I think Club Med is the first resort I have been to which has an auditorium for you to watch a welcome video. It felt a little as if there should have been a couple of coach loads of middle aged tourists there, instead of just me and my small family. The reputation of Club Med in the UK is ‘sun, sea, sand, and sex’, a bit like Club 18-30 but for the older generation. However, it seems as if that reputation has been shed, with a deliberate emphasis on family friendly holidaying, at least in Malaysia.
As the staff member or GO (gentil organisateur, it turns out) took us on a surprisingly long walk to our room, he told us that guests (GMs, gentils membres) with families were out further away, as the party each night could be a be a bit loud.
That room turned out to be very small – and very hot. No fan, and a gentle aircon which might have been undergassed. It had 2 single beds turned into a double, plus a small bed for daughter and a cot for son. It also had a separate small toilet and shower, which is very rare here – in fact I don’t recall seeing that outside Europe. The shower itself was pretty weedy and a bit dirty.
Limited in room facilities were a TV with about 20 snowy channels, including local and English language news, film and sport options, a desk, and a fridge. The curtains were also underpowered and couldn’t shut out the light during the day. We actually moved to a new room, with a marginally better aircon and curtains, but it was still hot until about 4am each night.
So the rooms are bad, honestly, but the ethos is apparently that you shouldn’t be in your room too much, and should instead be out enjoying the resort.
The compound is large (Club Med’s largest resort worldwide) and green, and you can walk around in some shade if necessary as the rooms are in elevated blocks with a walkway beneath, if a long and winding one. It’s well landscaped and pleasant to stroll through.
There is a sports compound with tennis, squash, and football, plus a trapeze which is apparently a feature of Club Med around the world. The main pool which is the focus of the resort is shallow for kids, though with a sectioned off area which is a bit deeper. The gym is also underneath the auditorium off the pool, and there are a small shop and spa nearby. Slightly further away are archery butts, and a rock climbing area (on real rock).
Facilities like sailing, kayaking, Zen pool (no kids), and a posh restaurant – you have to book for dinner – are a shuttle road train away, overlooking a small lagoon for swimming. The main beach is too dangerous which a sharp drop off and strong undertow.
The real facility that parents will want to use is the kids’ club! 4-11s have a free day time club full of activities (separated into three bands so there isn’t too big an age gap), while 0-2, 2-3, 11-13, and 14-17 have paid clubs. The 0-2 is like daycare, while peering through the window it seemed that the 14-17 is basically iPads, Jenga, and a pool table.
My daughter loved the club, wanting to be dropped there straight after breakfast, and then to go for the evening meal and show later. This meant she barely saw us each day except for a late afternoon window of an hour and 45 minutes, which suited her. There were lots of arts and crafts, sports, swimming, and games.
It’s a full board resort, so drinks and food are available 17 hours a day, if you’re at the right place. The main bar is open from 9am to midnight, and has soft and caffeinated drinks, plus a couple of lagers on tap, wines, spirits, and cocktails. There are also premium options available for which you have to pay. There are two more bars, at the Zen pool and the lagoon which have a similar but limited range.
There are also three restaurants. The main one, Mutiara, is the one you’ll probably want to go to most. It’s a buffet place which has varied stations including Indian, Japanese, Korean, Italian, Chinese, fish, burger and/or hot dog, roast, salad (either freshly made for you, prepared with protein, or make your own), cheeses, desserts, and breads and pastries. The food on offer changed quite a lot across our 4 day stay (though less so for vegetarians), and has different choices at breakfast too.
If you miss the opening time for Mutiara, Enak has a buffet a la carte approach – order as many meal options as you like. However, these were pretty basic, and it’s probably worth arriving on time to enjoy the wider variety at Mutiara. The only problem with Mutiara was the lack of aircon in most of the dining areas, except a narrow strip in the back room!
The final restaurant is Rembulan, near the lagoon. This is the one you have to book for dinner, and it was fully booked throughout our stay – shame, as the menus looked good. We did take a look at the end of lunch once, and it looked like a very pared down version of the main buffet. Very pleasant place to grab a drink, though.
So, would we come again? While the glory days when this place won best 5 star hotel in Southeast Asia are 20 years behind us, and it could really do with some severe room upgrades, it has its pros too. The GOs are very nice and want to make your stay more fun, and the kids’ clubs are a good part of that. Once our littlest is a bit older, we’ll probably return. Though we’ll check if the aircon has been fixed…
Address: 29th Mile, Kuantan-Kemaman Road, Cherating, 26080 Kuantan
Telephone: 095819133
Website: https://www.clubmed.com.my/r/cherating-beach/y
Gyppo travel reviews 