For generations of Malaysian families and travellers, Club Med Cherating has been more than a holiday resort. Tucked between the South China Sea and an expansive stretch of tropical jungle, it has become part of the country’s travel folklore—a place associated with family holidays, barefoot adventures and the particular freedom of disappearing into nature for a few days.
Now, after more than four decades, that chapter is coming to an end.
Club Med Cherating will begin a full resort renovation on 11 October 2026, marking a significant transformation for the property that opened in 1979 as Club Med’s first resort in Asia. The renovation will usher the destination into a new era of all-inclusive hospitality while retaining the natural landscape and pioneering spirit that made Cherating distinctive in the first place.
The Original Jungle Playground
When Club Med co-founder Gilbert Trigano selected Cherating in the late 1970s, the site was largely untouched forest overlooking the coast. Today, the resort encompasses an 80-hectare self-contained jungle, alongside one of the world’s longest wooden houses on stilts.
That relationship with nature will remain central to the property’s next chapter.
The renovated resort is being designed around a low-density architectural footprint that works with the existing terrain, while Club Med says measures will be taken to protect local biodiversity during construction.
The ambition is not to erase what came before, but to refine it. The new experience will combine a more sophisticated interpretation of all-inclusive hospitality with the sense of exploration that has always defined Cherating.
A New Kind Of Jungle Escape
Five new signature experiences will form part of that vision.
The Jungle Express will take guests through the resort’s preserved jungle to Pantai beach, while the Cliffside Challenge will invite adventurous travellers to climb natural rock formations overlooking the sea.
Elsewhere, guided Jungle Discovery Trails will explore the surrounding ecosystem through sunrise hikes, wildlife spotting, birdwatching and after-dark fluorescent walks developed with a local NGO.
The experience extends into dining, too. At the Rembulan gourmet club, the new Farm-to-Fork in the Jungle concept will bring locally sourced produce into focus before guests gather for cocktails, while a Firefly Mangrove Cruise will offer an atmospheric evening journey through the mangroves illuminated by fireflies.
Together, the experiences suggest a resort that is less about separating guests from their surroundings and more about drawing them deeper into them.
A Farewell To Cherating’s First Era
Before the transformation begins, Club Med is inviting guests to celebrate the resort’s history through a series of farewell activities.
From mid-August, a weekly Street Market will revive the nostalgic tradition of exchanging bead necklaces for quirky finds and vintage treasures. A Timeline & Memory Wall will give returning guests an opportunity to revisit their own memories of the resort, while sporting challenges and nightly musical selections will celebrate the decades of Club Med Cherating’s history.
Perhaps the most tangible farewell will come through Auction with Heart, with weekly auctions beginning in September and culminating in a final auction on 8 October. Guests will be able to bid on pieces of the resort’s history, including signage, furnishings and other cherished objects, with proceeds donated to charity.
For a property that has witnessed generations of families return, the auction offers an opportunity to take home a physical fragment of a place that has existed in the memories of so many.
Club Med Cherating’s transformation is therefore more than a renovation. It is a reminder that the most enduring luxury destinations are often those that become woven into the lives of their guests. As this pioneering Malaysian resort prepares to close one chapter, its next iteration promises to retain the quality that made it memorable in the first place: the rare ability to make nature feel like home.
