Genting Highlands
| Resorts World Genting 云顶马来西亚 | |
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| Address | Genting Highlands, 69000 Genting Highlands, Pahang Darul Makmur, Malaysia |
| Opening date | 1965 |
| No. of rooms | <10,000 (7 hotels) |
| Total gaming space | Over 200,000 sq ft (19,000 m2) |
| Signature attractions |
First World Plaza SkyAvenue Genting Premium Outlets |
| Notable restaurants |
Bubbles and Bites Burger & Lobster Cafés Richard Coffee Terrace La Fiesta e18hteen LTITUDE Malaysian Food Street Motorino The Olive |
| Owner | Genting Group |
| Renovated in | Genting Integrated Tourism Plan (2013-present) |
| Coordinates | 3°25′25″N 101°47′36″E / 3.42361°N 101.79333°E |
| Website | rwgenting.com |
| Genting Highlands Tanah Tinggi Genting 云顶高原 கெந்திங் மலை | |
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| Hill station | |
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| Country |
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| State |
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| Establishment | 1965 |
| Elevation | 1,865 m (6,118 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (MST) |
| • Summer (DST) | Not observed |
| Postcode | 69000 |
| Website |
rwgenting.com mpbentong.gov.my |
Resorts World Genting (Abbreviation: RWG), originally known as Genting Highlands Resort is an integrated hill resort development comprising hotels, shopping malls, theme parks and casinos, perched on the peak of Mount Ulu Kali at 1,800 meters high and nestled near the border between the states of Pahang and Selangor, Malaysia.
The integrated hill resort represents a popular weekend getaway from the city heat, connected by major highways, trunk roads and cable cars service from Gohtong Jaya and is accessible by car within an hour drive from Kuala Lumpur (about 35 km), or accessible by two different cable cars, Genting Skyway which at its opening was the world's fastest and South East Asia's longest gondola lift, and the newer Awana Skyway.
History
The idea of a hill resort located near Kuala Lumpur occurred to Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong during a business trip to the Cameron Highlands in 1964. He mooted this idea while enjoying the fresh and crisp air from the balcony of his hotel room. A private company called Genting Highlands Berhad was set up on 27 April 1965, with the late Tan Sri Haji Mohammed Noah bin Omar, Tan Sri Lim successfully obtained approval for the alienation of 12,000 acres (4,900 ha) and 2,800 acres (1,100 ha) of land from the Pahang and Selangor State Government respectively between the years 1965 and 1970. An anomaly happened during the obtaining of the land approvals. While the Pahang state government swiftly approved a freehold lease, the Selangor state reluctantly approved a 99-year lease. As a result, Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong met the then Menteri Besar of Selangor, Dato Harun Idris and told him that a freehold lease would be more feasible than a 99-year lease. Finally, the Selangor state government agreed to grant a freehold lease.
On 18 August 1965, a technical and construction team began the four-year task to complete the access road from Genting Sempah to the peak of Gunung Ulu Kali. On 31 March 1969, the late YTM Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia’s first Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for the company’s pioneer hotel, marking the completion of the access road to Genting Highlands Resort. The Prime Minister was impressed that the private sector, without the assistance of the Government, could develop a mountain resort for the enjoyment of all Malaysians; subsequently a gaming licence was suggested to help accelerate the development of this remote area.
In 1971, the first hotel at Genting Highlands was successfully completed and was named Highlands Hotel (now renamed as Theme Park Hotel). The Genting Highlands Resort continued to expand since the opening of the first hotel in 1971. Development of the area continued with care taken to ensure the maintenance of the natural beauty of the rainforest of the region. In 1997, Genting Highlands Resort added the Genting Skyway cable car system that provides a 3.38 kilometres (2.10 mi) transport to the hilltop. Genting Skyway is also recognised as the "World's Fastest Mono Cable Car System" with a maximum speed of 21.6 kilometres per hour (13.4 mph) and the "Longest Cable Car in Malaysia and probably in Southeast Asia".
In 2013, Genting Malaysia embarked on a master plan to reinvigorate and transform RWG under the Genting Integrated Tourism Plan (GITP). Genting Integrated Tourism Plan is a 10-year master plan for development, expansion, enhancement and refurbishment of hotels, theme park and infrastructure at Resorts World Genting. The plan with different phases involves a new 1,300 room hotel expansion to the current First World Hotel, a new 10,000 seat arena and reconverting the Genting Outdoor Theme Park to 20th Century Fox World.[1]
Climate
Genting Highlands has a spring-like climate, with yearly temperatures no higher than 25 °C (77 °F) and rarely falling below 14 °C (57 °F) yearly. The lowest temperature of Genting Highlands is 8.4 °C (47.1 °F).
Accommodation
Resorts World Genting has six hotels and a leisure resort. One of the seven hotels, the First World Hotel, holds the Guinness World Record as the largest hotel in the world from 2006 until 2008, and from 2015 onwards with a total of 7,351 rooms. In 2018, Forbes Travel Guide Star Ratings awarded 4-star rating and 'recommended' citation to Genting Grand Hotel and Maxims Hotel respectively.[2]
| Hotel name | Launch date | Description | Star rating | No. of rooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theme Park Hotel | 1971 (Reopened in 2017) | It was the first hotel to be opened and just across the outdoor theme park. Formerly known as Hotel on the Park. | 3-star | 448 |
| Genting Grand Hotel | 1981 | It was known as Genting Hotel, and then later, Maxims before Highlands Hotel took the name. The building is known for the huge "Genting" logo on it's rooftop, which can be seen from as far as Petaling Jaya and Subang Jaya (over 70km away) on a clear day.
In 2018, Genting Grand was awarded a 4-Star rating by the Forbes Travel Guide, the only Malaysian hotel to receive this accolade. |
5-star | 422 |
| Awana Hotel | 1984 | Situated approximately 4km before reaching Resorts World Genting, Awana is a resort hotel with a golf course, heated swimming pool, and other sports facilities.
This is also the only Awana property to keep its name - the other two in Langkawi and Kijal Beach in Terengganu were rebranded as Resorts World hotels. |
5-star | 413 |
| Resort Hotel | 1992 | The hotel is a long, white tower that faces the Theme Park Hotel and the main entrance to the 20th Century Fox World. One of the entry points to the huge Genting Casino (the original one) is in this building.
When arriving at Resorts World Genting, the car park in Resort Hotel is the first one that visitors can choose to park at, with the entrance just left of the main road. |
3-star | 900 |
| Maxims Hotel | 1997 | Formerly known as Highlands Hotel, the property was refurbished into the luxurious Maxims Hotel in 2015 and received a "Recommended" rating from the Forbes Travel Guide in 2018.
Bookings are open to regular casino guests, Genting Rewards Card members (Gold & above), and selected online travel agents only. |
5-star | 795 |
| First World Hotel | Tower 1 (2001), Tower 2 (2005), Tower 3 (2014) | First World, with its two very noticeable brightly-colored towers, was the largest hotel in the world until 2008, but it regained the title in 2015 with the completion of Tower 3.
The massive SkyCasino is located in the new SkyAvenue complex next door, and the former Indoor Theme Park is currently being redeveloped into a new Skytropolis Theme Park, where an upcoming Star Wars Virtual Reality Experience (the first in SE-Asia) is set to be one of the main attractions. |
3-star | 7,351 |
| Crockfords Hotel | 2017 | Crockfords was previously located at the top floors of Maxims Hotel and has been relocated to the upper floors of SkyAvenue, with it's entrance next to SkyCasino. Bookings are only for specific guests. | 5-star | 137 |
Attractions
The comprehensive indoor and outdoor theme-park was promoted as the destination for "Fun at the Peak". The entire resort was subsequently billed "The City of Entertainment".
Theme parks
The Genting Outdoor Theme Park was open in 1994 and closed on 1 September 2013 to make way for the world first’s 20th Century Fox World, due to be completed by 2019.[3]
The First World Plaza was closed from June 2017 to February 2018 for refurbishment. Hence, the indoor theme park, which was located in the plaza, had been closed as well. It is expected to be reopened as an all new indoor theme park, called the “Skytropolis" in June 2018. SnowWorld, Genting Bowl and Video Games Park which are also within the plaza have reopened in February 2018.
The VOID, a US-based operator of unique fully-immersive virtual reality attractions, is set to open their first center in Asia at Resorts World Genting, with the first offering being Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire.[4]
Casino
Resorts World Genting is the only legal land-based casino in the country. There are two main casino outlets in the resort which are Genting Casino and SkyCasino.
Nightlife
- Be A Star Karaoke
- Cloud 9
- Genting Club
- RedTail Bar by Zouk
Other attractions
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Amenities
The resort has two performance venues and a cineplex.
- Arena of Stars is a concert hall with a capacity of 5,132 seats.
- Genting International Showroom is a hi-tech and multimedia entertainment venue with up to 1,000 seating capacity.
- Bona Cinemas at SkyAvenue is their first cineplex outside China and consists of 6 cinema halls equipped with Dolby Atmos sound systems and IMAX theatre systems.[5]
Chin Swee Caves Temple
Events
Resorts World Genting has hosted numerous events such as awards ceremonies, concerts, competitions and many more. The resort also plays host to a range of popular TV reality shows and award showcases being filmed on site including:
Access
Car
Compared to Cameron Highlands and Fraser's Hill, Genting Highlands is much easier to access from highly urbanised areas (i.e. Kuala Lumpur or even Kuantan), and is the only hill resort that is accessible by a modern tolled expressway, the East Coast Expressway (LPT) 
For a toll-free alternative, there is the old Gombak-Bentong road 
Public transport
As with most of western Pahang, Genting Highlands is not served by any rail line, given its mountainous terrain; the closest three stations arguably are KJ1 Gombak on the Kelana Jaya Line, Mentakab on the KTM Intercity Eastern Sector and KA12 Batang Kali on the KTM Komuter. Nevertheless, Resorts World Genting provides hourly shuttle buses from the Gombak LRT station, as well as SP8 AG8 SBK17 Pudu Sentral, KJ15 SBK15 KA01 MR1 KL Sentral and SBK9 Bandar Utama to Genting Highlands.
Politics
Genting Highlands is part of the Bentong parliamentary constituency.
On the state level, Genting Highlands falls under the Ketari constituency of the Pahang State Legislative Assembly, currently held by Young Syefura Othman of the DAP.[6]
References
- ↑ "RM5b to transform Resorts World Genting". thesundaily.com. December 18, 2013. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
- ↑ "Resorts World Wenting gains two accolades in the 2018 Forbes Travel Guide Star Ratings". businessinsider.com. March 6, 2018. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
- ↑ "Twentieth Century Fox theme park announced". edition.cnn.com. December 18, 2013. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
- ↑ "Star Wars VR attraction coming soon to Resorts World Genting". www.ttgasia.com. September 17, 2018.
- ↑ "China's Bona Film Group opens first overseas cineplex in Malaysia". channelnewsasia.com. February 25, 2018. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
- ↑ http://www.sinarharian.com.my/mobile/edisi/pahang/tak-sangka-menang-majoriti-1.832970
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Genting Highlands. |
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Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Genting Highlands. |
Places adjacent to Genting Highlands | ||||||||||
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Malaysian hill stations | |
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Coordinates: 3°25′25″N 101°47′36″E / 3.42368°N 101.79335°E