FatCUPID review by CC's

Great Barrier Reef (Fish and Chips) RM25

"Beer-battered fish fillets, served with fries,salad and tartare sauce"

Interesting review by CC's. Please refer to his blog here.. 

State-ly boutique hotel in Langkawi Seri Chenang

SeriChenang Langkawi

NESTLED in the bustling Pantai Chenang area of Langkawi, a new boutique hotel, Seri Chenang Resort and Spa Langkawi is all set to create an impression once it opens its doors in May.
According to the resort’s chief executive officer Norlin Datuk Zainal Abidin, the boutique resort, which sits on 0.5 hectares of land, is meant to be a home away from home that epitomes Malaysian culture, heritage and warmth.

One of the highlights of the luxury resort is the six traditional Malay heritage villas designed in different sizes and inspired by the architecture of traditional homes from Malaysian states.
Named Rumah Terengganu, Rumah Negri Sembilan, Rumah Melaka, Rumah Selangor, Rumah Kedah and Rumah Pahang, each villa has its own distinct architectural characteristics. The villas range in size from one bedroom to up to five bedrooms, for a total of 13 spacious rooms that mirror the number of states of Malaysia.

Located on the banks of Kuala Chenang River, next to the popular Chenang beach, the villas are set around a lush royal Malay-inspired garden complete with water features and landscaping.
Intended to be a family holiday home, the resort has the makings of a luxurious getaway with personalised treatment for guests.

“The land belongs to my father who bought it 10 years ago. The initial plan was to build a family holiday home for ourselves but after taking into consideration the cost we thought it would be more feasible to build a resort,” said Norlin.

She added that her brother, Mohammad Shukor who is the product director for the resort, wanted to share the design and architecture of Malaysia with people from around the world.
The project that cost RM5mil began in 2009 with internal funding and Norlin, who has experience in marketing and sales in the retail industry and shopping centre management, was roped in.
Although Langkawi has a number of high-end resorts catering to the upscale market, Norlin and her team are confident that their venture will be successful.
Although the target is to recoup their costs in five years, Norlin is confident they can do it in a shorter time span.

“We have a unique product to offer and we believe we complement all the other luxury hotels on the island and this gives more options for tourists to choose from. There are no other hotels with similar a concept anywhere in the world,” she added.

Langkawi receives 2.8 million tourists a year and the government has come up with a refurbishment plan and funds amounting to RM450mil to give Pantai Chenang a facelift.
Norlin and her team are looking at a 60% occupancy rate for the first few months of operation and are going all out to promote the hotel via tourism exhibitions, travel agents and partnerships.
To ensure they have fulfilled all government requirements, the resort has to have at least five licences for: building a resort on a certain location, fitness, star rating, security and safety from the Fire Department, business, foreign staff, and transportation for resort guests and staff.

According to Norlin, the hotel has more than just architecture to offer and is proud of their service, which she said is their best asset.
For Norlin, the mother of a two-year-old daughter, family always comes first and she insists that the same treatment be accorded to the guests of the hotel.

“Guests are greeted by the resort manager at the airport simply because the manager is the host of the house (resort),” she said.
To add icing to the cake, the resort has butlers who have been specially trained to cater to the needs of guests.

Guests can actually arrange to have the butlers accompany them on their travels around the island or they can rely on phones provided by the hotel to contact the hotel for directions or assistance.
The resort has a direct access to Chenang Beach via a bridge (titi in Malay) as the resort is separated by a river that runs through the resort. Guests can watch fishermen passing along the river in their traditional boats, going out for their daily catch.

“We also want guests to take the opportunity to enjoy the tax-free alcohol, so we are introducing the ‘buy your own’ (BYO) policy whereby the resort will not sell alcohol in the hotel, but guests can purchase their beverages from the supermarkets outside or our butlers can do that for them,” added Norlin.

AL :-

I welcome Seri Chenang to become one of the new boutique hotel in Langkawi..

Review of Red Tomato Langkawi by Sidney Toh

Come across this blog which give interesting picture & review of Red Tomato.
Located in Pantai Chenang.. Thanks Sidney toh for the great review..

Look here..

Pantai Cenang Jetty Will Benefit 300 Fishermen

LANGKAWI, Nov 25 (Bernama) -- The RM9 million Pantai Cenang fish landing jetty, here, when completed next year will benefit more than 300 fishermen, said Kedah Malaysian Fisheries Development Board (LKIM) director Mohamad Noor Had.

He said the allocation was approved by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak when he visited the area last year.

The construction of the jetty began in October. It will have a fish landing site and wave breakers.

A seafood restaurant will also be built at the jetty.

-- BERNAMA

AL :-

Been waiting for the bridge construction starts.. Still in talking mode ke?

Pantai Chenang Beach

Picture of the day. Long Pantai Chenang beach. Where all the fun begins in Langkawi. :). Can see clearly Mat Cinchang Mountain at the background. Thanks to brombags for sharing.. More from him here.

Pantai Chenang - Night Life

Picture of the day. One might wonder how Pantai Cenang look like at night. This picture should give you an idea. :) Thanks for sharing Ye-Wa... More from her here.

Restoran Antarabangsa Dibangunkan Di Pantai Cenang

LANGKAWI, 12 Julai (Bernama) -- Sebuah restoran antarabangsa akan dibangunkan di Pantai Cenang di sini, yang diharapkan menjadi satu lagi tarikan untuk pelancong terutama pelancong asing.

Restoran antarabangsa itu akan dibangunkan oleh Syarikat Palm Star Sdn Bhd, dan projek itu turut melibatkan pembinaan hotel empat bintang, service apartment dan bangunan perniagaan di atas kawasan seluas 2.48 hektar dengan peruntukan keseluruhannya bernilai RM150 juta.

Pengarah Urusan syarikat berkenaan Datuk Mohd Khay Ibrahim berkata keseluruhan projek itu akan dijalankan dalam tiga fasa.

Katanya restoran antarabangsa itu akan mengandungi beberapa unit iaitu makanan Melayu, Jepun, Arab, Thai, India, Itali dan makanan barat.

"Projek itu adalah satu ikon pelancongan kepada pulau peranginan ini," katanya pada sidang media selepas majlis menandatangani perjanjian pajakan dan pembangunan projek itu di Bangunan Lada di sini Selasa.

Pada majlis itu, Lembaga Pembangunan Langkawi (Lada) yang merupakan pemilik tanah tersebut diwakili oleh Pengurus Besarnya Datuk Azman Umar manakala syarikat itu diwakili oleh Mohd Khay.

Bernama

AL :-

Diharap sistem pembuangan sisa makanan & kumbuhan diteliti dalam projek ini. Sbb lokasi Restoran amat sensitif. Sebarang pencemaran akan boleh menyebabkan kerosakan kepada pantai berdekatan.  

Chenang Beach by Kc Contreras

Picture of the day. Chenang beach during peak hours. Thanks KC for your picture.

Comments by him :- 
My trip to Langkawi was AMAZING. the food, the people, the beaches, the water, the waterfalls the accommodations...all top notch. I will be back that is for sure.

Pantai Chenang Beach

Chenang Beach by Mario Gala

Picture of the day. If anyone wonder how Chenang Beach look like please to this picture. This is the most famous place for beach activity as well as relaxing place at night. The calmness might varies dependent on the
season. For fellow tourist need to plan ahead so that you trip might be enjoyable. Please check here for weather forecast. 
 
Anyway, i've ask Mario to comment about his trip to Langkawi. So here goes.

Comment from Mario (more great picture from Mario here) :-
One bad thing that I found was the lack of public transportation, no public bus to go anywhere... Since there are public buses everywhere else in rural towns in Malaysia, you would expect Langkawi to have some too, at least for the main routes, and not just expensive taxis. Also, just having one or two ferries a day (from Penang) sounds a bit too little.

About taxis, at least something could be done to make it easier to find taxis to share (e.g. some specific taxi stand for a few common destinations), rather than just having taxis for individual hire. I had to walk around the Kuah Jetty for quite a while looking for tourists with large backpacks before I was able to find someone to share a taxi with...

Apart from that, I visited the beaches of Pantai Cenang and Pantai Tengah, and I found them very nice, and they were extremely quiet and uncrowded compared to what I was expecting. There were only a few people here and there, not a mass tourist destination as you might expect from its popularity.

Timbermad :-

I totally agree with Mario. Normally we travel by car in Langkawi. But that does not mean that public transportation like bus cannot be introduce in Langkawi. Not all tourist have huge budget to travel. Sometime its more exciting to travel by bus around Langkawi. Perhaps this should be a new areas that LADA or Local authorities can improve.