Club Med Cherating Beach

Hello all

I left Cherating beach on 21/12 for 4 nights, and here is a fairly detailed review - note that this is my first stay in an Asian village (previously I have stayed in 6 different villages in Europe/ North Africa):

The village - it is massive but very remote... not much going on outside the village so you have to stay in there pretty much throughout your whole holiday (unless you opt for the fairly expensive excursions - but only worthwhile if you stay there more than one week). They can do so much more with the land they have (e.g. open up a golf course) but currently there is no development on 85% of the land available within the village

Weather - ok for the first couple of days - occasional downpours followed by sunny weather so the outdoor activities were open a couple of hours after the rain - as the grounds dry up pretty quickly. However, weather was poor towards the end of my stay (see below). The sea is too rough during the monsoon season (i.e. now until March) so don't expect to swim in the sea. Sailing was cancelled throughout my whole stay because of the rough conditions at sea.

Activities - poor by Club Med standard. Most of the activties are outdoors thus there were limited amount of things to do when it rained - and all activities were pretty much washed out during the last couple of days of my stay (including golf, archery, rollerblading, tennis, badminton, trapeze (although they open the mini trapeze in the theatre which is indoor), bungy bounce, wall climbing, etc). GOs were struggling to entertain the GMs - so had lots of casino sessions/ mini games on stage to keep everyone occupied. A real struggle overall.

Accommodation - ok but a bit disappointing for a 4 trident - very surprised that they spent so much money on the makeover of this village only a couple of years ago.

Food - the buffet in the main restaurant was poor for a 4 trident. Variety was great (Chinese, European, Italian, Korean, Japanese, Indian, Malay) - however they try to satisfy too many people without being good at anything. There was never a signature dish on offer (unlike the other 4 trident villages I visited in the past). There was no gala dinner to surprise the GMs (e.g. lobsters, seafood feast, etc) Speciality restaurant was quite good and we had a good time there. Pasta/ pizza is frankly disgusting most of the time - very disappointing comparing with other CMs I've visited.

GOs - great team, and finally GOs in Club Med are willing to speak English!!! (unlike the European villages). I was surprised by the quality of the shows which were the best I've seen and the crazy signs were very popular. The CdV, Karim Fajr, seems very popular with the GOs - and I think he has done a pretty well with the shows/ crazy signs. I am not a big fan of Nico - he's the new number 2 in the village - he does not seem to make an effort to socialise with the non-French/ Italian speaking GMs - but that's a personal opinion. I like the Sports team and the bar team - Lionel (CdS) is doing a good job.

Ambiance - not good. No one stays around for the apperitif, and no one stays at the bar after crazy signs. Everyone goes to dinner at 7:15 when the restaurant opens, and everyone goes back to their rooms after 10:30. Hardly any GMs socialise at the bar.

Overall - I really wouldn't bother to travel all the way from Europe just to visit this village. However, if you live in Asia-pacific then it's probably worth a try. I really think the CMs in Europe/ North Africa are much better in terms of value for money. This is the first season they open the village for monsoon season, but one can sense that they really aren't ready to think about how to cope with the rainy weather - the infrastructure simply cannot cope with such weather (you can see leaks of rainwater from the roof all over the covered areas). Most of the sporting activties were closed so the GMs were really bored. I suggest they develop a golf course inside the village so that they can turn this CM into a golf village during the rainy season (as golf can stay open even if it rains - e.g. like Vittel). I really think they need to work on the food - e.g. reducing the variety but offering better quality food.

I will not return to this village in the future.

thanks for the review...although i think you chose to go at the worst possible time in the year. i personally wouldn't visit until the monsoon is over.
i think pretty much everything you've said about the grounds is pretty spot on, except for the golf idea. i love cherating for its open spaces and forest trails and would like to keep it that way. but that's just my opinion :)
i spent my childhood holidays there every year since i was 4...so i have alot of love for the open space there. i still miss the old cherating with the rustic rooms with no tvs and the nightclub before was turned into the specialty restaurant.

i think for europeans the trip to cherating may seem not worth your money but i think it's one of the prettiest villages in the asia pacific region. the food is very much catered to southeast asian tastes, which is probably why i never bothered touching the pasta section. you can't beat the fresh fruit though!

the ambiance is basically typical of an asian village...most people go for the dinner, the show, the after-show show (if there are any), then to bed. it really depends on the crowd..families and kids tend not to stay up late. but we tend to socialise more with the GOs than the GMs so it never really bothered us.

i'm sorry to hear you won't be returning to cherating again..maybe when you stop by this part of the world again for a longer period during the nothern hemisphere summer you might change your mind :)

Thanks kkty2 for an excellent and very comprenesive report. I must admit it worries me a bit as I am booked to travel there on Jan 24th. Unfortunatelly I didn't take the weather situation into consideration when I made my bookings.
One CM you can try if you travel to Asia again is Kani - a truly wonderful paradise. It even merits a special trip.
By the way - have you spotted any monkeys?

Joseph - there are plenty of monkeys there - however they are a bit of a nuisance as they turn bins upside down to find food, although they did not hassle me personally during my stay.

I hope you have a good time there by end of January as the GOs will be better prepared for the poor weather - I am sure they will offer more indoor activities by then (we did have a squash competition and that was fun)

From your review, I am not surprised if there were a lack of activities during the monsoon season. I understand that the village reduced their tariffs for the monsoon and was targetting at corporate groups on year-end retreats

Rooms - I believe they did not undergo major renovation.

Based on your review, I would not visit the Village during the monsoon even tho I am sure they will improve their programme next monsoon.


ps. I was there in Sept and had a ball of a time.

Aita Pea Pea

Hi kkty2, do you live in Asia now? Which villages have you visited previously in Europe/ North Africa?

I'm sorry to hear your visit wasnt good. But I have been there 5 times myself, all the way from USA---and each time I find that I have a great experience there. You probably didn't choose the best time to go....as I always go in summer when the weather is absolutely beautiful!! And I think the village itself is amazing too--the way its built in stilts in the rainforest with wild monkeys and good food to eat. :) Plus you can go to Kuantan which is a city only 30 mins away. Easy to get to and they have everything there-shoping, movies, bowling, cinema....etc. Its all cheap too. However its very MUSLIM area so you have to be respectful. Plus theres a wonderful Malay night market on Thurs. that is really fun to check out. I hope you'll try it again in summer. The GOs there are great--some of my best friends are there(Jenn, Maria, Laura, Soraya, Nikky). Hope that you will go back eventally.

Vinz - Actually there were no groups when I was there. A lot of people are on personal vacations during December so it is a very quiet period for groups.

Gingerbr75 - appreciate visiting Cherating is an experience but I think there are a lot of scenic resorts along the coast... CM's sporting activities/ food are always its key selling points - and even if I go there during the summer I can't see the sporting activities/ food on offer being particularly attractive to warrant another trip there. I do agree that the GOs are great but so as those in other CMs.

:-) Seems all the Cherating fans have come out in defence of the village, and yes, I have to say that I wasn't surprised by the review, except for the food and the grounds bit.

First of all, I still think it's a bad idea for CM to open the village during the monsoon season, especially when the present indoor activities cannot cater for a whole village. Even with TVs in the room, who wants to pay CM prices to watch TV in the room? But then again, anyone who goes during the monsoon season should be prepared to take their chances with the weather.

However, I'm surprised by the suggestion to turn the jungle into a golf course. I think one of the main charms of Cherating is the immediate sense of peace and calm once your bus passes the main gate. For me, the drive through the jungle tells me that I've left the "real world" behind, and that my holiday is about to begin.

Another aspect about the jungle is that it blends in with the conservation theme that is prevalent in Cherating, and the use of natural materials (wood) for the buildings. The preservation of the jungle together with the turtle sanctuary, I feel, are plus points, not negative points.

As for the food, I think Malaysians and in fact Asians, are fairly demanding when it comes to food. And we look for variety in addition to food which suit our taste buds. There is no one Malaysian cuisine or Asian cuisine, as there is no one "European" cuisine, and I think Cherating caters to the wide range of GM's nationalities. In fact, it's probably better than most or all of the Asian villages which I've been to (I've been to 6 in Asia, one in the Americas). Just as I won't go to an American zone village to expecting the best Chinese food, I wouldn't expect an Asian village to serve the best pastas and pizzas.

As to the ambiance, yes, I agree with Sav. We've lost it in Cherating ever since they closed the nightclub at Pantai. What a pity! I've tried many times to tell the CM management that that was a mistake, but unfortunately, with the "upmarket" brand that they are trying to achieve, a nice bar with chairs and lounge seats and a restaurant which isn't a buffet restaurant, are more important priorities for Club Med.

Maukitten

I agree with you Maukitten! I miss that nightclub so much. Oh well...just go to Phuket for the nightflubs and Cherating for the peace and beauty :)

My little piece is pretty much the same as Mau's....

kkty2 I am surprised that you should say there is never a signature dish in the restaurant. The many times I have been there this year, there is ALWAYS a signature dish at dinner. It is positioned just opposite the roasting station. Maybe you missed it?

It is true that the timing you chose is not popular with the Europeans. You have to understand that Asian GMs eat early (i.e. as soon as the restaurant opens), it is not in their culture to have "aperitif". As they mostly come with their families, they usually retire to their rooms after the show. During Christmas, a lot of expatriate families spend their time in CLub Med and having lived in Asia for a while, they too do not really stay true to the "European Culture" - especially if they have young children with them.

I cringe at your idea of having a golf course in the village. As Mau said, Cherating is totally unique from other villages in the sense that it is surrounded by nature. It is one of tha last remaining villages which is very natural and most of the people I know who have visited it love it for the sense of tranquility - "zen", it's beautiful jungle and open sea. The rooms therefore are pretty basic in comparison to other European or American zone villages as the objective was to maintain the wooden structures they were built on. To date, Cherating CLub Med is still the longest wooden structure in Asia and is in the Guiness Book of Records.

True about the night club, I know many people miss it. SOrry to say I don't. But then again, Cherating like many other villages has gone upscale. It is still in the eraly stages though and I am sure over the next year, more developments will happen. They have already opened up the Orchid Lounge (the air-conditioned lounge next to the bar) at night for the nightclub. Worked great! - with the luxury of Air-conditioning!!

anyways kkty2 ... this is just my little piece in defense of Cherating. I would say if you give it another chance and be a little bit more open the next time, you will find yourself pleasantly surprised.


All in good time