The
Empire Hotel and Country Club was recently (2002) voted
"Asia's Leading
Resort" by World Travel Awards, and it is easy to see why.
This
multibillion dollar complex is a complete world onto itself,
as we
found when we traveled there over the November Holiday. The
Empire is
essentially a self-contained oasis, boasting a golf course,
recreation
center, several pools, a bowling alley and cinema, in addition
to a
wide range of rooms and villas. The photo to the left shows
the
entrance to the resort, about a 20 minute ride from the
airport. The
photo to the left is the most flattering (and oft seen) image
of the
Empire complex from the beach. It is not hard to see why it is
listed
among the luxury small hotels of the world.
From the
guardhouse the
road to the resort winds upward to the main building, whose
impressive
entryway is shown in the photo to the left. Anyone who has
spent time
in the Middle East will undoubtedly feel at home with the
decor of the
Empire Hotel and Resort. To be fair, it is more understated
than many
of the more opulent Middle Eastern Hotels, but there is
certainly the
requisite amount of gold lacquer and glittering glassware. As
we
arrived at the end of Ramadan, we were greeted by a large
model of
Brunei's most prominent mosque, shown in the photo to the
immediate
right.
A few
short steps from the entrance and check-in area is arguably
the most
spectacular architectural feature of the Empire, the Atrium.
The five
main floors of the hotel only extend about half of the way
across the
building, opening onto an atrium that rises six and one half
floors
from its base. Opposite the hotel's main entrance, the
atrium is
enclosed on the beach side by a wall of glass, bathing the
area in
light and highlighting the Hotel's tropical setting. The
atrium is
supported by massive marble columns trimmed in gold and
teak. The photo
to the left shows the base of the atrium with the ornate
columns;
clicking on the photo will bring up a second photo that
shows the glass
wall and beach area. The photo to the right shows one of the
mezzanine
levels (two levels below the entrance) which hosts one of
the hotel's
four restaurants, each on its own mezzanine level, facing
the atrium.
There are a host of
restaurants and shops
clustered around the atrium. To the right of the check-in desk
on the
atrium's second level is an arcade of shops, shown in the
photo to the
left. They specialize in jewels, carpets and clothing. around
the
corner from the arcade is a series of steps the winds up to
Spaghettini
Trattoria, the Hotel's cozy Italian restaurant, shown in the
photo to
the right. There is a second Atrium Cafe, a coffee and
sandwich shop
which serves the second floor of the atrium, allowing visitor
to grab a
bite while soaking in the spaciousness of this central lobby
area.
One floor below
the main entrance are
two more
restaurants. The main dining room and the Indera Kayangan
Ballroom is
built on a mezzanine overlooking the atrium, and all of the
buffet
style meals are served there. Most guests to the hotel take
their meals
here, as it is included in most of the hotel packages. The
restaurant
boasted a generous buffet of both western and Muslim (halal)
food, with
especially good seafood. Patrons are entertained by a player
piano,
perched at the edge of the mezzanine (photo to the left). For
larger
groups, the Indera Pura Lounge (photo to the right) offers
banquet
style seating. There are also several large banquet/conference
rooms
located on the floor above.
While the atrium is a
show-stopper, the
rooms are what really appealed to us. They were large,
comfortable and
beautifully decorated. The picture to the left shows a view of
the room
from its anteroom (which had huge closets and ample storage
space for
luggage). The king-size bed sported an amazingly soft down
comforter,
and beyond the bed was a small reading area with two stuffed
chairs and
a table. Beyond the white curtains was a wraparound balcony
with a view
of the beach. The photo to the left shows the divider
separating the
storage and living spaces, as well as the writing table on the
wall
opposite the bed. It was a large, well appointed room, and
everything
in it had the solid feel of quality. Spectacular. The video
below from
TravelFoodTech offers a quick tour of the hotel
Video Tour of the Empire Hotel, Brunei
Take a Virtual Tour of the Empire Hotel and Country Club
Instructions:
Place the
cursor on a number to view that feature in a new window.
Click on
"Close" to shut that window and return to the diagram below.
[Hint: be
certain not to drag the mouse over another number, or it
will open that
window instead] If this doesn't work (or negotiating
between the
numbers is too annoying), click on the links in the box
below. Be sure
your ad-blocker is turned off for this page. Those on mobile
devices
will find that the "Close" button may not work, in which
case you must
use your browser's "Back" button