Genting Highlands
Resorts World Genting (Abbreviation: RWG) /ɡənˈtiːŋ/, 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 elevation near the border between the states of Pahang and Selangor, Malaysia.
| Resorts World Genting 馬來西亞雲頂高原 | |
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| Address | Genting Highlands, 69000 Genting Highlands, Pahang Darul Makmur, Malaysia |
| Opening date | 1965 |
| No. of rooms | 10466 (7 hotels) |
| Total gaming space | Over 200,000 sq ft (19,000 m2) |
| Signature attractions | First World Plaza SkyAvenue Genting Premium Outlets |
| Notable restaurants | The Laughing Fish by Harry Ramsden 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 |
Genting Highlands | |
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Hill station | |
| Other transcription(s) | |
| • Malay | Tanah Tinggi Genting (Rumi) تانه تيڠڬي ݢنتيڠ (Jawi) |
| • Chinese | 雲頂高原 |
| • Tamil | கெந்திங் மலை |
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| Country |  |
| State |   |
| Establishment | 1965 |
| Elevation | 1,865 m (6,118 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (MST) |
| • Summer (DST) | Not observed |
| Postcode | 69000 |
The integrated hill resort is accessible by car within an hour's 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 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 parks and infrastructure at Resorts World Genting. The plan with different phases involves a new 1,300 rooms hotel expansion to the current First World Hotel, a new 10,000 seats arena and reconverting the Genting Outdoor Theme Park to 20th Century Fox World.[1]
Climate
Genting Highlands has a spring-like subtropical highland climate (Cfb), with yearly temperatures no higher than 25 °C (77 °F) and rarely falling below 10 °C (50 °F) yearly. The lowest temperature of Genting Highlands is 8.4 °C (47.1 °F). The temperature during the day typically reaches around 22 °C (72 °F) and during the night, it usually drops to 12 °C (54 °F).
| Climate data for Genting Highlands | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 20.3 (68.5) |
21.1 (70.0) |
22.0 (71.6) |
22.3 (72.1) |
22.3 (72.1) |
22.1 (71.8) |
21.7 (71.1) |
21.5 (70.7) |
21.4 (70.5) |
21.2 (70.2) |
21.0 (69.8) |
20.5 (68.9) |
21.5 (70.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 16.0 (60.8) |
16.5 (61.7) |
17.1 (62.8) |
17.7 (63.9) |
17.8 (64.0) |
17.6 (63.7) |
17.1 (62.8) |
17.0 (62.6) |
17.0 (62.6) |
17.0 (62.6) |
16.9 (62.4) |
16.4 (61.5) |
17.0 (62.6) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 11.8 (53.2) |
12.0 (53.6) |
12.3 (54.1) |
13.1 (55.6) |
13.3 (55.9) |
13.1 (55.6) |
12.5 (54.5) |
12.6 (54.7) |
12.7 (54.9) |
12.9 (55.2) |
12.8 (55.0) |
12.3 (54.1) |
12.6 (54.7) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 250 (9.8) |
165 (6.5) |
232 (9.1) |
259 (10.2) |
203 (8.0) |
112 (4.4) |
103 (4.1) |
120 (4.7) |
173 (6.8) |
258 (10.2) |
310 (12.2) |
278 (10.9) |
2,463 (96.9) |
| Source: Climate data.org | |||||||||||||
Accommodation
Resorts World Genting has 6 hotels and a leisure resort. One of the seven accommodations, the First World Hotel, held 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 and Maxims respectively.[2] Crockfords at Resorts World Genting was awarded the 5-star rating in 2019, making it the first and only hotel in Malaysia to achieve this award.[3]
| Hotel name | Launch date | Description | Star rating | No. of rooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theme Park Hotel | 1971 (Reopened in 2017) | It was the first hotel to be open and just across the outdoor theme park. Formerly known as Hotel on the Park. It was linked to Hotel Valley Wing. | 3-star | 448 |
| Genting Grand | 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 its rooftop, which can be seen from as far as Petaling Jaya and Subang Jaya (over 70 km away) on a clear day. It was made in a "Y" shape. It houses the Genting Casino as well as Genting Grand Complex | 5-star | 422 |
| Awana | 1984 | Situated approximately 4 km before reaching Resorts World Genting, Awana is a resort hotel with a golf course, swimming pool and other sports facilities. | 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 de Casino (the original one) is in this building. | 3-star | 900 |
| Maxims | 1997 | Formerly known as Highlands Hotel, the property was refurbished into the Maxims hotel in 2015. It houses the upper station of Genting Skyway. | 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. | 3-star | 7,351 |
| Crockfords | 2017 | Crockfords was previously located at the top floors of Maxims and has been relocated to the upper floors of SkyAvenue, with its 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 as "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's first 20th Century Fox World.[4] On 26 November 2018, it was revealed that Genting Malaysia Berhad had filed a lawsuit against Fox Entertainment Group and The Walt Disney Company for breaching their contract.[5] On 26 July 2019, Genting, Disney and Fox finally reached a settlement agreement and signed a restated Memorandum of Agreement which grants Genting Malaysia Berhad a license to use certain Fox intellectual properties.[6]
Currently, the outdoor theme park opening is in various options to be pursued by Genting Malaysia and expected to open in the first quarter of 2021 after completion target was delayed from 2016 to 2018.[7]
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. SnowWorld, Genting Bowl and Video Games Park which are within the plaza have reopened in February 2018. On 8 December 2018, a preview event of the new indoor theme park, called the "Skytropolis Funland" was held.
The VOID, a US-based operator of unique fully immersive virtual reality attraction officially opened their first centre in Asia on 6 December 2018. It spans nearly 7000 square feet in the Skytropolis Funland.[8]
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.
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 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.[9]
Chin Swee Caves Temple
Events
Resorts World Genting has hosted events such as awards ceremonies, concerts, competitions and many more. The resort also plays host to a range of TV reality shows and award showcases being filmed on site including:
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Politics
Genting Highlands is part of the Bentong parliamentary constituency, currently represented by environmental activist Wong Tack on a DAP ticket.
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.
References
- "RM5b to transform Resorts World Genting". thesundaily.my. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
- "Resorts World Genting gains two accolades in the 2018 Forbes Travel Guide Star Ratings". businessinsider.com. 6 March 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
- "Crockfords Hotel awarded Malaysia's first 5-star Forbes Travel Guide rating". nst.com.my. 23 February 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
- "Twentieth Century Fox theme park announced". edition.cnn.com. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
- "Disney, Fox sued in U.S. for $1 billion over Malaysia theme park". reuters.com. 27 November 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
- "Genting Malaysia settles with Disney and Fox over outdoor theme park". The Edge Markets. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
- "Genting M'sia says outdoor theme park opening date still up in the air". theedgemarkets.com. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
- "Asia's first hyper-reality experience centre opens in Genting". malaymail.com. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
- "China's Bona Film Group opens first overseas cineplex in Malaysia". channelnewsasia.com. 25 February 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
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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