Thursday December 2, 2010
TRADITION plays an important role in any festive season and Christmas is no different. This year, a group of media representatives and celebrities were given the opportunity to join in the celebrations, albeit a bit early, at YTL’s Cameron Highlands Resort.
On Nov 20, legendary shoemaker Datuk Jimmy Choo hit the switch to light up the Christmas trees at the hotel and mark the beginning of the Christmas season up in the clouds.
The resort and its surroundings have been festively decorated and, with the flick of the switch, a spectacular display of lights burst into view, creating a magical display in the foggy evening.
Informative: Madi explaining about wild flora and fauna to members of the media and guests.
YTL Hotels and Resorts executive vice-president Laurent Myter invited those present to sample some of the resort’s Christmas delicacies before inviting them to join in the carolling by a crackling fireplace.
“This is the fifth year that we have lit up our Christmas trees early for the Yuletide season,” he said.
With its hilltop location and the cool refreshing climate, the 56-room boutique resort is a picturesque setting for those looking to escape the drab routine of daily life.
For the next two-days, the group of media personnel and celebrities enjoyed getting pampered by the resort’s employees, with activities like a strawberry picking tour and jungle trekking also organised for them.
Regular visitors can also enjoy the strawberry-picking tours for RM100nett per person, and it is available for a minimum of two persons per session. The price includes 1kg of strawberries, a strawberry smoothie and transportation to and from an exclusive orchard.
Adventurous: Members of the media on the Jim Thompson Trail in Cameron Highlands.
Cameron Highlands had its roots in colonial times, when it was a hill station, and the time-honoured ritual of English afternoon tea is still celebrated at the Jim Thompson Tea Room. Guests at the resort can partake of this sumptious mid-afternoon delight for RM55++ per person.
Thompson was an American entrepreneur who disappeared from Cameron Highlands in 1967 after he set out from Moonlight Cottage for a mid-afternoon stroll. No trace of the Thai Silk King, as he was popularly known, has ever been found.
During the visit to the resort, naturalists S. Madi, 55, and Capt (R) Mokhtar Mohamad, 66, revealed that they had been part of the search for Thompson on that fateful Easter Sunday 43 years ago.
They took the guests on a two-hour walk along the Jim Thompson Mystery Trail and showed them some of the flora and fauna that could be found in the area.
Rare: Wild Ginger found in the jungles of Cameron Highlands.
The trail is open to the public from 10am to 3pm, which is also the time that Thompson set out on his last walk.
YTL’s Cameron Highlands Resort started as a local village house in 1923 and was converted into a British gathering house in 1946. Some 20 years later, it was rebuilt as the tea industry flourished.
In 1976, it started operating as a modest 65-room inn and was acquired by YTL Hotels in 2005.
For reservations and enquiries, contact YTL Travel Centre at 03-2783 1000 or email travelcentre@ytlhotels.com or visit www.ytlhotels.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment