Bertam Resort: landmark in the hinterlands

THE sprawling Moorish-inspired Bertam Resort & Water Park was officially opened by the Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak in a glittering event recently. The owners have also pledged an additional RM7 million to expand the hospitality property facility.

In a labour of love, its owner, Maritime Waterfront Suites Sdn Bhd managing director Datuk Mohamed Iqbal S. Habeeb Noohu took over three years to fulfil a dream of venturing into the hospitality business from his core expertise in construction and development.

He battled the Covid-19 lockdowns, which sent the operating budget up by 20% and an acute shortage of workers, to realise a dream of establishing a resort in the hinterland of Penang at Bertam in Kepala Batas.

Air Itam-born Iqbal spared no limits in pouring an additional RM80 million into the site. It was left abandoned for the past 15 years before the five-star resort was unveiled earlier this year together with an adjacent water-themed park and a golf course.

Ahmad Fuzi and his consort, Toh Puan Khadijah Mohd Nor, were treated to a sumptuous dinner spread of Moroccan-inspired cuisine. They were also entertained by a large assembly of artists – including the celebrity Datuk Aznil Nawawi, a former journalist turned prominent television host.

But Iqbal captured the occasion, by pledging an extra RM7 million in investments to build 16 luxury villas and a wellness centre.

One of the luxury villas would be turned into a wellness facility.

“We expect the expansion to take between six and nine months,” he told a press conference.

The villas represent the resort’s outreach to tap the international market and to capitalise on the growing trend of staycation where guests can work from anywhere due to the growing digital connectivity, said Iqbal.

This unique business model was hardly on the investors’ minds – a resort in the heartland of padi fields and plantations is rather unusual – but Iqbal saw the potential well before staycation came along.

He shared that the resort can bring family tourism into Kepala Batas. The spillover is where the majority of its 300 staffers are from within or near the district, while many resort guests are spending their money in the eateries here.

The resort has 300 rooms to complement the water park and golf course. It is built on an eight-hectare site, previously an abandoned project of the North-South Expressway.

It opened its doors to the public in December last year.

Iqbal said on average, the resort welcomed about 15,000 guests every month.

“We have been receiving overwhelming response and looking at full occupancy until the end of the year. Our guests are mainly from Penang and neighbouring Kedah and Perlis during the weekends. During school holidays, we also receive guests from as far as Johor,” he added.

There are also rooms with their own inbuilt swimming pools.

Hoteliers when interviewed praised Iqbal for his vision of having a resort in largely a rural setting but the fact that tourists are coming is good for the industry.

But they also spoke about the need to sustain the arrivals, which is the greatest challenge that the travel trade faces in view of the inconsistent arrival of tourists.

“Tourism in Malaysia is seasonal but the hospitality properties are designed to welcome tourists daily. This is our challenge,” they said. – The Vibes, September 18, 2023