Club Med Cherating 2015 Review
Club Med Cherating 2015 Review
Club Med Cherating is the one and only Club Med in Malaysia. It has been around for years and recently they were closed for refurbishment.
There are 80 Club Med resorts worldwide located in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, China, Maldives, Mauritius, France, Italy, Switzerland, Turkey, Portugal, Greece, Morroco, Senegal, Tunisia, Egypt, Mexico, U.S.A., Martinique, Guadeloupe, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Turks & Caicos and Brazil.
Recently, they invited me to bring my family for a review after the refurbishment as this resort is child friendly. For your information, there are a number of Club Med’s resorts which are child friendly while others are dedicated for adults perfect for singles and honeymooners.
Visiting the resort in December during monsoon sounds risky but it didn’t rain every day or all day long. It was raining but not as bad as many perceived.
We wanted to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Kuantan and then taking the coach to Club Med but after many considerations especially bringing the junior, we decided to drive. From Kuala Lumpur to Cherating, it took around four hours of driving within the speed limit. Driving from KL to Kuantan is relatively easy, with a stop near Bentong’s petrol station. There is a KFC outlet and fast food works at this point.
The road to Kuantan is surrounded by the natural beauty of rainforest. With the help of GPS or just follow the road to Kemaman Terengganu, you will not miss the sign board of Club Med Cherating on your right. Thus, you can also GPS locate the Cherating Turtle Sanctuary as it is located just beside the resort.
Once you reach the security gate, you just have to pass them the booking information and you will be greeted by Club Med’s G.O. (Gentil Organisateur). The profession of G.O. was invented by Club Med approximately 60 years ago. The G.O. is the ambassador of the Club Med spirit and upholds the company’s values. In addition to the G.O.s’ professionalism and know-how is an added way of being, which brings them close to guests or G.M.s (Gentil Membre or Gentle Members) and produces moments of happiness, kindness, conviviality, friendliness and humour.
There are dozens of G.O.s in Club Med Cherating, they are everywhere. First thing first is unloading the luggage and then a short briefing at the lobby. Next, check out the room and we stayed at the ocean view room.
The property has been around as Asia’s first Club Med and it has aged inevitably. the management is aware and plans of upgrading the resort is in the pipeline. The recent light refurbishment is the first step. Well, as one of their eco resorts, I thought it was still in nice condition. Since it was built using wood, naturally it will aged especially with our hot and humid weather. That’s why they did the refurbishment recently and upgrading the toilets and bathrooms.
We were concerned about our son, Zen as this is his first time traveling with us but he loved the room. He went up on the bed and jumping and running around and hiding. When you travelled in a family, the young one is always the important one. Glad to see him enjoying the room.
The weather was not perfect to us as it was raining from time to time but we did have sunny hours. Zen loved the resort as he was running around the corridor, the beach and also the main area. Zen was everywhere like the Duracell bunny with endless battery.
We didn’t participate most of their activities as the focus to let Zen enjoyed his first holiday.
For those who never visited Club Med, the food is free, the drink (inclusive of liquor) is free, the usage of the facilities is free, most of their activities are free and shows are free. Why free? Whatever you paid is included all the above.
There are three main meals, snacks in between and also supper. The bar is open most of the time and you can order any drinks you want inclusive of coffee, mocktails and cocktails.
The snacks are available at Noodle Bar. It is located next to the swimming pool and they serve noodles, really tasty noodles.
They serve healthy organic noodles. Since we were there most of the times, the choices of organic noodles are different from time to time with four choices and there will be also four different choices of cooking style each session. Some example of the noodles available is red yeast, spinach, soba or egg ramen. They are healthy noodle and never lacked of tastiness too.
The main restaurant offers three main meals; breakfast, lunch and dinner. It has a few sections such as Asian, Western, Appetizer and Dessert sections.
Like the Noodle Bar, the food is different every meal and every day. I was once in a hotel for 6 nights and they were serving 90% the same food for breakfast every day. It was a food torture but you won’t get that in Club Med. I really enjoyed the variety of food available in Club Med
On of top many different types of food available, some of their food is presented like fine dining food. You will find them in every section. There are too many to name them but I am sure you will enjoy it.
Since Zen is still very young, it is difficult for us to participate most of the activities. He has his own napping routine but we still bring him to run around the resort.
We brought him to the beach near the main building and he enjoyed himself. This is the first time he played with sand. Please take note that swimming is not encourage at this beach as there is a proper beach for swimming in another section of the resort. There are two beaches near Club Med – the beach near Rembulan restaurant is highly recommended for swimming.
Zen also loved the baby pool and the Jacuzzi. He enjoyed himself more than us. This is really the resort for children and kids.
Do you know that Club Med also provides childcare and children’s club facilities where experienced G.Os are trained to take care of children while parents can enjoy themselves without any worries. I could have use the baby club facilities with extra charge but we decided to spend some quality time together.
During evening, there are performances and some performances involved children. Most of them were dancing and singing with the performers.
Make sure you check the schedule constantly for activities, movies screening and also performances. At Club Med Cherating time really flies and three days are just too short. You can stay for days here.
If you are looking for a resort to chill, Club Med Cherating might not ideal for you. Other than chilling out by the beach, Club Med Cherating is an-all inclusive resort that provides various fun outdoor activities. If you want to know new friends and some excitement, this is the right resort. If you love to drink and eat non-stop, hell this is the resort for you. If you want your kids to enjoy themselves together as family or some great family bonding time, this is the right place. Same goes to company team building, couples retreat and also a fun weekend getaway. Please note that though it is an all-inclusive package, premium alcoholic beverage/specific sports activities/boutique is at an extra cost.
Overall, Zen had the most fun and glad to spend the time with him at Club Med Cherating. This is the place where I get away from work and stress and spend some quality time with my family. The food in general is good and I can eat five to seven times a day and sunbath like a seal here.
We will definitely visit more Club Meds in the near future and thank you Club Med Cherating for the great hospitality.
Club Med was born out of a vision of two men: Gilbert Trigano and Gérard Blitz. Established in the 1950’s, Club Med is the pioneer of Premium All-Inclusive holiday packages.
Club Med was accredited by Green Globe certification for Sustainable Tourism, mainly to preserve mother nature in four categories (Sustainable Management, Social/Economic, Cultural Heritage and Environmental).
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