malaysia travel : Genting Highlands

If you are looking to spend some quiet time to relax, this may not be the ideal vacation location especially during peak season where Genting Highlands can get really chaotic with the influx of tourists from Singapore. Long queues are a common sight at hotel lobbies, and don’t expect good customer services.
Apart from the casino, Genting also houses an outdoor and indoor theme parks as well as a wet park. Its First World Plaza is the place to go for shopping and dining. There are also few hotels at the resort, ranging from budget to five star hotels – Genting (5 star), Highlands (5 star), Resort (4 star), First World (3 star) and Theme Park (3 star).
The furnishing of most hotels are pretty old and worn out. In fact, most of the rooms require renovations if they are to keep up with times (don’t be misled by the photographs of the hotel rooms shown on the websites!), hotel rooms are also unheated and can get chilly at night, especially during rainy days.

What to see and do

Theme Parks
For families with children visiting Genting Highlands can be lots of fun. There is a wide selection of outdoor and indoor theme parks. For water lovers, there’s a choice between an indoor splash pool with warm water, or an outdoor water park.
The outdoor theme park features more than 20 classic rides suitable for the entire family, such as the double loop Corkscrew, Rolling Thunder Mine Train, Cyclone and Flying Dragon. Other more gentle rides such as the monorail, mini train, Tea Cup and Flying Jumbo are suitable for small children.
The sparkling, new First World Plaza indoor theme park is the home for six theme areas from around the world each featuring unique rides — France (Champs Elysee), England (London), Italy (Venice), America (Times Square and Universal Walk), Switzerland (Swiss Alps) and Malaysia (Genting Walk).
The First World Plaza also boasts the Genting Sky Venture, the only free fall skydiving simulator in Asia.
Opening Hours
Outdoor Park: Weekdays – 10am to 6pm , Weekends – 8am to 8pm
Indoor Park and First World Plaza rides: Daily 8am to 12midnight.
More information about ticketing can be found at the Genting Highlands website, there are often discount promotions for purchasing the Theme park passes online.

Casinos
The casinos in Genting Highlands offer a host of exciting international games, among the popular of which are: Roulette, Baccarat, Blackjack and Carribean Stud Poker. There are also countless of jackpot machines, , but many if most require signing up with Genting’s WorldCard system if you want to withdraw any winnings.
Entry requirements: 21 years of age (irrespective of nationality and race) and a non-Muslim (if you are a Malaysian citizen)
Dress code: Long sleeve Batik Shirt or long sleeve shirt with tie
Where to stay

Theme Park hotel
Being one of the pioneer hotels in Genting Highlands with over 20 yrs of history, you can expect Theme Park Hotel to be pretty rundown. Although renovations had been carried out a couple of times, but still the Theme Park Hotel doesn’t meet anything near to nice. The Family Suite in the Theme Park Hotel is probably the best value for money.
For more savings, try booking the rooms via Genting Highlands website where extra discounts are often offered. The good thing about Theme Park Hotel is that it is located right next to the outdoor theme park but it is quite a distance from the coach depot which is located next to First World Hotel. For those who frequent the casinos, Theme Park hotel is also the furthest from it.

First World Hotel
With more than 6,100 “well-furnished� rooms, First World hotel is recognised as the largest hotel in the world by The Guinness World Records. What is not listed in the record book is the size of the rooms; TINY is the only word to describe them. The rooms are not sound proof and it can get quite noisy due to the proximity of theme parks and shopping areas. However all these are tolerable if you are not planning to spend too much time in the room.
There’s 2 different “towers” in First World Hotel, the OLD tower and the NEW tower. Always insist on getting the rooms in the NEW tower. Although the rooms are still quite small, but the differences between the OLD and NEW tower is world apart! ( For Singaporeans : Never book through an agent in Singapore as they will issue rooms to the old tower. If you already have a Genting green world card, just call the Singapore hotline and booked thru there, ask for the NEW tower. )
Adjoining the hotel lies First World Plaza with approximately half a million square feet of shopping, food outlets and entertainment space. Among the facilities at the Plaza are – The Starworld Casino, an indoor theme park, theater hall, restaurants, shops, internet cafés and food courts.
Resort Hotel Genting Higlands
Resort Hotel has 838-rooms which adjoin the Genting Hotel. The rooms are very run down, at best 3 star grade. There’s no mini bar or any complimentary drinking water offered.
From the comments:
By Lang on May 7, 2008
Resort hotel recently underwent a makeover.. the rooms are much better now..and toilet spacious and clean..they even installed nice shower heads
Genting Hotel
The only 5 star rating hotel at Genting Highlands, but don’t be fooled by the official ratings. Most visitors will be disappointed by the state of the room in general considering that you are paying for a 5 star room price. Although there’s a heated swimming pool, you won’t find any swimmers due to the “cleanlinessâ€� of it.
Awana Genting Highlands Golf & Country Resort
Getting to the central Genting entertainment area was a hassle, having to wait and queue for a bus to get to the cable car only to queue some more. Getting back to the hotel was at an non-negotiable price by taxi. It was the same price I had paid to get to Awana from KL city-centre. Probably would have been smarter to take the taxi back to KL rather than back to Awana.
The night I spent there cost more than most of the hotels up in Genting highlands. It was not the ideal golf resort it made itself out to be. The decor resembled and old ski lodge from the 1980′s. As a matter of fact it did smell much like the an old bookstore…. it had a musky feel to it all.
Hotel Seri Malaysia Genting Highlands
Located in Gohtong Jaya, Hotel Seri Malaysia Genting Highlands is a little bit out of the way from the actions in Genting Highlands but it offers tranquility within its quiet and cool surrounding. There’s shuttle service to go to the peak of Genting Highlands and the Skyway station is also close by.
Hotel Gohtong Jaya
Another small hotel located in Gohtong Jaya, away from the hustle and bustle of where the action is at the peak of Genting Higlands.
Eating and Dining

As Genting is a highlands resort, food is generally overpriced and mediocre. Local, Western and fast food (Mc Donalds, KFC, Burger King and Mary Brown) is widely available. Most restaurants are halal to cater for the large number of Muslim visitors.
Coffee Terrace: Coffee Terrace is manage by the Genting Hotel and specialised in local dishes that are served for breakfast until supper time. You can either go for its buffet spread or order the food ala carte. Its Hainanese Chicken Rice is said to be the best chicken rice that you can find in Genting Highlands. Its Indian-style Fish Head Curry is also worth to try.
Canteen Station Highland: This 24 hour food outlet is known as Kanteen Stesyen Highland (Canteen Station Highland) which is located beside Theme Park Hotel. The canteen caters mainly to employees of the resort and bus and taxi drivers plying the routes between Genting Highlands Resort and other cities. Many visitors and tourists can be seen patronising the canteen as well.Local food and delicacies such as nasi lemak, roti canai, kueh, fried noodles and selected mixed vegetables rice are available in the canteen. The Canteen Station Highland is probably the place for the cheapest food at Genting Highlands!
Penang Food Village (Theme Park Hotel): This restaurant would be unremarkable anywhere else in Malaysia, but in Genting it’s a notch above the competition: prices are reasonable (most mains under RM10), there are no crowds or clouds of smoke, and the food is tasty. Try the lor mee (noodles in black gravy).
The Olive: Located at the Lobby Floor of Genting Hotel, the Restaurant exudes a modern, arty design with a casual, welcoming feel in its ‘olive’ colours and warm lighting. Offering Continental cuisine served in a trendy yet elegant ambiance, the food features textures, flavours and styles in a blend of classical recipes with contemporary ingredients and tastes. There are choices of the best cuts of meat, seafood, salads, pizzas, delicious desserts, fine wines and more. Juicy, succulent Wagyu Beef is the house specialty. The promise of a gastronomic adventure awaits.
Starbucks and Coffeebean can be found at Genting Highlands, but often will be crowded especially at night time.
How to get here

Genting Skyway
Genting Skyway connects Genting Highlands with the skyway station in Gohtong Jaya town. Covering a distance of 3.8km, it is South East Asia longest skyway system and also the world’s fastest skyway (at the maximum speed of 6 metres per second, the 3.38 kilometres journey up the mountain peak takes only 11 minutes).
Passengers will disembark at the smart and impressive Genting Skyway Station at Gohtong Jaya. Bus and car parking facilities are readily available. The ultra-efficient station will allow hotel and luggage check-in procedures to be completed at the station itself. Visitors need only sit back and enjoy a leisurely ride up to the holiday resort without having to go through further hassles of checking-in formalities while at hotels.
Fare: RM4.00 one way, RM7.00 return

By bus
Genting Express Bus is a conveneint and economical way to travel to Genting. The buses leave from various locations in KL to Gohtong Jaya as follows:
Puduraya – Gohtong Jaya Skyway station

GENTING EXPRESS BUS SERVICE Ticketing Office: Counter No.43, Ground Floor, Puduraya Bus Station, Kuala Lumpur Opening Hours: 7am – 7pm (Monday – Sunday) Tel: (603) 2072 6863

KL Sentral Station – Gohtong Jaya Skyway station

GENTING EXPRESS BUS SERVICE Genting counter at Level 2, KL Sentral Station

Hentian Duta – Gohtong Jaya Skyway station
Terminal PUTRA LRT Gombak – Gohtong Jaya Skyway station

GENTING EXPRESS BUS SERVICE Ticketing Office: Ticketing Counter, Terminal Putra LRT Gombak. Opening Hours: 7.30am – 7pm Monday – Saturday. 8.30am – 7pm on Sunday Tel: (012) 2369 611

All buses take around one hour and cost RM8.30-8.50 one way. From the skyway station, its a mere 11 minutes journey by the Genting Skyway to Genting Highland. However, if the skyway system is closed for maintenance, all buses will go straight to Genting Highland. Buses departing after 8 PM head directly to the resort.
If you do not want to take the cable car:
Go to TITIWANGSA station in Kuala Lumpur, head for the PEKELILING bus terminal visible from the train station. Board the maroon red Genting Bus (depart every 1/2 hr till bout 10 or 11 at night. fare is RM5.60 per person) which will take you all the way to First World Hotel bus terminal (estimated 1 hour bus ride).

GENTING EXPRESS BUS SERVICE 6.30am 7.00am 7.45am 8.30am 9.00am 9.30am 10.00am 10.30am 11.00am 11.30am 12.00nn and every ½ hour until 9.00pm

Transtar also operates one daily bus direct from Singapore (S$68/57 one-way from/to Singapore).

By Car
It will take approximately 45 minutes to reach Genting Highlands – City of Entertainment if you start your journey from Kuala Lumpur Karak Highway. You can drive up either along Kurak Highway or the Batang Kali Road.
From South:

1. At Sungai Besi Toll, proceed straight, keep left, enter exit to Cheras heading up the flyover. 2. Follow Cheras direction, go straight. 3. Pass by Makro on your left, go straight. 4. Follow Ampang direction 5. Pass by Ampang, go straight and you will pass Zoo Negara and Melawati (on your right). 6. Go straight, follow Kuantan direction. 7. Exit Kuantan flyover. Go up the flyover and join Karak Highway. 8. After the Karak Toll, proceed on till you pass the Genting Sempah tunnel. Exit to Genting Highlands after the tunnel.

From North:

1. From Ipoh (North-South Highway), exit to Rawang Interchange. Proceed to Rawang Town. 2. Pass Rawang, Sungai Choh and Serendah Towns. 3. Next town is Batang Kali. Turn right to Genting Highlands (Signboard shown) 4. At the next T-junction, turn left to join road to Genting Highlands. 5. Afyer about 10-15 minutes, you will see Genting Skyway Station on your right. Proceed and follow directions to Awana and Genting Highlands.

Toll Charges from Singapore to Genting Highlands:
Malaysia causeway RM2.60
Enter N-S highway at Skudai toll , exit at Sungai Besi – RM41.90
From KL, go on till Karak highway – RM5.00
Total one way : RM49.50

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