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Originally Posted by wala
Taxi drivers, they will try to get commission for every fcking thing they send you to, booking girls, food, hotels, blah blah. And not only the expensive food like Golden prawn, mostly they get 10% there, last time I used to tell the oldman at the cashier, no taxi with us and can get at least 15% discount. Even for Nasi padang like Mak Atek the driver gets some ciggi or aqua.
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This is an interesting piece of information.
I know taxi driver do get commission from restaurants,takeaway food,girls and almost every damn thing delivered.But i didnt know they can get as high as 15% from restaurants and that there is a need to bargain with cashier to get a discount...lol. Lucky i dont frequent tourist trap restaurants like Wey Wey,Golden Prawn,Nagoya Hill Mall etc (cant take seafood too). No wonder i often see drivers in Batam so keen and enthusiastic in da bao-ing food for their customers,hehehe....(i have never once ask my driver/s to da bao anything for me before). Thats why i stayed in Formosa where nearly everything is within 2 mins walk away.
Now i am able to understand how why Wey Wey restaurant and Golden Prawn restaurant bill is very often so much higher than any other restaurants when i was treated by some friends there,hehehe... (almost double). I am comparing with the zhi char store near Mickey Mouse where 10 person ordered 2 fish dishes,some crabs and at least 8 to 9 other dishes,where the bill turn out to be only 700k. (maybe ambiance different)
Really really thank you for this piece of information.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ladymaster
Just have to comment on the staffs at formosa. I carelessly drop one of my small pouch during breakfast and only realising it when i am about to check out. Went back to down to try my luck to see if i can find it there and found out the staff actually found it and kept it for the time being. Kudo to their excellent services and integrity. This hotel will be on my priority list whenever im going to batam again.
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Thank you for sharing. So much good things has been heard about the Hotel Formosa and it seems like a perfect hotel to stay in. Now i will take your post to point out their known "not-so-good" points,hehehe...just to be fair.
1. If one is staying at non-smoking area at the 3rd floor of the hotel,be known that Alishan KTV is usually just above those rooms. And yes,at time you will feel vibration or music from the 4th floor KTV.
2. Formosa Hotel was build 16 years ago,over time they have undergone several major renovation externally (like Wifi Strength,Gym,lightings etc) but their internal facilities are aging,eg Bath Tub wall are peeling,air-con in some rooms air-con are no longer cold enough,metal tap metal peeling,toilet wall turned yellowish etc. The good thing is they are gradually renovating EACH room a time in my last trip and i chance upon a room that are full renovated and it look brand new,hehehe...then again,they have 107 rooms,so its gonna take them a while to finish renovating. Air con not cold enough is one of the most popular complain among guests.
3. As Formosa Hotel are mainly carpet,it tends to attract uninvited insects staying within it,so they have to constantly spray insecticide within the hotel premises,hence sometime the rooms and hallways contain come level of insecticide smell.
4. Television antenna,this is something quite puzzling. During the day,TV channels are not working well,sometime some channels can be totally out-of-view. It happens mostly during the day starting from late morning till the early afternoon. It helps me to check out early tho...lol.
5. Phone charger that are in its room. The most popular phone charger from Samsung smart phone is almost always never working,hehehe....
6. No in-room safe...in most 3 star hotels around the world,there will at most time have an in-room safe,but not in Formosa Hotel. So one has to keep their valuable in the safe at the reception.
7. In the online booking stated there is a business center and yes it does have but that was 1 year+ ago. If you ask about the business center,the staffs will tell you it never existed. Reason,becos the new staffs that work there are new,i doubt they even know that there is a Business center in Formosa Hotel. Renting the business center table space is at 2k/hr. Internet speed is world slowest.
8. Not all room has a strong enough Wifi Strength,so better ask for a room with strong wifi if you are very wifi reliance person and if you do that,they usually put you near the lift area,hehehe...so you hear the lift "ting" sound whenever someone uses the lift,hehehe....you can still hear the sound in the middle of the night unless you turn on the TV.
9. Formosa Hotel has their very own filtration system for their tap water,but still tap water is unsafe for drinking. And becos they have their filtration system,sometime there wont be enough water to supply to hotel guest during drought season when hotel occupancy hit 90% and above.
10. Key card system in their hotel is also a bit rundown,meaning it works sometime,it doesnt at times. So make sure to check your room door is in locked condition before leaving your room.
I guess i hit 10 weakness of Formosa Hotel here.There is no such thing as a perfect hotel. It is up to one if they can live with its weakness,and if you can,it will be a perfect for you as this is a hotel that is safe enough to stay,and also a centralised hotel area where moving anywhere by foot is convenient.
My personal perspective,it is my perfect hotel to stay-in whenever i am in Batam.
Cheers!