Cherating, January 2008 – The exclusivity is felt the moment you arrive at Club Med as the resort sits on 200 acres of land which has predominantly preserved much of the jungle fringing Cherating beach. The immaculately clean & landscaped foyer with fish swimming among the ginger & palm foliage in the pond invites you to take your shoes off and gaze as you laze. The Gentle Organisers (GO) will line up to greet you in a song & dance fashion before checking in to your rooms. The GOs are the essence of Club Med, infusing dashes of culture, having served in their home country’s village before being sent to various parts of the world, this Club Med tradition was inculcated here since the inception of Club Med Cherating 27 years ago. Calling it a village, the GOs live & work among the Gentle Members, as guests are fondly referred to, led by the Chief of the Village, namely the General Manager of the resort.

The village is built in a wooden Malay traditional style staggering over two and three storeys structure. Almost all of the rooms have a frontage of garden preceding the ocean. Whichever view your room has, its always interesting as the garden is filled with clusters of betel nut and palm trees, fruiting figs, hibiscus shrubs or swaying fan palms. Amenities in the room are exquisitely placed with jungle themed ceramics seated on rustic trays. Quaint shampoo and bath gel bottles are corked while the scented soap gives you a whiff of spice after you wash your hands. Whats more, it is surrounded by a thousand year old jungle and much of it is still traversed by wild animals in the night. Birds are aplenty, giving you your first wake up call in the morning with songs & whistles beckoning your curiosity. From Orioles to the evergreen songster Magpie Robin to the Stork Billed Kingfisher who resides at the pond, the birds here have a huge playground, thriving amidst human activities.

Club Med prizes itself to be a unique all-encompassing village that caters to leisurely couples, singles or families with children no matter what age as the Petite Club, Mini Club, Kids Club and Passworld, aptly named to provide for toddlers right up to teenagers in the care of GOs, keeping them busy with educational things like arts and crafts, bungy bouncing on the trampoline, trapezing on high wires, rollerblading in the rink and playing Robin Hood with the bow and arrow at archery. Professionals at the scene take them through lessons before any attempt on these sessions. There are separate sessions for adults and children thus keeping both groups thoroughly occupied. For the adventurous, there is sailing and kayaking offered at the sailing centre in Pantai, a cosy cove on the fringe of the jungle bordering the sea. The view here is spectacular, drawing people to return to soak up the sun on the deck chairs lining the beach.

To get to the cove, you need to take a shuttle tram or walk along the trodden path through the lotus pond across the jungle where you might meet primates or the passing monitor lizard. Hidden away is a cosy restaurant called Rembulan with both indoor and outdoor dining. Rembulan offers a less busy atmosphere to the later lunch crowd giving GMs an easy atmosphere without the confines of rigid meal times. Serving an array of dishes in buffet style as the main restaurant, Mutiara, which serves both local and international cuisine, all meals are included in the accommodation package once you set foot into the village. It’s the best value offered as big families’ dining can often be a costly affair. The additional value adults get is the free flow of beer and cocktails on top of the usual beverages in the list. If lounging times for you means sipping a cocktail by the pool over a good book, you would definitely have it good here. For those who are not challenged by the activities and want something to relax with, you can get therapeutic treatment at the spa to revive your muscles and to tone your skin. From the moment you rise till the sun sets, the line up of things to do will cast away any boredom.

In the night, the theatre at Club Med receives the best response for displaying their outstanding performances according to the theme of the evening. GOs take on roles outside of their normal duties to become artists, dancers and actors choreographed and directed by a team of real stage hands. Dressed in costumes designed by the in-house costume designer, each performance is so captivating considering that you might have gotten to know each and every GO in the course of your interaction with them throughout your stay by then. Seeing them take up roles to perform a sketch or a choreographed dance sequence, it is no less thrilling than watching a real broadway act.

There is nothing that would leave you lacking once you soak into the ambience of the village and watch the sunlight trickle through the water features of this remarkable estate. You can only wish that your holiday is not so short. Undoubtedly so, it was awarded the Resort of the Year at the Hospitality Asia Platinum Awards (HAPA) night for 2007 – 2008.