Asia’s pioneering Club Med resort has closed after nearly half a century, but its famous Malaysian rainforest retreat is preparing for a rather grand second act.
Club Med Cherating, the Malaysian beach resort that brought Club Med to Asia in 1979, has closed for a major rebuild after 47 years. Pahang officials plan its return for late 2027, pointing to December. For guests who grew up with its teak paths, jungle walks and shared dinners, this is more than another hotel facelift. It is the end of an era, with a sequel already on the drawing board.
The last guests departed on 10 October 2026. Its doors shut on 11 October, after a three-day party for the press and travel trade from 7 to 9 October. It is a pause, not a goodbye to Cherating itself. Club Med plans to redo every room and public space, while keeping the site’s 80 hectares of rainforest central to the experience.
From helicopter search to holiday landmark
The story began with a helicopter and a rather ambitious shopping list. In the late 1970s, Club Med co-founder Gilbert Trigano surveyed Malaysia’s east coast at the request of the Malaysian government and Pahang state. He wanted a place where beach and jungle could share the same address. With local support from businessman Tan Sri Philip Kuok, Club Med Cherating opened in 1979.
Its dark teak buildings stood on stilts, echoing a traditional Malay kampung. That choice gave the resort a look and feel unlike the tower blocks that later came to define many tropical holidays. Guests moved along raised timber walkways, heard wildlife beyond their rooms and reached the shore through greenery rather than a shopping arcade.
Then there was the social side. In the early years, coloured beads served as holiday cash. Guests dined at shared tables with the resort’s G.Os, or Gentle Organisers. That could turn strangers into friends before dessert. There was probably no quieter way to lose an evening than by agreeing to just one more story.
One last show, then the lights went down
Club Med called its final celebration Endings & New Horizons. The name was suitably grand. So was the send-off. Club Med says opening night featured a Bohemian-themed poolside dinner, flying-trapeze performers high above the water, and the Moon & Sea Show. The Main Bar remained the natural last stop, as it had for generations.
On day two, visitors followed an 850-metre raised walkway through the resort’s green heart. They also visited the nearby Turtle Conservation and Information Centre, which helps protect turtles along this coast. Later came Malaysian-inspired dress, cocktails at the Coconut Garden, a lion dance and a cultural night market.
The more touching part required neither costume nor spotlight. A memory wall collected messages from guests who had marked birthdays, made friends or returned after many years. Club Med also ran weeks of old hits, sports contests and markets where the old bead tradition enjoyed another outing. Nostalgia, for once, was part of the programme rather than an extra charge.
The farewell included an Auction with Heart, with old signs, teak chairs and other pieces of resort history. Club Med says the proceeds are earmarked for essential items at Rapha Children’s Home in Kuantan, based on the home’s needs. It gave old furniture another purpose, without pretending a chair could hold all the memories attached to it.
A jungle resort with a new set of ambitions
The rebuild aims to lift comfort without losing what made Cherating famous. Club Med says it will retain a low-density layout that follows the land, with more focus on nature, local food and outdoor fun. Five planned activities tell the story.
Jungle Express will replace the old open-air wooden tram with a new ride through the trees to secluded Pantai beach. Jungle Discovery Trails, planned with a local non-profit group, will add guided sunrise walks, birdwatching, wildlife spotting and after-dark outings led by a Green G.O.
Cliffside Challenge will introduce climbing on natural rock formations above the sea. Farm-to-Fork in the Jungle will give the Rembulan restaurant a new role, with more focus on local food. And Firefly Mangrove Cruise will take guests into nearby waterways after dusk to see one of nature’s more convincing light shows.
They are plans, not attractions ready to book. Nor should the phrase ‘nature-led’ be mistaken for proof that building work has no impact. Club Med says the makeover will follow its Happy to Care approach and put biodiversity first. The measure of that pledge will be what remains protected when the builders leave, and how the new tours are run.
Rachael Harding, Club Med’s CEO for Southeast Asia and Pacific, describes the resort as the group’s first home in Asia. In the company’s statement, she said:
“When guests arrive, they do not simply enter a resort; they step into a living jungle playground, where the forest, the sea and the spirit of discovery come together in a way that is unique to Cherating.”
The people move on, but not out of the story
Another part of the change matters to the travel industry. Club Med says Malaysian G.Os and kitchen staff are moving to roles across its network. Some will help launch Club Med Borneo in Sabah, while others will head to resorts in Japan, Phuket, and elsewhere. The buildings are staying in Pahang; much of the know-how will travel.
The timing is useful for travel agents seeking another Malaysian Club Med option. Club Med Borneo is due to welcome its first guests on 16 November 2026 at Kuala Penyu, about 90 minutes by road from Kota Kinabalu International Airport. Its design draws on traditional Rungus longhouses. Club Med has set out plans for a low-impact site and is aiming for BREEAM certification. That is a target, not a certificate already awarded.
For Cherating itself, Club Med’s website lists 2027 as its return year. Pahang’s tourism authority has named December 2027 as the goal. Neither should be treated as a confirmed date for guest arrivals until bookings reopen.
Forty-seven years is a long run in a business that often changes its decor before guests have learnt the way to breakfast. Cherating’s challenge now is to return with better rooms and fresh reasons to visit, yet still feel like the place where friendships began over a shared table. The rainforest, mercifully, has not asked for a makeover.
For resort updates, visit Club Med Cherating. For other Malaysian stays, see Club Med Borneo.
By: My Thanh Pham – © 2026.
Read Time: 5 minutes.
Author Bio:
My Thanh Pham has lived more of a travel life than most people ever do. After studying tourism, she went straight into the work of building journeys across Southeast Asia, temples, beaches, night trains, and all, quietly fixing the messy bits so others could enjoy the ride.
She was never meant to stay behind a desk. Airline life followed, dividing her days between reservations and the airport floor, right where travel shows its true colours. Missed flights, tight hugs, frayed tempers, sudden joy, she saw it all, close up.
Now at EGT Media, My Thanh has traded ticket stubs for a keyboard. She writes the way she once worked: steady, clear-eyed and respectful of the road’s unpredictable rhythm, guiding readers through a world she knows from the inside.
