Club Med Cherating Beach

Hi, everyone -

I found this awesome site just yestreday while looking for some reviews/opinions on asian villages. Here's my little story. We travelled a lot across Europe, including several trips to CM villages but never actually breaking its borders so this summer we really wanted something for a change. After spending some time on the CM site we finally set our minds on Cherating Beach, but then I found out that it got pretty badly reviewed on the TripAdvisor. People are mostly complaining about the rooms, which tend to be small, air condtioning, that they seem to think is virtually non-existent and, surprisingly for a CM village, food, which, I'm sorry to say, caused some of them diarrhea.

So now all of the above are my concern. At the same time in the bottom of my soul I really want to go to Malaysia, see Kualu Lumpur, the Cherating area, which, everyone admits, has of the most beatiful sceneries in the South-East Asia.

So I'm actually looking for some help on the following questions:

- are the rooms at Cherating really that small?
- what about the food? It's probably ok with me and my wife but we're travelling with a child so that may really be a problem for her.
- Air-conditioning. A critical subject in this part of the world, I think.
- What about mini-club?
- Is sea's ok there?
- If not Cherating then what village is worth a visit in Asia?

And yes, I'd really really really appreciate any help on this

Thanks a lot in advance everyone!!!!

From my point of view ...

- All the rooms are very nice but it depends on type of room anyway. Some rooms are far from the main area but you can request with your travel agent.
- The food in Cherating is awesome. There are many kinds of food that you can choose and also for the kids, I dont think that there will be a problem with your daughter.
- Good air-conditioning.
- How old is your daughter? As I sent my son at the Mini Club, I didnt need to worry about him cos all the staffs there were very kind and nice. My son also loved going there as well. He really enjoyed all the activities and shows.
- The beach is clean and the sea is beautiful.
- I suggest you to visit Bali, Indonesia or Phuket, Thailand.

The CM Cherating is one of my favourite places for holidays.

Cheers!!!

YoYo: thanks for your reply. I actually took my risks asking a question, that was discussed here not once. My daughter is 8 yo, and she normally likes MiniClub a lot.
We're actually deciding between Kani and Cherating now and each of these options has strong sides.
Since we're going for 15 days, I'm afraid Kani may be to limited a place. Cherating, from what I heard has a pretty big area. Also Kani lacks the MiniClub which is unfortunate.

Sorry, I pressed the submit button accidentally :). All in all, this is going to be our first experience in South-East Asia and we just don't want it to get spoiled. Many thanks again.

- are the rooms at Cherating really that small?
Rooms are 21 m2 for standard. chk out the size
http://www.clubmed.com.sg/cherating/superior_classic.php
anyway, who spends time in the rooms but to sleep at nite ?

Food
i brougt my 2+ year old kid there. He had no problems with the food. Avoid the spicy food and chilies if u're not used to it.

Air-conditioning.
It worked fine for us.

Is sea's ok there?
>clean

- If not Cherating then what village is worth a visit in Asia?
If u have 15 days, phuket or bali is worth a visit as you can tour the region.

Vinz - thank you too. Bali's an option too. As far as I know Cherating has a better beach. Anyway, it's really pretty hard to decide.

1.The rooms are not THAT small.If you want higher level of comfort,you can
always take the Deluxe room or Suite.
2.You should have no problems with the food as there is a large array of international cuisines to
choose from.Your kid should be quite well fed with fries,hotdogs,pastas,etc.
3.Airconditioning is never a problem for me, at least.
4.If you are looking for a beach to relax,it's perfect as it is a private beach so it's serene and
uncrowded.
5.I will choose Bali.I think Kani will eb a bored for your kid because they offer mostly water activities.

Hope that helps.:)

The thing about Bali is that the food is nowhere as good as Cherating, and due to the smaller variety in Bali, your child will be more picky about eating. Maybe we went there at bad wrong time, but Bali is a village where alot of the action happens outside the club, and the club itself is quite dead and not as happening as Cherating.

It really depends on the type of holiday you want. If it is a holiday of relaxation, pick Bali because it's quiet and serene. But for a fun and exciting holiday, I'd advise you to go for Cherating.

I like both of Bali and Phuket. Due to 15 days, I would prefer staying in Phuket cos there are lots of places that you can visit outside Club Med and I dont mean for Pubs or Bars. You can go to Phi Phi Island which is one of the most beautiful Islands in Thailand. In my opinion, the beach in Phuket is nicer than Bali although it's a bit crowded. You can also easily go to the town and it takes just about half an hour.

For Bali, there are many places that you can visit also but the beach there is not that nice as I thought. Easy to go out and good for shopping. The food is so-so for me.

For Cherating, I dont argue that the beach is very nice and clean. If you like quiet place, you should go there then. There is nothing much outside the village and it's quite far away to go to the town.

For all these villages, the Mini Club is very good and lots of fun. I think your daughter would love it!!!

Cheers!!!

Hi, again and many thanks to all of you!

Seems like we're coming to the final decision. Looks like we'll be going to Cherating this time, 'cos we'd really like to stay in Singapore and KL for several days and it's most easier to first fly to Singapore, then to KL and then to Sherating. It's almost a 24 hours trip from here, so we'd better split it into several parts. All of us do need a quiet and peaceful holiday this time, so based on what you guys are saying it seems like an ideal place for this. The place lacks scuba, which is a drawback, bu I think I can live with this. Besides, I think that the village itself has a lot to offer, so I'm really looking forward to it. We most probably be going there in very early June, I do hope it's not going to be too hot there at this time.

Another stupidity - is any vaccination recommended before we go? The child normally gets almost every vaccination possible at school, but what about grown-ups? Again, this is my first to Asia and it almost seems like another planet to me :).