The Empire Hotel & Country Club Jerudong

Where ever you stay in Brunei, you just have to try and stay overnight in this hotel. Built in the 90s, the hotel remains the most popular and best place to stay in Brunei. The rooms are a little bit pricey but they come in great packages too. For a stay night there you get to enjoy all the facilities there for free. On top of that, the strategic location of the whole complex facing towards the South China Sea was simply amazing.

There are five restaurants (if not more) in the place ranging from Chinese to Italian. My personal favourite is De Pantai restaurant. Every Friday and Saturday night they have this amazing barbeque buffet spread for a price of 41 Brunei dollars per head. Not bad really for dishes made by top of the notch chef.

The hotel keeps improving its facilities everytime. Now they are offering services such as scuba diving, snorkeling, and other water activities at affordable prices.

I guess the only downside that I could think about the place is that it lacks shops to buy stuff like shirts and flip flops. There are only four shops in the hotel, two selling house decorative stuff and two other selling branded things.

I am amazed with its generous space of standard bedroom and you should check out the marbles, the place practically made of marble!

If you ever visited Brunei, one of the hotels that you just have to try out even just for a dine in one of its restaurants is The Empire Hotel and Country Club. Built in the 90s by the infamous Amedeo, a company that was liquidated somewhere in the time of the economic recession in Asia in the 90s due to its controversial scandal, this hotel will amaze you with its intricate design and breathtaking location. The hotel was built facing the open sea, a strategic place to enjoy the sun for sunbathing as well as soothing yourself with the serene beauty of the sunset.

I stayed in this hotel once, and the memories are still imprinted in my mind as if it all happened yesterday. The hotel offers rooms and villas with prices ranging as low as 130USD per night in a standard room(cheaper during promotion season) up to more than 10,000USD per night in the presidential suite.

Many famous names had graced the hotels such as President Bill Clinton, The King and Queen of Jordan, Ronan Keating, Prince Charles and Camilla just to name a few.

If you are into golf, the hotel has one of the finest golf course ever created. The golf has hold many international tournaments...I heard there is another one coming soon in February this year...so watch out for that.

The hotel has a few restaurants serving different kind of cuisine from international, to italian and even local delicacies. Sometimes, there will also invite chefs from famous restaurants from all over the world to cook there (one that I can remember right now was one from The Dochester).

To help you visualise the luxury of the rooms in the hotel, picture this, for 199 Brunei dollars, I can stay in a room with two single beds,very generous space, a large bathroom that has a real spa, and with great view of the open sea...AMAZING!

The Empire Hotel has played host to many international dignitaries on state visits (including Bill Clinton, who also returned on a personal visit). It is situated in Jerudong near Bandar Seri Begawan.

http://www.theempirehotel.com

The run of the mill rooms are very posh, especially the bathrooms … large bath, two hand basins, and gold fittings. However, the exterior and facilities (including the pool) of the hotel are less impressive than many resorts around the South East Asia. The beach and sea is passable … you can't compare it to the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia and definitely not Fiji.

There were several restaurants to choose from … from lavish air-conditined surroundings to beach front. The nightly buffets are good value by international standard and won't disappoint.

Even though the hotel is out of town, courtesy shuttles are available to malls in Bandar Seri Begawan and Gadong. Shuttles are also available to Jerudong Park (fun park) where you can also get delicious local meals for very little.