Genting Highlands


Resorts World Genting , 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.
The integrated hill resort is accessible by car within an hour's drive from Kuala Lumpur, 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 and 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.
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 transport to the hilltop. Genting Skyway is also recognised as the "World's Fastest Mono Cable Car System" with a maximum speed of 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. 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.

Climate

Genting Highlands has a spring-like subtropical highland climate, with yearly temperatures no higher than and rarely falling below yearly. The lowest temperature of Genting Highlands is. The temperature during the day typically reaches around and during the night, it usually drops to.

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. 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.
Hotel nameLaunch dateDescriptionStar ratingNo. of rooms
Theme Park Hotel1971 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-star448
Genting Grand1981It 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 on a clear day. It was made in a "Y" shape. It houses the Genting Casino as well as Genting Grand Complex5-star422
Awana1984Situated approximately 4 km before reaching Resorts World Genting, Awana is a resort hotel with a golf course, swimming pool and other sports facilities.5-star413
Resort Hotel1992The 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 is in this building.3-star900
Maxims1997Formerly known as Highlands Hotel, the property was refurbished into the Maxims hotel in 2015. It houses the upper station of Genting Skyway.5-star795
First World HotelTower 1, Tower 2, Tower 3 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-star7,351
Crockfords2017Crockfords 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-star137

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. 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. 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.
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.
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.

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.
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:
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.