World’s largest hotel opens in the clouds
Malaysia’s incredible mountain top entertainment city, Genting Highlands, has set a new record by opening the world’s largest – the 6300-room First World Hotel.
Malaysia’s incredible mountain top entertainment city, Genting Highlands, has set a new record by opening the world’s largest – the 6300-room First World Hotel.
Sitting amidst the clouds atop the 2000-metre high Ulu Kali mountain range, overlooking Kuala Lumpur city, the twin-tower hotel is the new centrepiece of the Las Vegas-like Genting City of Entertainment.
To prepare for the spectacle of Genting Highlands, visitors need to think on a grand scale. Everything on the mountain is big, beginning with the hotel’s cavernous lobby, which resembles an airport check-in, with 32 reception counters stretching the full length of the building.
Guests checking in take a numbered ticket then relax on one of the numerous couches or chairs to enjoy views over gardens and fountains located behind the counters, while staff quickly process the seemingly endless stream of holidaymakers.
The complex rises into the low clouds which often cap the mountain, and this high altitude provides a climate much milder than the coastal regions with an average temperature of approximately 22 degrees Celsius.
And while the air is cool, the activities are piping hot, with the resort complex offering something for everyone with golf, shopping, eco-activities, international concerts and shows sharing billings with the region’s largest themed amusement park.
Dominating attention is the indoor-outdoor theme park with its icons from around the world including replicas of the Statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower, offering more than 50 rides from corkscrew roller-coasters to sky-diving simulators, gondola rides, a twin cineplex, 28-lanes of bowling, video arcades and dozens of traditional and outrageous theme park attractions.
If you are not totally awed at this point, then Snow World will nudge you over the edge. This one of a kind 6000 square metre, 15-metre high attraction is an enclave of man-made snow where visitors can make snowmen, play in igloos and have snowball fights, at minus three degrees.
And if that is not enough, the large wave-pool will satisfy any desire you may harbour to go surfing at 2000 metres above sea level.
The smorgasbord of activities continues outdoors with horse riding, jungle trekking, rock climbing, tennis, horse riding and an 18-hole golf course wrapping around the mountain.
Scattered across the surrounding landscape are five other Genting hotel properties, taking the total number of rooms available to 10,000, and while none are as mind-blowing as the City of Entertainment, each offers a different theme and a special holiday experience in the four and five star range.
The mountain is indeed offers an escape from reality, but there is a very real commitment to the environment behind the development, with large tracts of virgin jungle set aside for eco-projects.
Not surprisingly, the complex – which is also home to a massive Vegas-esque casino - is a popular destination for conventions and conferences keen to utilise the 100,000 square feet of convention space, which is capable of holding 6000 delegates in theatre style seating.
The best news is that accommodation rates are comparable, or cheaper, than many city hotels, and access to the theme park is very affordable, with some attractions free of charge.
For more information visit http://www.genting.com.my