Country Malaysia Establishment 1965 Time zone MST (UTC+8) | State Pahang Elevation 1,865 m (6,118 ft) Postcode 69xxx | |
 | ||
Genting Highlands (Malay: Tanah Tinggi Genting), otherwise known as Resorts World Genting, is a hill resort in Malaysia developed by Genting Group.
Contents
- History
- Attractions
- Accommodation
- Nightlife
- Genting Skyway
- Amenities
- Theme Parks
- Awards ceremonies
- Concerts
- TV reality showscompetitions awards showcase
- Other attractions
- Genting Premium Outlets
- Car
- Public transport
- Politics
- Climate
- References
The hill resort is at an average elevation of 1,740 metres (5,710 ft) within the Titiwangsa Mountains on the border between the states of Pahang and Selangor of Malaysia. Resorts World Genting is operated by Genting Malaysia Berhad (formerly known as Resorts World Bhd), which also operates Awana chain of resorts & hotels. It is accessible by car from Kuala Lumpur in one hour, or also accessible by a cable car called Genting Skyway (3.38 kilometres (2.10 mi)) which at its opening was the world's fastest and South East Asia's longest gondola lift.
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 12,000 acres (4,900 ha) and 2,800 acres (1,100 ha) 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 successfully completed and was named Highlands Hotel (now renamed Theme Park 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 3.38 kilometres (2.10 mi) transport to the hilltop. Genting Skyway is also recognised as the "World's Fastest Mono Cable Car System" with a maximum speed of 21.6 kilometres per hour (13.4 mph) and the "Longest Cable Car in Malaysia and Southeast Asia maybe".
In 2013, Genting announced a new 1,300 room hotel expansion to the current First World Hotel, a new 10,000 seat arena and reconverting the current theme park to RM1 billion 20th Century Fox World theme park. Originally set to complete by 2016, it has since been delayed by a year, to 2017.
Attractions
The comprehensive indoor and outdoor theme-park was promoted as the destination for "Fun at The Peak". The entire resort was subsequently billed; "The City of Entertainment".Resorts World Genting is the only legal land-based casino, Casino de Genting, in the country and is owned by Genting Malaysia Berhad, a subsidiary of Genting Group.
Accommodation
Resorts World Genting has five hotels. One of the five hotels, the First World Hotel, holds 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.
Nightlife
Genting Skyway
Genting Skyway, located at Batang Kali on the Selangor side of Genting Highlands, is a monocable gondola lift serving the Genting Highlands Resort. Its lower station is located near Gohtong Jaya, and its upper station is located at Maxims Hotel of Genting Highlands Resort.
Amenities
The resort has four performance venues.
Theme Parks
The Genting Outdoor Theme Park has been closed since 1 September 2013 to make way for the world’s first 20th Century Fox World, due to be completed by 2016. Other rides and attractions except for some located in First World Indoor Theme Park, SnowWorld, Sky Venture, Genting Bowl, Vision City and Funtasy World Video Game Parks are opened as usual.
Currently, some of the rides in the First World Indoor Theme Park have been closed until further notice to facilitate the construction of the 20th Century Fox World.
Awards ceremonies
The resort hosts several award ceremonies at the Arena of Stars, with a capacity of 6,000 people.
Concerts
TV reality shows/competitions, awards showcase
Genting also plays host to a range of popular TV reality shows and award showcases being filmed on site including:
Other attractions
Genting Premium Outlets
Genting Premium Outlets is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2016. It will be Southeast Asia's first hilltop Premium Outlet Centre. The development will cover 600,000 square feet and costs MYR 200 million.
Car
Compared to Cameron Highlands and Fraser's Hill, Genting Highlands is much easier to access from highly urbanised areas (i.e. Kuala Lumpur or even Kuantan), and is the only hill resort that is accessible by a modern tolled expressway, the East Coast Expressway (LPT) . Exit 803 to Genting Highlands is located at Genting Sempah at the Pahang-Selangor border just before the Genting Sempah tunnel. An 18-km mountain road will then connect the exit to the peak. For a toll-free alternative, there is the old Gombak-Bentong road that passes through Genting Sempah mountain pass.
Alternately, there is another route, the Jalan Batang Kali-Genting Highlands
/
which begins in Batang Kali in Hulu Selangor. This allows motorists from Perak, Penang or even Kedah to reach Genting Highlands without going through either downtown Kuala Lumpur or the LPT.
Public transport
As with most of western Pahang, Genting Highlands is not served by any rail line, given its mountainous terrain; the closest three stations arguably are KJ1 Gombak on the Kelana Jaya Line, Mentakab on the KTM Intercity Eastern Sector and KA12 Batang Kali on the KTM Komuter. Nevertheless, Resorts World Genting provides hourly shuttle buses from the Gombak LRT station to Genting Highlands.
Politics
Genting Highlands is part of the Bentong parliamentary constituency, represented by Dato' Seri Liow Tiong Lai of MCA, part of the federal ruling alliance Barisan Nasional. Liow is also the current Malaysian Minister of Transport.
On the state level, Genting Highlands falls under the Ketari constituency of the Pahang State Legislative Assembly, currently held by Lee Chin Chen of the DAP.
Climate
Genting Highlands has a spring-like climate, with yearly temperatures no higher than 25 °C (77 °F) and rarely falling below 14 °C (57 °F) yearly. The lowest temperature of Genting Highlands is 8.4 °C (47.1 °F).