Malaysia is blessed with so much natural beauty and attractions. So this year, we wanted to do more Cuti-cuti Malaysia holidays instead of going for overseas family vacation — with four kiddos and the weak ringgit, the exchange rates and airfares wouldn't make travelling very fun.
The East Coast has always been a favourite, and I really wanted the kids to see turtles nesting (more about this in another post). One day, hubby saw an ad for
Club Med Cherating, and it seemed perfect for us. So we booked online and went for a 5-day get-away in mid-July.
We did a 3-hour road trip from Kuala Lumpur to Cherating, Pahang. Smooth highway drive for most parts, and the kids slept through a good portion of it. We started at 11am and reached at 2pm. Check-in time was 3pm, and we weren't sure if they would let us in early.
But after the guard at the guard house verified our reservation and asked us to wait for a while, we were allowed to enter and were greeted enthusiastically at the lobby by the waiting GOs (or Guest Officers).
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| The guardhouse: Entry is only for guests with bookings |
After a briefing, the GOs led us to our rooms while giving us a tour of the resort and its facilities. The resort is a little old and rustic, not too luxurious, but perfect for a back-to-nature retreat. We had read reviews that the rooms were quite basic, so our expectations were quite low, but it wasn't too bad — clean and practical. It helped that we had connecting rooms, so it gave us a bit more space. Perhaps the air-conditioning could have been colder.
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| The pathways to the rooms |
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| Basic but clean and functional rooms |
After a very tiring past few months with work and school, we really thank God for a fun yet restful time away with the family. I felt absolutely unproductive (didn't even touch the 3 books I brought), and what a heavenly feeling that was! Some of the main draws or highlights of the trip for me are:
A "Bao Kar Liao" stay
This trip cost about RM1.8k per adult (including the RM100 Club Med membership fee and RM100 extra for connecting rooms) and RM1k per kid (excluding Baby Girl) for a 4-night stay. It seems high, but compared with what we would have spent abroad, it was relatively cheap.
Besides, all the food and drinks and activities were included in it, so it was stress free because you didn't have to worry about meal times or carrying your wallet around to pay for stuff. The flip side is that you get lots of snacks and drinks available round-the-clock, and we had to limit the kids to 2 sweet drinks a day.
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| That includes you, young lady! |
The noodle house is good for a mid-afternoon meal, but I personally found it a bit bland. The finger food and afternoon crepe party at the bar area is pretty good! The international buffet spread is wide but after a while, it may get a bit repetitive. That's when you would want to head over to Rembulan restaurant by the beach for a change of scenery (and it's quite a scenery!). We didn't manage to get dinner bookings (they get booked out by 8.30am every morning), but we had lunch there twice.
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| Smaller buffet at the Rembulan |
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| But the ambience is worth it |
Baby food. There are facilities to do your blending and stuff in the baby room. But you can also place orders with GOs for specially prepared porridge during meal times. Baby Girl also enjoyed the blended vegetables and chicken nuggets from the buffet line.
There are ample activities for everyone to choose from.
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| A typical day's events |
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| Hubby took part in the ping-pong competition. Got medal some more! |
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| Upping the challenge: Mini tables ftw! |
You do have to pay extra for the spa, photographs (from RM30 to RM80 per pix!), boutique purchases and excursions (read my next
post to find out how to do it cheaper). But otherwise, you can still enjoy a full holiday without forking out extra.
