Cherengin Hills Convention & Spa Resort, Janda Baik, Pahang

Introduction 
The Cherengin Hills Convention & Spa Resort is strategically-located within beautiful tropical surroundings in the heart of Janda Baik in Bentong, Pahang.  The opportunity to be there was due to a work-related event recently.

Getting there
The road to Janda Baik is hilly and steep, and not to mention the magnificent panorama that comes together with it.  I wish I could take a few snaps of the view, but as I felt slightly dizzy on the way uphill, I tried to relax and refrained from activities that require focusing, such as taking photographs. The hill journey felt long, but in reality it's only very short.

Road transport to Janda Baik takes roughly one hour from KL via Lebuhraya Pantai Timur (LPT) or the east coast expressway, depending on which part of KL as well as the city's traffic condition. Meanwhile, the journey from the Cherengin Hills resort back to PTJ took approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes on that Sunday evening.

 Front building of the Cherengin Hills Convention & Spa Resort

At the lobby, facing the one of the blocks that houses the convention rooms 

 The open-air lounge at the lobby... it's cozy but I dare not sit too long as the plush sofa made me feel like falling asleep

The swimming pools 

A dip in the pool

For many children and even adults, one of the most attractive parts of any hotel or resort would be the swimming pools.  I do not know exactly the depth of each pool, but based on personal estimation - water level up to my neck, the adult's pool must be at least 1.4 meter deep.  

The pools are normally filled with people in the mid-morning between 9 am to 12 noon.  Size-wise, I think that both pools are huge enough for the size of the resort.  Unlike most swimming pools elsewhere that have strong chlorine smell, the ones here don't.  Instead, the water is salty like sea water.  The floor of the pool may feel slippery for some, so for non-swimmers like me who merely depend on walking to survive in the pool, please walk carefully.  

Speaking of the pools, we had some activities there.  There's a trust-related game where group members are to catch an individual member who's supposed to dive backward into the pool (taking turn, one by one) , ensuring that this person does not get into the water.  A number of us fell into the water to a small extent.  

Morning view from one side of the room on the 2nd floor

Inside the room.  This one belongs to the smallest category of room called Superior Room.  Larger rooms are available and recommended for families.

The room and facilities

Each room has individual air-conditioning units, so guests are free to adjust the temperature according to their preferences.  One of the window panels can be opened if you like some fresh air to flow in or just to take a nice view of the scenery.  The room was clean too.

Basic toiletries such as shampoo, body wash, soap, shower cap and sanitary bag are provided in the room.  Two pieces of towel and a piece of floor towel are in as well.  More stuff are provided for Deluxe Rooms and above.  A few units of irons and ironing boards are placed outside the rooms. Free wi-fi services are available at the lobby and convention rooms.

Afternoon view from the center of the room window

Dream Valley, which is basically a farm and mini zoo with many rabbits and a few other small animals 

One of the rabbits at Dream Valley.  The rabbits are surprisingly not afraid of people.

Gelugor Garden Cafe past dinner time.  It's an open-air coffee house.

The coffee house

Gelugor Garden Cafe serves buffet meals.  A la carte meals either at the Cafe or for room service are available on request.  Most of the dishes served are local cuisines with a bit of western servings. Tastiness is subjective, but overall, I was happy with most of the food served. Gotta take care not to over-eat, so portion control is very important.  

Cat at the cafe

View of Kampung Cherengin from the resort 

Spa of greenery

One of the questions that came into picture upon touring around the resort was that  "Is there a spa?"  Despite "Spa" being part of the name Cherengin Hills Convention & Spa Resort, there isn't one there. However, the tranquil surrounding should be as good as a spa in providing relaxation to its guests.

Conclusion
The check-in and check-out processes were efficient as they're quite fast.  The staff whom I've encountered so far were polite and helpful.

Climate-wise, Janda Baik is not as cold as Genting Highlands but it's cooler than the ordinary low land.  Phone line reception is good on the hill.  The Cherengin Hills resort is a good place for team building programmes and physical activities, or simply for a short and relaxing break at a village within a lush greenery.  It's ideal for folks who prefer quiet holidays away from shopping malls, busy streets and concrete jungles.

If you were to ask me whether I'll return to Cherengin or any other part of Janda Baik, well it depends mainly on one factor.  Initially, I was skeptical if I would enjoy it because I had an idea there isn't much to see other than tropical rain forest.  But once I was there, I soon fell in love with the place.  One thing for sure, if I were to make a future visit, I should get some Novomin first in order not to risk having a rough trip uphill and down.

Swiss-Garden Hotel & Residences Malacca

Thanks to a work-related training in Melaka recently, I had the opportunity to try out one of the newest hotels in town - the Swiss Garden Hotel & Residences.

Melaka and I

The first time I went to Melaka, was some 15 years ago for a cousin's wedding.  I immediately fell in love with the cozy historical town. And in between, I made a few more trips, largely work-related. The best part is of course having family members living in Melaka, and thus the home-like feeling when I made my visit to their home.

Back to today's topic, here's my humble review of the Swiss Garden in Melaka:

The Swiss Garden, Melaka: An Introduction

The hotel, which comprises two, is built above a shopping mall called The Shore.   The Hotel Tower has 31 floors while the Residences Tower has 41 floors.  To-date, it is the tallest hotel in Melaka. 

The twin towers are connected via Level 3A, but all check-ins (and out) are done on the Ground Floor. The Swiss Garden is located within walking distance to various local sites of attraction, among them: Sungai Melaka where the river cruise passes, Jonker Walk, and Kampung Morten.

Parking is free for the moment, regardless of whether you're a hotel guest or not.  The Shore is still new and coming up, therefore, expect completing your shopping round within a very short time.

A view from Level 27 of the Swiss Garden residences tower.... the floor where I stayed for 2 nights: 

The Deluxe Room is pretty big for a deluxe.  It can fit in 4-5 people.  

There is a King-sized bed, together with a day-bed near the sliding door.  By the way, the sliding door which opens up to the balcony can be easily unlocked from within the room, which may appear creepy if you are uncomfortable with height.  But it provides a nice view of the town.  The air conditioner automatically turns off when the door is opened.

The Sleep Area

  

The Restroom and Shower

The restroom and shower are segregated from the main area of the room by a glass panel.  It is frosted enough to ensure privacy, but at the same time enables whoever outside your room to know you're in there.

The restroom and shower of Swiss Garden earns my 5 stars rating because the overall set-up is user-friendly.  Just be extra careful if you have very young children due to the glass walls.

A note for guests with special physical needs, the restroom is spacious, the shower cubicle is accessible via a commode chair, and there isn't any steep path into or out of the restroom.  A plus point is that, there is no bath tub to cause congestion. 

There are two shower outlets in the shower room, one is high-up while the other is placed at a sitting-level position and can be held by hand.

Typical toiletries are provided: Shampoo, body wash, moisturizer, soap (one in the shower, one beside the wash basin), 2 large towels, 2 medium-sized towels, shower cap, sewing kit, and sanitary bag.  

Inside the wardrobe: Hairdryer, iron with board, 2 pairs of house-slippers, and laundry bag.

The Facilities

Coffee-making facility:
Sachets of coffee (Nescafe), tea, green tea, sugar, creamer, and bottled water are provided.  There are 2 mugs, 2 drinking glasses, and a kettle.  

Kitchenware:
There is an induction cooker on the mini kitchen top, and a mini refrigerator inside the mini kitchen cabinet.  Among the family-friendly features.... :)

The mini refrigerator (provided in all the hotel and residences rooms) comes in handy for ladies who want to keep their expressed breast milk (EBM) chilled.  As it is a small capacity fridge, you will therefore need to turn the fridge button into "max" to ensure sufficient chilling.  I put a glass of water in the fridge to test its coolness, it took about 4 hours after turning on "max" to be satisfactorily-cold.

Those who would like to keep their EBM frozen instead may inquire from the coffee house.  I have no personal experience seeking assistance in freezing milk, but have asked for ice from the coffee house for my Coleman box before I left, which they had kindly obliged and even helped keep the box until I finished my lunch.

Electronics:
The deluxe room is equipped with one TV with selected channels - a mixture of local ones, a few from ASTRO, and channels from Singapore.   The black ring behind the TV contains the wall light (I turned it off because I prefer a dimmer room).  There is also a DVD player, a safekeeping box, and air-conditioner.

I like the fact that the room uses individual air-conditioning units as opposed to the stone-cold centralized system - despite the latter being normally adjustable.  Throughout the 2 nights and 3 days stay, I did not feel uncomfortably cold after coming out from the shower, unlike past experiences in a few other places.

Internet access:
The hotel provides wifi service to all its guests without additional charges. The username is your room number, while the password is provided together with your access card during check in. The connection speed is good, but a little slow around midnight.

View from the room - evening

View from the room - at night 

Pool, Sauna and Food

Room aside, among the main attractions of Swiss Garden Melaka are the swimming pools, located at Level 9.  There is an infinity pool for adults, which was under maintenance at the time of visit.  The children's pool is superb, complete with slides and fountains.  The water may be a bit cold, but generally tolerable in view of our hot tropical weather, though not on a rainy day.

The 'glass cube' above the pool houses the gym.  

As for the sauna, I did not join my fellow lady colleagues due to the "big P" (speculate no further, I'm not referring to pregnancy...). Quite a waste to miss it, because it's free for hotel guests.  According to what that's told later, the sauna started off at 35 deg C, but 30 minutes later, the temperature went up to 81 deg C. Wow, that's way beyond normal human temperature.  Apparently, such heat "helps" in weight loss, as in the case of one person in the group who weighed herself before and after the sauna session and witnessed a reduction by 1 kg.  

In terms of food, specifically at the Terrace Coffee House where we ate, I had a pleasant experience with the service as well as variety of food.  How not to gain weight even by 500g?   I seriously have to start taking effective measures already, because more than 1 year down the line, my flabbiness is ever present as if I just delivered, or even looking as if in early pregnancy.  I could easily shed my flab with my #1, but not with #2. 

Miscellaneous and Conclusion

Before going to the Swiss Garden in Melaka, I used to hear about cases of late check-ins, notably during the holiday seasons.  However, as I was there on ordinary working days, check-in took place as early as 2 pm, and the room was properly cleaned-up.  The service was good and smooth on the whole.

Facing the Straits of Malacca from Level 30...

If given a chance, I surely want to come back, not alone, but with my loved ones. Preferably not during a busy holiday because long queue often wears my patience out, so an ordinary day will be great.... after all, a vacation is supposed to help relax the mind, not cause tension.