Tuesday August 21, 2012
Strictly for nature lovers
By WINNIE YEOH
winnie@thestar.com.my
PENANG will soon offer a different kind of hotel stay experience for those who yearn to be closer to nature — hotel rooms perched on trees.
Believed to be the first of its kind in Asia, the ‘Treetops Hotel’, which is part of the Escape Theme Park in Teluk Bahang, will see some 300 units of tree houses set up on 6.4ha of land.
The park’s chief ‘escape’ officer Sim Choo Kheng said the hotel is expected to be ready in about four years’ time.
He said the tree house units will be built at a height of about 2m to 10m.
“The units will be built around a tree and the idea is for the occupants to wake up to nature around them, feeling the fresh breeze and sounds of nature greeting them,” he said when met at the site of the park in Jalan Teluk Bahang recently.
He said besides tree houses, those “who do not love heights” can put up in tents.
Challenging: The rope courses offer dwellers great outdoor fun. Those who just want to stay for the day, can try out the cabanas.
Sim said the ‘Treetops Hotel’ will be either rated three or four stars and the accommodation will be at a reasonable rate.
The theme park is set to open its door to the public in October and the first phase of the park’s Adventureplay on a 6.9ha land, is expected to be ready by then.
“Escape is not a conventional theme park but it is more nature themed where parents and children will enjoy a great outdoor experience,” he said, adding that the activities there will be hosted with nature in mind.
The activities will feature eight rope courses, tree climbing, jump tower, tubby racer, fox burrows and more.
Children can also learn to make traditional toys in its workshop and produce toys like bamboo pop gun, gasing and kite.
Work on the 4.4ha Waterplay area is scheduled to start in 2014 and the park’s management has also got a fishing village setting in mind.
“Other than water slides, we will create a wave pool in the fishing village setting,” he said.
Upon completion, the theme park will cover a total 17.8ha of land with over 200 parking bays.
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