The First World Hotel & Plaza is not the world’s most impressive hotel. Its design is nothing to write home about, and it’s only rated at three stars in terms of amenities. However, when it comes to accommodation capacity, there is no other resort that comes close.
When it was inaugurated in 2006, the First World Hotel & Plaza had “just” 6,118 rooms, and it actually lost the title of ‘world’s largest hotel’ just two years later when the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas expanded to 7,128 rooms. However, with the construction of the second tower, the Malaysian resort regained its title in 2015 and has been holding on to it ever since.
Built by the Genting Group, the world’s largest hotel is situated in Malaysia’s Pahang region, about 50 kilometres north of Kuala Lumpur, the country’s capital. The Genting Highlands is a premier entertainment hub, which sees millions of tourists flocking in from all over South-East Asia.
Although not as famous as its main rival in terms of size, the Venetian, First World Hotel & Plaza maintains a surprisingly high occupancy rate. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, it had an average occupancy rate of 90%, and even today, it is almost always around full capacity.
The success of the First World Hotel & Plaza is based on a series of factors: its strategic location at the heart of the Resorts World Genting, directly connected to theme parks and shopping centres, as well as its proximity to the country’s only legal casino area (gambling is prohibited in Malaysia due to the majority Muslim population).
The First World Hotel & Plaza also has a competitive pricing strategy and an automated check-in system to manage the high volume of guests. It doesn’t cater only to the rich, making it appealing to a larger number of people. It currently has 3,164 standard rooms; 2,922 luxury rooms; 649 luxury triple rooms; 480 superior luxury rooms and 136 World Club rooms.
