The Largest Hotel in The World Has Large Problems

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Having claim to being the #1 “whatever” seems to be an important thing in the hotel industry.

• Marriott International is the largest hotel chain in the world (31 brands, over 8,000 hotels and over 1.5 million rooms in 138 countries)
• Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan is recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest continually running hotel in the world. It’s been in business since the year 705 A.D. and has been passed down within the same family for 52 generations.
• The Gevora Hotel, located in Dubai, is the tallest hotel in the world. Its 75 floors are 356.3 meters (1,169 feet) tall.

And the largest hotel in the world? With 7,351 rooms, that claim goes to First World Hotel, owned by Resorts World Genting. The hotel, which opened in 2001, is located in Pahang, Malaysia.

The First World Hotel is part of a hotel, shopping and entertainment complex called Resorts World Genting, a complex that originally opened in 1965 (back then it was called Genting Highlands). Besides First World Hotel, the resort offers a half dozen other hotels on site, ranging from swanky to what they describe as “wallet-friendly rates.” The complex also has two casinos (the only legal land-based casino area in the country), three theme parks, five shopping malls, live and special events at two performance venues, as well as nightlife, restaurants and attractions.

But getting back to First World Hotel…

First World Hotel’s status as the world’s largest hotel has had to go back and forth. It had the title in 2006, back when it “only” had 6,118 rooms in two towers, aptly Tower 1 and 2. Then The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas took the title in January 2008, when it expanded to include The Palazzo. Not to be outdone, First World Hotel took the title back when it opened a new block of rooms, named Tower 2 Annex (Tower 2A) with 1,233 rooms (The Venetian Resort is currently in 2nd place, with 7,115 rooms – 236 less than First World Hotel. MGM Grand, also in Las Vegas, comes in at #3, with a mere 6,852 rooms)

They have 8 styles of rooms:

• Standard room (approx. 180sq ft) – sleeps 2
• Deluxe room (approx 180sq ft) – – sleeps 2
• Superior Deluxe room (approx 320 sq ft) – sleep 2
• Triple room (approx 180 sq ft) – sleeps 2 to 3
• Y5 Deluxe room (approx 170 sq ft) – sleeps 2
• Y5 Triple room (approx 180 sq ft) – sleeps 2 to 3
• World Club room (Approx 430 sq ft) – sleeps 2
• World Club room 2 (Approx 430 sq ft) – sleeps 2 to 4

Amenities vary, depending on what type of room you have. For example, Standard room, which is described on the hotel’s website as “no frills,” includes:

World Club room 2, which is large and is the only type of room that can sleep up to 4, includes:

First World Hotel says they do allow guests to check in early, for a graduated fee:

• 6am-9am – surcharge of RM20 (about $4.31)
• 9am-12pm – surcharge of RM10 (about $2.15)
• 12pm-3pm – surcharge of RM5 (about $1.07)

The hotel offers 3 eateries:

• The Food Factory (breakfast buffet of Asian and Western)
• The Junction (meals-to-go and bakery delights)
• Ice Cream Parlour (frozen delights)

As you probably have surmised by now, just because you’re the largest hotel in the world doesn’t mean you’re the best hotel in the world ;-). First World Hotel gets a solid 3 out of 5 starts on TripAdvisor, and is the #17 of 21 hotels in Genting Highlands. From TripAdvisor:

Its more recent reviews, at least the ones in English; none are stellar, with multiple complaints about insufficient and slow check-in, run-down rooms that weren’t thoroughly cleaned, horrible towels, thin walls, few Western options at breakfast buffet, etc. Going as far back as pre-pandemic times (circa 2018), slow check-in and cleanliness were already ongoing issues.

Room prices vary from $32 on Booking dot com to $28 on Agoda and $29 on Trip dot com. Sounds like, at least in comparison to Western standards, you get what you pay for.

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary