Desaru Coast Conference Centre – MALAYSIA WORLD HERITAGE TRAVEL SITE

Key five reasons why you should go Desaru Coast fast!

I have made up my mind to head “down south” again this year after I was impressed by the development of the state of Johor when I visited the place a year ago. This round, I decided to take an in-depth travel to Desaru Coast, which spans over 3,900 acres along a pristine 17km beachfront that faces eastwards over the clear ocean waters.

I’m well prepared to share with you my exploration to this place as something new and exciting are waiting all of us there. Let’s see what excite me during my trip.

The stunning Desaru Coast Hard Rock Hotel

The 365-room hotel is linked to a newly built world-class waterpark via its ground level. Overlooking the man-made beach and wave pools, Desaru Coast Hard Rock Hotel features eco-friendly themed, music-inspired elements as well as a resort-styled accommodation experience for its guests. Just trust me, you will definitely wish to visit here again and again after your first trip here. Well, if you are Johoreans or Johor residents, you can keep track of 50% discounts offer before your trip here.

The hotel rooms, at first glance might be quite similar to other typical hotel rooms, but in fact it got something make you feel it is still above your expectation as it takes everything with attention to detail (you can see umbrella, weighting machines, complimentary minibar and snack tray in your room and the guitar logo is printed on its pillow). Refill water bottle and water dispenser are available to reduce the usage of its plastic bottle. Guests will receive a personalised welcome message when switching on TV and they can enjoy a great selection of rock music.

Themed Rock Star concept, all guests can be entertained by live band daily as scheduled. There is a memorabilia exhibition of the Rock Stars Collection and a Sound of Your Stay Music program in a complimentary audio experience for its guests to either enjoy creating own personalised playlist, playing a music instrument or listening to 10 specially-curated records etc at specific schedule.

Besides, a 23-acre waterfront landscaped retail and lifestyle village, offering exciting retail, restaurants, cafes and entertainment outlets are just within walking distance from the hotel.

World-class Desaru Coast Water Challenge Park

Even though the weather is hot in Malaysia, but it will not stop anybody, both young and old from exploring this newly-built theme park. Featuring more than 20 wet and dry rides, slides and attractions, this waterpark can accommodate up to 12,000 guests at one time. It is home to unique rides including the first-ever water coaster in the region and one of the biggest wave pools in the world. You will find it a great splashing time with your family and friends here.

Taking “Kraken’s Revenge” as example, it brings guests to the sky through its shipwreck and throw them in fast speed to the water pools.

It creates excitement and fun with loud screaming heard everywhere inside the theme park.

Golfing Paradise – The Els Club Desaru Coast

Set in the heart of Desaru Coast, The Els Club Desaru Coast features 45-holes of golf in total, with two distinct clubs; Ocean Course, a 27-hole golf course designed by Ernie Els and Valley Course, an 18-hole golf course designed in collaboration with Els’ long standing friend and major champion, Vijay Singh.

Managed by world-renowned management organisation, Troon Golf, the experience, service and condition will be of the highest order and will bring a new standard to gold in Southeast Asia, giving members and guests the assurance their experience will be first-class each and every time they play.

Complimentary shuttle bus is available for guests to The Els Club from Hard Rock Hotel. Golf lovers can definitely enjoy a nice stay with great golfing experience. For non-golfers, you can also enjoy the lush greenery view for the stunning golf course.

Special events and activities

To position Desaru Coast as a premium destination resort, a host of exciting events and activities will be held all year-long that promises great fun for whole family and create memories that will last a lifetime. Its first edition of Desaru Coast Gourmet Series, themed “A Malaysian Journey”, featuring award winning Michelin Grand Chef, Emmanuel Stroobant is one of the examples that offering exclusive dining experience that took place in Dec last year for its guests. Look forward for the remaining five-series of this special curated dining program in 2019, which is partnered with Singapore’s culinary event organisers, SAVOUR.

It is proud to say that I managed to sample the six-course dinner, a first-of-its-kind mouth-watering fusion flavour during my visit served by the celebrity chef Emmanuel.

Desaru Coast Gourment Series is part of “Desaru Coast Live Series”, a curation of special events focusing on music, gourmet and lifestyle, which includes sports, designed exclusively for Desaru Coast with the aim to nurture it as a signature events destination.

Key Upcoming Development

Upcoming components due to open in 2019 include renowned hotels such as The Westin Desaru Coast Resort, Anantara Desaru Coast Resort Villas and OneOnly Desaru Coast. Besides that, Desaru Coast Conference Centre, a fully-equipped multipurpose venue that can host up to 1,000 participants is another key attractions for the entire development to cater to corporate functions, meetings, exhibitions and entertainment events.

I’ve not been to Johor for over seven years, and when the opportunity came up to visit this southern state, I made some preparations for the trip…but boy, nothing prepared me for how much this state has transformed in such a short period of time!

Legoland came to my mind as my first destination to visit in Johor, but I was also curious about what Desaru looks like now compared to my childhood days. I still remember it was the place my parents brought me to when I was a kid. Perhaps the visit will rekindle some childhood memories from back then.

I put up a couple of nights at Sand Sandals Desaru Beach Resort Spa, a relaxing resort where you can enjoy both the private pool and its beach. It’s the perfect place for those who love water activities as the resort can arrange for your parasailing or water-skiing sessions. Guests who are in the mood for some pampering can visit the spa to indulge in massages, body scrubs and reflexology.

A golf club – the Els Club Desaru (elsclubmalaysia.com) – is just a short distance away. Golfers can enjoy playing at either the 27-hole Ocean Course or the 18-hole Valley Course, both offering amazing views of the beautifully-landscaped surroundings. Although I’m not a golfer, I was impressed with the facilities, service and panorama of the golf courses. I just wonder whether it would be a “distraction” for golfers trying to put that hole-in-one!

Also within Desaru is the Malaysia Tourism Award-winning Desaru Fruit Farm (desarufruitfarm.com). Occupying an area of 100 acres, this thriving “garden” is planted with more than 100 varieties of tropical fruits such as durian, rambutan, guava, mango, “thousand fingers banana” and more. Visitors to the farm can go on the guided tour to learn about the farm’s agricultural and pest management practice, taste the fruits that are in season and learn about bee-keeping and honey-harvesting.

My final stop was Legoland, where I could be a “child” again! Since it opened its doors in September 2012 as the first Legoland in Asia, it kept on introducing something new each year, keeping its attraction fresh and its fans coming back for more.

It was my first time there and I was kept fully occupied with the range of activities and fun engineered to keep visitors like me enthralled. The latest addition to the park is the Virtual Reality Coaster called The Great Lego Race which synchronises the visuals projected onto the VR headset with the roller coaster’s twists, turns, drops and climbs. Even if you’re not a Lego fan, being here alone will suddenly turn you into one!

Traveling around Johor this time around, I could see that the state is headed for a massive transformation with developments in Iskandar region, Desaru, Danga Bay and Forest City. The Desaru Coast project will become a new tourist attraction in the southern region of Malaysia with the opening of Desaru Coast Adventure Waterpark, and Desaru Coast Conference Centre as a business events venue. Premium-brand properties such as Desaru Coast Resort, Hard Rock Hotel and Anantara Desaru Coast Resort Villas, meanwhile, will set the tone for the region’s high-end holiday appeal.

I think another trip to Johor is in store for me once all this development is complete!