the resort offers plenty of enjoyment of the beautiful surroundings and the pool, but we had a scooter for a day which was fun, seeing some local shops and restaurants. - There are animals at the property, I counted 3 dogs and 8 cats, which are all rescued animals. They are super friendly and harmless, but note this when you are extremely allergic.

The resort is absolutely beautiful, it’s so peaceful and calm. We wanted a getaway from the world to chill and relax, just the two of us, and ROKA was absolutely perfect for this purpose! There’s no crowds, loud noises or many people. Just calmness and relaxation. The rooms are modern and spacious, nicely decorated and super comfy. We slept so well! Bathroom is modern and big enough. Air conditioning kept the room always at good temperature. The restaurant is very nice as well, with good sea view. The food was delicious every time we ate there, so breakfast, lunch and dinner. The service was excellent from morning until evening. The garden and pool are well kept, like everything else at this resort. The swimming pool is really nice during the day when it’s low tide and the sun is at it’s highest. We went kayaking and SUP boarding every day in the morning while high tide. The small island in front of the resort is amazing to see with the kayaks, the mangrove beaches were stunning. The water won’t get deeper than 1m at any point between the resort and island. We also took the kayaks a bit further from the beach to swim at a spot without so many shells etc. The beach is not very good for swimming, wouldn’t go barefoot because of tons of shells. The staff are friendly and always happy to help with a smile.

We loved everything!

There was a very large, uncontrolled and dangerous fire directly next to the property which burnt down two other houses and a pylon. The fire was blazing for 7 hours until 1am and rapidly approaching the Roka resort. We were unable to stay at the property for that night as it was not safe yet the resort is completely ignoring all messages and will not issue a refund. There seems to be a beach pest issue (gnats / sand flies). Our group was entirely covered in large itchy bites which I see has been reported in other comments. Food service was very very slow and not good quality (except banana pancakes at breakfast). Everyone had to eat at different times. The tide goes in for most of the day so you cannot swim in the sea. We knew this before staying so it was ok. Overall, if you have any issues during your stay don’t expect a response from the property to try and resolve the issue, we were really disappointed we couldn’t reach some sort of agreement with Roka as we are aware it is a small business and wanted an outcome which worked for both parties. The night we had to leave for the fire we stayed at another hotel nearby, which welcomed us at 11pm, kept the kitchen open and did everything they could to make us feel comfortable after the scare of the large fire - lots of other great hotel options in Bintan.

The people were lovely and friendly. The location was peaceful and tranquil.

It was too far from the ferry with no other businesses close by. The sheets in the bed had sand on them. The body wash and conditioner in the shower were empty and the hot water ran out in under 5mins. The bathroom smelt of sewerage and the restaurant was hit and miss with the food (we were served raw prawns for dinner on our first night).