Club Med Cherating Closes This October for a Full Reset
One of Malaysia's most familiar holiday names is about to go quiet for a while. Club Med Cherating, the brand's very first resort in Asia, will close on 11 October 2026 for a full renovation, ending a run that began in 1979 and drew generations of families to its stretch of jungle and beach on the Pahang coast.
The resort was picked in the 1970s by Club Med co-founder Gilbert Trigano for its untouched forest and sweeping beachfront, and it still holds an 80-hectare jungle and what the brand calls the world's longest wooden house on stilts. "Club Med Cherating holds a special place in our history as our first home in Asia," said Rachael Harding, Club Med's CEO for Southeast Asia and Pacific.
A send-off you can still catch
Before the doors close, Cherating is throwing itself a long goodbye, and it has already started. The headline event is Auction with Heart, a weekly charity auction running from September and building to a grand finale on the night of 8 October, where guests can bid on pieces of the resort's history: old signage, signature furnishings and treasures from the Chef de Village, with all proceeds going to charity.
There is more woven through the final weeks. A nostalgic street market returns weekly from mid-August, where guests are handed a traditional string of beads to trade for vintage finds, just as they were when the resort first opened. A timeline and memory wall invites visitors to add their own photos and wishes, guests can take on the resort's G.Os in friendly tournaments, and the nightly music runs through the hits of each decade the resort has seen. It lands neatly in Merdeka month, if you are already thinking about a break. (For ideas closer to the city, here is what's on around Kuala Lumpur this month.)
What comes back after the renovation
The refresh is meant to keep what Cherating is known for, its jungle, its beach and its sense of adventure, while adding five new signature experiences for when it reopens:
- The Jungle Express, a transit ride through the 80-hectare jungle to a hidden Pantai beach on the resort's far side.
- The Cliffside Challenge, climbing natural rock cliffs above the sea for panoramic ocean views.
- Jungle Discovery Trails, guided walks with a resident Green G.O, from sunrise hikes and birdwatching to fluorescent trails after dark.
- Farm-to-Fork in the Jungle, a ride to the Rembulan gourmet club for sustainably sourced local produce and evening cocktails.
- Firefly Mangrove Cruise, an evening boat trip along the mangrove river under a canopy lit by fireflies.
Club Med says the rebuild will keep a low-density footprint that respects the terrain and protects local biodiversity, in line with its Happy to Care sustainability approach.
One last visit
The resort stays open until 10 October 2026, so there is still a window to see it as it has always been before the transformation begins. Bookings are open now on the Club Med Malaysia site. And if you would rather point the Merdeka break somewhere new, a few short-haul options are worth a look too, like the Greater Bay Area's three-in-one trip.
Club Med, which invented the all-inclusive holiday club concept back in 1950, now runs close to 70 resorts across 40 countries. Cherating is where its Asia story started, and for anyone who grew up on those family holidays, this is the last call before the next chapter.
