The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat Wins The Prestigious International Hotel Awards, Asia Pacific 2012-2013

Kuala Lumpur, May 2012 –The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat has won another prestigious award in the International Hotel Awards, Asia Pacific 2012 - 2013, in the Sustainable Hotel category. The 5-star eco-luxury retreat received the Five-Star Award, winning the Best Sustainable Hotel category for Malaysia.

Successful entrants were presented their awards at a high profile gala presentation dinner at the J. W. Marriott Hotel in Kuala Lumpur on April 27^th, where the official announcements were made. The International Hotel Awards was launched by the same organization which set up the International Property Awards 18 years ago, aims to identify, highlight and reward excellence throughout the global hospitality industry. The awards are split into 6 regions, covering the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe & Africa, Arabia and UK. Participants enter at their relevant national level, and the highest scoring entry for each category will then compete for the regional title. A record number of hoteliers from eighteen different countries took part in this year’s Asia Pacific Hotel Awards and the competition was extremely keen with entries across the board being of the highest standard.

Adding to The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat’s winning on the national level, the five-star eco-luxury retreat also emerged victorious as winner for Asia Pacific in the Sustainable Hotel category.Attaining one of these awards is a statement that The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat can be positioned strongly as an eco-luxury retreat, not onlywithin Malaysia but also amongst established players inthe region. As the Best Sustainable Hotel in Asia Pacific, The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat will join other top scoring winners from Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe & Africa, Arabia and UKto find the ultimate World’s Best in the Sustainable Hotel category. The final results will be revealed at a gala presentation dinner in London later this year.

Receiving the award forThe Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat, Mr. Olivier Robinet, Director of Operations, Sunway International Hotels & Resorts said, “On behalf of the Sunway Group, I would like to say that we are very grateful for this honour. This award belongs to Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Jeffrey Cheah, Founder and Chairman of the Sunway Group, whose vision has defined and developed the Banjaran Hotsprings to be the first five-star eco-luxury natural wellness hotsprings destination in Malaysia; to the Sunway City Ipoh and The Banjaran teams whose dedication and commitment turned the vision into reality; as well as to our guests who has believed in us”.

Also present at the gala dinner was Ms. CindyPubellier, member of the Scientific Advisory Board of The Banjaran. Receiving the award together with Olivier Robinet, Cindy said, “I strongly believe The Banjaran deserves this achievement as a lot of hard work has been put in since the beginning. This award is of immense encouragement and strength for us to continue our efforts on the road of sustainable development. With this award, we hope to raise awareness on sustainable development, not only for other hotels, but among land owners and the communities”.

About The Banjaran

The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat is managed by Sunway International Hotels and Resorts and is part of THE SUNWAY GROUP. It is Malaysia’s first five-star eco-luxury wellness hotsprings retreat nestled in a 17 acres valley amid a lush tropical jungle, natural geothermal hot springs and a cluster of magnificent 280 million years old limestone hills. This self-contained retreat comprises 25 luxury villas and a wellness village offering authentic, Asian holistic wellness and spa treatments. Located in Ipoh and just a 2 hours drive from Kuala Lumpur, this award winning wellness retreat is best described as a haven for spiritual time-out, complete relaxation and rejuvenation offering holistic healing to achieve health transformation and overall wellbeing.

The Banjaran offers an extensive spa menu inspired by the rich cultures and healing traditions found here in Malaysia and Asia with authentic Ayurvedic, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Malay treatments. The menu also encompasses alternative wellness treatments such as colon hydrotherapy and antioxidant restorative therapy. There are a variety of massages, organic facials and body treatments to cater for everyone including the award winning The Banjaran Signature Massage. Holistic exercise disciplines such as Yoga, Qi Gong and Tai Chi are also integrated in the wellness programmes including daily access to a host of unique offerings such as the natural hot springs, ice bath and thermal steam cave, a 280 million year old meditation cave and the outdoor rainforest shower.

-The Banjaran Hotsprins Retreat.

www.thebanjaran.com