I Stayed in the World’s Largest Hotel. It Has 7,351 Rooms and a Lot Going On.
· Vice
The world’s largest hotel has over 7,000 rooms, and it’s hard to wrap your head around that until you see it in person.
Malaysia’s First World Hotel in the Genting Highlands holds the Guinness record for largest hotel with 7,351 rooms, and has held that spot since regaining the title in 2015. It sits about 50 kms (31 miles) north of Kuala Lumpur and is built right into Resorts World Genting, with direct access to shopping, theme parks, and the country’s only legal casino area.
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I visited back in August 2016 while living my year-long dream life in Southeast Asia, and this place was insane. It’s in the lush green mountains, so at first you feel completely away from the massive city of KL. We took a cable car up to the entrance, and the views were genuinely breathtaking. Jurassic Park-level jungle surrounds you. Then you arrive at the top of the mountain, and the whole thing immediately becomes a different conversation.
Once you get to the entrance of the “hotel,” you realize it’s way bigger and stranger than that word suggests. We had to walk what felt like a literal mile just to get to the proper check-in place for our room because it’s so sprawling with so many “towers” of rooms. It felt like walking through a theme park’s version of different worlds, and all of them were connected by indoor walkways, colorful lighting, and a constant stream of people trying to get somewhere.
The place was absolutely packed. It felt like an upside-down version of Vegas’ Fremont Street on a Saturday night, but indoors. Before the pandemic, the hotel reportedly had an average occupancy rate of 90 percent, and the resort still markets it as a high-volume, budget-friendly option with automated check-in and rooms ranging from basic to club level. And budget-friendly it is. You can get a room for around $25 per night—no joke.
A World of Nonsense Awaits at the World’s Largest Hotel
There’s an indoor theme park, an outdoor one, a mall, Snow World, bowling, a casino, and a ridiculous amount of food. The food, to be fair, was incredible. Nothing felt cohesive, and nothing really made sense, but that was part of the fun. You’d look up in this area with 50-foot ceilings and see a rollercoaster whoosh by while people are also snow-tubing in the middle of summer. Meanwhile, I was just over here with my Char Kway Teow in awe of everything around me. Side note, if you’ve never eaten Char Kway Teow—find some and go now.
It also had that giant-resort energy where everything felt mildly confusing for no reason. We got turned away from the casino for wearing flip-flops, which was absurd considering you could wear them everywhere else, and there was a man wearing pajamas (but his shoes were closed-toed, so he was good). Then we found out you needed a casino card, and to get that, you had to register with your passport, which was back in the room a mile away. Also, there’s no WiFi in the rooms; you’ll need to purchase that and stay on the lobby level. So, keep that in mind if you ever visit—brush up on all the rules and etiquette, there are some weird ones.
The First World Hotel in Malaysia is quite the sight to behold. It’s huge, ridiculous, crowded, impressive, annoying, and completely committed to excess. If you’re looking for a quiet, spa getaway, this ain’t it. If you do, however, want an over-the-top experience in the middle of the jungle, on top of a mountain, you’ll love it.
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